US 12,253,499 B2
Thin-layer chromatography system and method for assessing analyte concentrations in samples
Stuart Ibsen, London (GB); Alaric Taylor, London (GB); Simon Dawes, London (GB); Luis Antonio Serrano Gonzalez, London (GB); and Stefan Guldin, London (GB)
Assigned to UCL BUSINESS LTD, London (GB)
Appl. No. 16/768,136
Filed by UCL BUSINESS LTD, London (GB)
PCT Filed Nov. 29, 2018, PCT No. PCT/EP2018/083050
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 29, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/106107, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 6, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 1719905 (GB), filed on Nov. 30, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0319152 A1, Oct. 8, 2020
Int. Cl. G01N 30/90 (2006.01); G01N 1/40 (2006.01); G01N 30/14 (2006.01); G01N 30/26 (2006.01); G01N 30/74 (2006.01); G01N 33/94 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 30/90 (2013.01) [G01N 1/4077 (2013.01); G01N 30/14 (2013.01); G01N 30/26 (2013.01); G01N 30/74 (2013.01); G01N 33/94 (2013.01); G01N 2001/4083 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for detecting or quantifying an analyte in a sample, the method comprising the following steps (i) to (vii):
(i) providing said sample;
(ii) preparing an analysis sample from said sample;
(iii) providing a thin layer chromatography (TLC) cartridge sealed by a first seal, comprising a TLC plate and a mobile phase reservoir sealed by a second seal, the mobile phase reservoir containing a TLC mobile phase;
(iv) loading the analysis sample and one or more reference standards onto the TLC plate of the TLC cartridge, wherein the analysis sample is loaded onto a lane of the TLC plate by penetration through a septum of self-sealing material and/or the one or more reference standards are loaded onto respective lanes of the TLC plate by penetration through a septum of self-sealing material;
(v) exposing the TLC plate to the TLC mobile phase to perform a TLC process on said analysis sample in the TLC cartridge to produce a chromatogram, wherein the exposing comprises breaking the second seal, while maintaining the first seal;
(vi) optically analyzing analyte and reference standards bands on the chromatogram, with an imaging device to generate optical signals corresponding to the analyte and reference standards;
(vii) detecting or quantifying the analyte in the sample according to said optical signals,
wherein the first seal hermetically seals the TLC mobile phase prior to and during said loading, during said performance of the TLC process, and during said optical analysis.
 
9. A thin layer chromatography (TLC) cartridge sealed by a first seal, comprising a TLC plate, a septum of self-sealing material for loading an analysis sample onto a lane of the TLC plate and/or a septum of self-sealing material for loading one or more reference standards onto respective lanes of the TLC plate, and a sealed mobile phase reservoir for a TLC mobile phase sealed by a second seal, wherein the first seal is adapted to hermetically seal the TLC mobile phase prior to and during loading, during performance of a TLC process, and during analysis of a resulting TLC chromatogram.