Magnetic bead agglomerator for automated ELISA process

摘要

Mixing of a sample containing a suspect bioagent or antigen with 1° recognition molecule coated magnetic beads in the preliminary stage of an enzyme linked immunoassay ("ELISA") procedure is emulated by first inserting the coated magnetic beads (3) into a non-magnetic confinement region (1), generating (5) a magnetic field B along the axis of said non-magnetic confinement region to agglomerate the coated magnetic beads into a porous mass; then percolating or otherwise forcing the sample solution (17) through said porous mass; and withdrawing the magnetic field to de-agglomerate said coated magnetic beads. In seeping or otherwise flowing through the magnetic beads the molecules of the sample link to respective magnetic beads that are coated with recognition molecules.