US 12,436,158 B2
High dynamic range assays in hazardous contaminant testing
Ray Isaacson, Layton, UT (US); Brian Patrick Dwyer, San Diego, CA (US); and Austin Jason Mckinnon, Herriman, UT (US)
Assigned to Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ (US)
Filed by Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ (US)
Filed on Jul. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/812,862.
Application 17/812,862 is a division of application No. 16/134,003, filed on Sep. 18, 2018, granted, now 11,391,748.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/561,567, filed on Sep. 21, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2022/0349907 A1, Nov. 3, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G01N 33/94 (2006.01); G01N 33/543 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 33/94 (2013.01) [G01N 33/54388 (2021.08)] 19 Claims
 
1. A system for detection of a hazardous contaminant, comprising:
an assay test strip including:
at least one material configured to wick a liquid sample containing the hazardous contaminant along a lateral flow path extending at least partway from a first end of the assay test strip to a second end of the assay test strip;
a conjugate release zone comprising a plurality of diffusively bound labeled particles configured to be transported along the lateral flow path with the liquid sample; and
a plurality of detection zones positioned sequentially along the lateral flow path, each of the plurality of detection zones comprising a plurality of immobilized capture reagents tuned to fully saturate with the labeled particles at one of a plurality of concentrations of the hazardous contaminant, wherein the plurality of detection zones comprise a first detection zone and a second detection zone disposed farther along the lateral flow path relative to the first detection zone, wherein the second detection zone is tuned to fully saturate at a concentration different than the first detection zone to account for the liquid sample having flowed through at least the first detection zone; and
a reader device including:
a portion configured to receive the assay test strip;
a sensor positioned to receive light reflected from the plurality of detection zones and configured to generate signals representing an intensity of the received light; and
control electronics configured to analyze the signals, identify a subset of the plurality of detection zones saturated above a predetermined threshold, and determine a concentration of the hazardous contaminant in the liquid sample based on one of the subset of the plurality of detection zones.