Methods and devices for optical monitoring and rapid analysis of drying droplets

Abstract

Abstract of the DisclosureDevices for optical monitoring and rapid analysis of a drying droplet are presented and include a droplet deposition means, an optical recording means, and a computer control and image analysis means. In several preferred embodiments, a pipette is used to deposit one or more droplets in parallel onto a slide, a plate or a film, and a digital microscope is positioned either above or below the droplet to record a timed sequence of images of the process of drying thereof. Various chemical compounds coating the deposition slide can be used to enhance the test further. Image analysis includes data filtering, dividing the image into a plurality of overlapping windows, and analysis of formation and change in patterns over time. If used with biological fluids, the devices and methods of the invention can be used for rapid diagnosis of a variety of conditions and diseases.

Description

Detailed Description of the InventionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001] The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for rapid analysis and determination of composition of multi-component solutions by means of optical monitoring and evaluating the patterns formed during the process of drying of at least one droplet of such solution. More particularly, the invention relates to specific pattern recognition methods for rapid diagnosis of the state of a biological fluid.[0002] For the purposes of this description, the word “solution” is used to describe a liquid, which is a product of an act or process by which a solute (whether solid, liquid, or gaseous) is absorbed into and dissolved by a solvent liquid. The solute can be generally regained from the solution by evaporation or drying of a solvent. Suspensions and emulsions are also included in the general category of solutions.[0003] A sub-set of solutions, which is of particular interest for the purposes of the invent...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other drawbacks of the prior art by providing novel method and devices for optical monitoring of a drying droplet to provide a rapid analysis of a solution.

[0015] It is a further object of the present invention to provide enhancement for diagnostic methods and devices by using slides with different target agent coatings specifically interacting with the components of the droplet of a solution and optically monitoring the pattern formation sequence while drying that droplet thereafter.

[0021] In practical terms, the device of the present invention in its most basic form includes a simple deposition plate such as a glass or quartz plate or slide serving as a droplet deposition means. Calibrated droplet deposition devices well known in general in the prior art can also be used effectively as more sophisticated droplet deposition means as will be described in more detail below. Advantageously, deposition plates with various coatings containing target agents can be used to enhance the sensitivity of the analysis of the present invention.

Problems solved by technology

The samples used for obtaining the patterns shown in that US Patent require a complex and long preparation procedure, which includes many steps such as diluting blood or urine by water, distilling it, calcining the dry cake by heating at a constant rate for a period of 60 to 70 minutes to a temperature of about 600 oC, cooling the calcinate for about 2 to 4 hours to a temperature of about 150 oC, and several other steps, which altogether make the proposed method hardly practical.

This and other methods have a disadvantage of having only the final pattern of the dried droplet available for analysis.