U.S. patent application number 11/685875 was filed with the patent office on 2008-11-20 for method for selecting desired level of dye loading and controlling loading of polymer microparticles.
Invention is credited to Sukanta Banerjee, Cecilia Georgescu, Michael Seul.
Application Number | 20080282483 11/685875 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32712495 |
Filed Date | 2008-11-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080282483 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Banerjee; Sukanta ; et
al. |
November 20, 2008 |
Method for Selecting Desired level of Dye Loading and Controlling
Loading of Polymer Microparticles
Abstract
Solute-loaded polymer microparticles are obtained by immersing
microparticles in a bath comprising a selected solute dissolved in
a ternary solvent system. A first solvent of the ternary system is
a strong solvent for both the solute and the polymer from which the
microparticle was formed. A second solvent is a weak solvent or
non-solvent for the solute and the polymer (tuning solvent). A
third solvent is a weak solvent or non-solvent for the solute and
polymer, but serves as a co-solvent with respect to the first and
second solvents in that it is miscible with both the first and
second solvents. The amount of solute incorporated into the
microparticles is controlled by adjusting the ratio of solute with
respect to the microparticle polymer, and by adjusting the
composition of the ternary solvent system, principally the amount
of tuning solvent. The method is particularly useful for providing
libraries of combinatorially encoded microparticles containing
distinguishable dye loadings, particularly distinguishable
fluorescent dye loadings.
Inventors: |
Banerjee; Sukanta; (North
Brunswick, NJ) ; Georgescu; Cecilia; (Piscataway,
NJ) ; Seul; Michael; (Fanwood, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ERIC P. MIRABEL
35 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, SUITE 100
WARREN
NJ
07059
US
|
Family ID: |
32712495 |
Appl. No.: |
11/685875 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10348165 |
Jan 21, 2003 |
7255895 |
|
|
11685875 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
8/514 ; 8/506;
8/513 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C08J 3/215 20130101;
C08J 2325/08 20130101; C08J 3/212 20130101; C08J 3/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
8/514 ; 8/506;
8/513 |
International
Class: |
D06P 3/79 20060101
D06P003/79; D06P 3/04 20060101 D06P003/04; D06P 3/00 20060101
D06P003/00 |
Claims
1-39. (canceled)
40. A method of staining a population of preformed polymeric
microparticles using a dye bath solution, wherein the dye bath
solution contains known amounts of at least two fluorescent dyes
solubilized in a homogeneous, ternary solvent mixture consisting of
(i) at least one first solvent in which the dye and the
microparticle polymer are soluble; (ii) at least one second solvent
in which the dye and the polymer are not or only weakly soluble,
said first and second solvents being immiscible or at most
partially miscible; (iii) at least one third solvent in which the
dye and the polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third
solvent being miscible with the first and second solvents and the
concentration of the second solvent controlling the uptake of the
dye into the microparticles by decreasing the solvency of the
mixture of the first, second and third solvents for the dye;
wherein the microparticles upon excitation emit at least two
distinct fluorescent signals corresponding to the at least two
fluorescent dyes, wherein an intensity of each of the at least two
emitted signal is proportional to an amount of its corresponding
dye in microparticle, and wherein the amount of second solvent in
the dye bath solution has been determined by targeting the amount
of dye needed to be loaded into the microparticles to achieve a
target fluorescence intensity of said stained polymeric
microparticles.
41. The method according to claim 40 wherein the dye is a
fluorescent dye.
42. The method according to claim 40 wherein the dye is a
hydrophobic dye.
43. The method according to claim 40 wherein the dye is selected
from the group consisting of styryl dyes, pyrromethane dyes,
coumarin dyes, and combinations thereof.
44. The method according to claim 40 wherein the microparticles
comprise a hydrophobic polymer.
45. The method according to claim 44 wherein the hydrophobic
polymer is a homopolymer or copolymer comprising a vinyl-containing
monomer.
46. The method according to claim 45 selected from the group
consisting of homopolymers or copolymers of styrene, methyl
methacrylate, acrylamide, ethylene glycol,
hydroxyethylmethacrylate, vinyltoluene, divinylbenzene, and
combinations thereof.
47. The method according to claim 46 wherein the polymer is
polystyrene or copolymer thereof containing at least 50% by weight
styrene monomer units.
48. The method according to claim 47 wherein the polymer is a
styrene/methacrylic acid copolymer.
49. The method according to claim 47 wherein the polymer is
cross-linked.
50. The method according to claim 40 wherein the microparticles
have a diameter of from about 0.1 to about 100 microns.
51. The method according to claim 50 wherein the particles are
monodisperse.
52. The method according to claim 40 wherein the concentration of
dye present in the microparticle suspension formed by contacting
microparticles with said dye solution is from about 10 .mu.g/g to
about 100 .mu.g/g, based upon the weight of the microparticle
suspension.
53. The method according to claim 40 comprising a solvent wherein
the first solvent is selected from the group consisting of
methylene chloride, chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane,
cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, butylacetate, lower chlorinated
aliphatic hydrocarbons, and combinations thereof; the second
solvent is water; and the third solvent is selected from the group
consisting of acetone, lower alcohols, and combinations
thereof.
54. The method according to claim 53 wherein the first solvent is
methylene chloride or dichloromethane, and the second solvent is
water.
55. The method according to claim 53 wherein the third solvent is
alcohol.
56. The method according to claim 40 wherein the microparticle is a
core-shell microparticle comprising a central core comprising one
or more core polymers surrounded by a shell comprising one or more
shell polymers.
57. The method according to claim 56 wherein the core polymer
comprises a copolymer of styrene and a monomer more hydrophilic
than styrene
58. The method according to claim 56 wherein the core polymer
comprises methacrylic acid.
59. The method according to claim 40 wherein at least a portion of
the microparticles are magnetically responsive.
60. The method of claim 40 wherein an emulsion is not formed in
said polymer microparticle suspension.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a method for controlling the
partitioning of a solute between a liquid continuous phase and a
solid dispersed phase, such as in the production of stained
particles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Polymer particles containing an entrained solute, e.g., dye,
are widely used as markers for biomolecules and as internal
reference and calibration standards for assay detection methods
such as flow cytometry. Four general methods have been described in
the prior art for producing fluorescent polymer particles: (A)
copolymerization of dye and monomer; (B) partitioning of
water-soluble or oil-soluble dyes into preformed particles; (C)
surface functionalization of preformed particles; and (D)
encapsulation of dye droplets. In addition, polymerization methods
also have been used to prepare core-shell particles, that is,
microparticles comprised of a polymer core and a polymer shell.
[0003] A. Copolymerization Based Methods
[0004] Fluorescent microparticles may be synthesized by
polymerization of monomeric units to form microparticles in the
presence of fluorescent dyes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,008 to Rembaum
(1982) describes the synthesis of fluorescent microparticles by
copolymerization of functionalized acrylic monomer with a
polymerizable fluorescent comonomer. The method generally requires
a polymerizable dye molecule. Such methods, generally suffer from
the drawback of possible inhibition of polymerization by the
fluorescent dye and/or bleaching of the fluorescence by the
reactive constituents of the polymerization reaction.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,235 to Rembaum (1981) describes the
synthesis of polygluteraldehyde microspheres using suspension
polymerization. Cosolubilized fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) is
used to create fluorescent microspheres. Suspension condensation
polymerization of the monomer with cosolubilized dye molecules,
while largely circumventing dye destruction and polymerization
inhibition, generates a broad particle size distribution and hence
is not a suitable route for the production of monodisperse
fluorescent microspheres.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,498 to Schwartz et al. (1991) describes
a process for making fluorescent microparticles by seeded
polymerization. One or more hydrophobic fluorescent dyes are
dissolved in a solution containing monomer and initiator. The
solution is added to pre-swollen microparticles. The patent
discloses methods permitting the introduction of three different
dyes into a particle. The method suffers from the drawback of
possible inhibition of polymerization by the fluorescent dye, or
conversely the bleaching of the fluorescence by the polymerization
process.
[0007] Multi-stage emulsion polymerization has been employed to
prepare core-shell particles without surface functional groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,131 to Kumaceheva et al. discloses a method for
preparing stained core-shell particles. The method is based on
multiple stages of semi-continuous polymerization of a mixture of
two monomers (methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol
dimethacrylate) and a fluorescent dye
(4-amino-7-nitrobnezo-2-oxa-1,3 diazol-labeled methyl
methacrylate). The particles are then encapsulated with an outer
shell by copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and
butylmethacrylate in the presence of chain transfer agent, dodecyl
mercaptan. Kumaceheva et al. do not prepare and do not have as an
object the inclusion of surface functional group core-shell polymer
product.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,559 to Ober et al. discloses a method
for preparing colored toner by swelling. Polystyrene particles (5.5
micron) are prepared by dispersion polymerization of styrene in the
presence of ethanol, poly(acrylic acid), methylcellosolve and
benzoyl peroxide. Swelling is performed by dispersing the
polystyrene in an aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate and
acetone. Colored particles are obtained by adding an emulsified dye
solution (Passaic Oil Red 2144 in methylene chloride emulsified
with an aqueous solution of sodium dodecylsulfate) to the particle
dispersion.
[0009] Polymerization methods have been employed to prepare
core-shell particles containing surface functional groups. U.S.
Pat. No. 5,395,688 to Wang et al. discloses magnetically-responsive
fluorescent polymer particles comprising a polymeric core coated
with a layer of polymer containing magnetically-responsive metal
oxide. The final polymer shell is synthesized with a functional
monomer to facilitate covalent coupling with biological materials.
The procedure of Wang et al. is based on three steps: (1)
preparation of fluorescent core particles; (2) encapsulation of
metal oxide in a polystyrene shell formed over the fluorescent core
by free radical polymerization in the absence of emulsifier but
with an excess of initiator; and (3) coating of the magnetic
fluorescent particles with a layer of functional polymer. The
functional polymer has carboxyl, amino, hydroxy or sulfonic groups.
Wang et al. do not describe a method for obtaining the colored core
and also does not address the problem of destruction of dye during
the free radical polymerization process.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,101 to Kraemer et al. discloses
two-micron fluorescent particles obtained by core-shell
polymerization. The core is obtained at 80.degree. C. by
polymerizing a mixture of isobutyl methacrylate, methyl
methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate via ammonium
persulfate initiation. A shell is synthesized over the core by
semi-continuously adding, in a first step, a mixture of the same
monomers containing a fluorescent dye (fluoro-green-gold). Through
the end of the reaction, two different monomer mixtures are added
over a one hour period: a first mixture containing methyl
methacrylate, ethylene glycol-bis-(methacrylate) and glycidyl
methacrylate, and a second mixture containing methacrylamide and
initiator. The polymerization is initiated with
4,4'-azobis-(cyanovaleric acid).
[0011] Okubo et al., Colloid Polym. Sci. 269:222-226 (1991),
Yamashita, et al., Colloids and Surfaces A., 153:153-159 (1999),
and U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,265 describe production of micron-sized
monodispersed polymer particles by seeded dispersion
polymerization. Polymer seed particles are pre-swelled with large
amounts of monomer prior to seeded polymerization. The swelling is
carried out by slow, continuous, drop-wise addition of water to an
ethanol-water mixture containing the seed particles, monomers,
stabilizer and initiator. The addition of water decreases the
solubility of the monomer in the continuous phase, leading to
precipitation and subsequent absorption of monomer onto or into the
seed polymer particles. The monomer absorbed into the seed polymer
particle is then polymerized to produce large monodispersed polymer
particles.
[0012] B. Partitioning of Water-Soluble or Oil-Soluble Dyes
[0013] Fluorescent particles can be produced by permitting dye
molecules to partition into pre-swollen microparticles according to
a technique originally described by L. B. Bangs (Uniform Latex
Particles; Seragen Diagnostics Inc., 1984, p. 40). The process
involves dissolution of a dye molecule or mixture of dye molecules
in a solvent or solvent mixture of choice containing polymer
microparticles. Absorption of the solvent by the microparticles
leads to swelling, permitting the microparticles to absorb a
portion of the dye present in the solvent mixture. The staining
process is usually terminated by removing the solvent. The level of
dye partitioning is controlled by adjusting the dye concentration,
and in the case of a plurality of dyes, the relative abundance of
individual dyes. Microparticles stained in this manner are quite
stable and uniform. However, in many cases, depending on the choice
of solvent system, a large dye excess is required to attain the
desired partitioning, leading to significant loss of expensive dye
material.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,218 to Haugland et al. (1998), U.S. Pat.
No. 5,786,219 to Zhang et al. (1998), U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,692 to
Brinkley et al. (1994) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,909 to Singer et al.
(1996) describe protocols for producing various
fluorescently-colored particles by swelling and dye partitioning in
organic solvent and organic solvent mixtures. Various types of
fluorescent particles, for example, fluorescent particles
containing multiple dyes, particles exhibiting controllable and
enhanced Stokes shifts, and particles displaying spherical zones of
fluorescence, are described.
[0015] International patent application WO 99/19515 of Chandler et
al. (1997) describes an improved method for the production of a
series of ratiometrically-encoded microspheres with two dyes. A
protocol for the production of 64 different encoded microspheres is
reported. A swelling bath composition using a mixture of an organic
solvent and alcohol (under anhydrous conditions) also is
disclosed.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,497 to Matsudo et al. (1993) describes a
method for generating a dye-labeled polymer particle which uses a
hydrophobic dye dissolved in an organic solvent emulsified in
water. The dyed particles were used for immuno-chromatographic
purposes.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,559 to Ober et al. (1986) describes the
synthesis of colored polymer particles using oil-soluble dyes. The
disclosed method uses an emulsion of a dichloromethane dye solution
in a water and acetone mixture for coloring the particles.
[0018] C. Functionalization of Internal or External Microparticle
Surfaces
[0019] Production of fluorescent particles by surface
functionalization involves the covalent attachment of one or more
dyes to reactive groups on the surface of a preformed
microparticle. This leaves the dye molecules exposed to the
environment, which can hasten the decomposition of the dye. In
addition, surface functionalization often renders a particle
surface very hydrophobic, inviting undesirable non-specific
adsorption and, in some cases, loss of activity of biomolecules
placed on or near the particle surface. These problems can be
circumvented by attaching a stained small particle, in lieu of a
dye molecule, to the surface of a carrier particle. The efficacy of
this method in generating large sets of encoded particles from a
small number of dyes (ratio encoding) is unclear.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,855 to Shih (1984), U.S. Pat. No.
5,194,300 to Cheung (1993) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,189 to Schwartz
(1988) disclose methods for preparation of colored or fluorescent
microspheres by covalent attachment of either one or a plurality of
dyes to reactive groups on the preformed particle surface.
Battersby et al., "Toward Larger Chemical Libraries Encoding with
Fluorescent Colloids in Combinatorial Chemistry" J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2000, 122, 2138-2139; Grondahl et al., "Encoding Combinatorial
Libraries: A Novel Application of Fluorescent Silica Colloids",
Langmuir 2000, 16, 9709-9715; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,222 to
Chandler et al. (2001) describe a method of producing fluorescent
microspheres by attaching to the surface of a carrier microparticle
a set of smaller polymeric particles that are stained.
[0021] D. Encapsulation Methods
[0022] Formation of fluorescent particles by encapsulation utilizes
a solution of a preformed polymer and one or more dyes. In one
approach, the solution is dispensed in the form of a droplet using
a vibrating nozzle or jet, and the solvent is removed to produce
polymer particles encapsulating the dye. This process requires
specialized process equipment and displays only limited throughput.
Alternatively, a polymer dye mixture is emulsified in a
high-boiling solvent and the solution is evaporated to yield
polymer-encapsulated dye particles. This process often generates
non-spherical particles with broad size distribution.
[0023] U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,492 to Fulwyler et al. (1974) discloses
a method to produce uniform fluorescent microspheres from a
pre-dissolved polymer and dye solution using a jet. U.S. Pat. No.
4,717,655 to Fulwyler et al. (1988) discloses a process which
includes two dyes in pre-designated ratios in a polymer
microparticle to produce five distinguishable two-color
particles.
[0024] The various prior art methods of producing fluorescent
microparticles suffer from certain disadvantages. Where strong
swelling solvents are used, the microparticles must be cross-linked
to prevent them from disintegrating and deforming in the dye
solution. This constraint represents a severe limitation since the
majority of dyes require for their dissolution at any reasonable
concentration solvent systems in which most polymer particles of
interest, notably polystyrene particles, also will dissolve. These
considerations have restricted the application of solvent swelling
in the prior art to chemically stabilized ("cross-linked")
microparticles. This restriction introduces additional difficulty
and cost in microparticle synthesis; highly cross-linked particles
are often very difficult to synthesize. Also, restriction to
cross-linked particles limits the degree of microparticle swelling
and thus the degree of dye incorporation. Specifically, the
application of solvent swelling protocols of the prior art
conducted on cross-linked microparticles generally limits
penetration of the dye to the outer layer of the microparticle,
thereby precluding uniform staining of the entire interior volume
of individual particles and generally also precluding the
realization of high levels of dye incorporation. What is needed is
a process that can utilize non-cross-linked, as well as
cross-linked, particles. What is needed is a method that will
provide dye-loaded non-cross-linked polymer microparticles, which
may be used, for example, to prepare libraries of dyed
microparticles having containing different dyes and/or different
dye amounts.
[0025] The degree of particle swelling in prior art solvent
swelling-based methods of dye incorporation determines the rate of
dye transport into the particles. Diffusion barriers lead to
non-uniform dye distribution in the microparticles. For this
reason, intense micro-mixing (brought about by either efficient
mechanical mixing or by sonication) is required in order to produce
uniformly stained populations of microparticles. These vigorous
mixing procedures, while effective for laboratory scale
preparation, are not easily adapted to larger scales. For example,
sonication often requires specialized equipment such as probe
sonicators, and limits the parallel completion of multiple staining
reactions. What is needed is a dyed particle manufacturing process
that requires less vigorous mixing or no mixing, and permits
parallel staining reactions to be performed.
[0026] Microparticles stained by prior art swelling methods are
vulnerable to subsequent exposure to solvents that may cause
substantial loss of dye and may preclude the implementation of
protocols providing for multiple sequential dye incorporation
steps.
[0027] In the prior art methods, the degree of dye partitioning
into the polymer matrix is controlled by explicit variation of the
initial concentration of dye in the dye solution. This approach,
while permitting the realization of multiple, distinct levels of
dye inclusion, suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example,
high levels of staining frequently are not attainable because of
the limited solubility of the dye in the bath. Even when solubility
is not an issue, the low partition coefficients of many dyes
requires a large excess of dye in solution introducing the risk of
deleterious effects on subsequent bioanalytical assays. In fact,
when carboxylate-modified beads are prepared by prior art
solvent-swelling methods, the carboxyl function may become
inoperative, and may be no longer available for functionalization
by covalent coupling to other chemical groups. In addition,
valuable dye material is lost in significant quantities. What is
needed is a process for preparing stained microparticles, and
fluorescent microparticles in particular, that achieves dye
incorporation even from poorly soluble dye/solvent formulations.
What is needed is a process that allows for precise control of the
solute (dye) loading level in polymer microparticles during the
staining process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0028] According to one embodiment, a method for modulating the
loading of a solute in polymer microparticles is provided. The
method comprises:
[0029] (a) providing: [0030] (i) at least one first solvent in
which the solute and the microparticle polymer are soluble; [0031]
(ii) at least one second solvent in which the solute and the
microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first
and second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
[0032] (iii) at least one third solvent in which the solute and the
microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third
solvent being miscible with the first and second solvents;
[0033] (b) forming a suspension of said polymer microparticles in a
designated volume of a mixture comprising at least one second
solvent and at least one third solvent;
[0034] (c) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension a
solution comprising a solute dissolved in said first solvent
whereby the solute is taken up by the microparticles to provide a
suspension of microparticles characterized by a desired
concentration of said solute in the microparticles;
[0035] (d) changing the concentration of said solute in at least a
portion of the microparticles to a selected second solute
concentration by adding to the microparticle suspension or fraction
thereof a selected amount of the solute, a selected amount of at
least one second solvent, or combination of solute and second
solvent, whereby less than complete partitioning of the solute from
the suspension liquid phase to the microparticles takes place.
[0036] According to one embodiment, the selected second solute
concentration is achieved by adding to the suspension of
microparticles characterized by the first solute loading
concentration a selected amount of at least one second solvent.
According to another embodiment, a plurality of microparticle
fractions of selected solute concentrations are provided by
dividing the suspension of microparticles characterized by the
first solute concentration into fractions, and adding selected
amounts of a second solvent to the fractions.
[0037] According to another embodiment of the invention, a method
for modulating the solute loading of polymer microparticles
comprises:
[0038] (a) providing: [0039] (i) at least one first solvent in
which the solute and the microparticle polymer are soluble; [0040]
(ii) at least one second solvent in which the solute and the
microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first
and second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
[0041] (iii) providing at least one third solvent in which the
solute and the microparticle polymer are not or only weakly
soluble, said third solvent being miscible with the first and
second solvents;
[0042] (b) forming a suspension of said polymer microparticles in a
designated volume of a mixture comprising at least one second
solvent and at least one third solvent;
[0043] (c) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension a
solution of solute dissolved in said first solvent whereby the
solute is taken up by the microparticles to provide a suspension of
microparticles characterized by a desired first concentration of
the solute;
[0044] (d) continuously or semi-continuously adding second solvent
to the microparticle suspension to continuously or
semi-continuously modulate the microparticle solute
concentration;
[0045] (e) removing at least one portion of said microparticles
from the suspension at a time interval during the course of said
second solvent addition to provide at least two microparticle sets
which differ in solute concentration.
[0046] In another embodiment, the invention is a method for
modulating the dye loading of polymer microparticles
comprising:
[0047] (a) providing microparticles characterized by a first
concentration of at least one dye contained in said microparticles,
said microparticles suspended in a dye solution comprising the at
least one dye and a solvent system comprising: [0048] (i) at least
one first solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer
are soluble; [0049] (ii) at least one second solvent in which the
dye and the polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first and
second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
[0050] (iii) at least one third solvent in which the dye and the
polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third solvent being
miscible with the first and second solvents;
[0051] (b) adding to said microparticle suspension a selected
amount of the second solvent to change the amount of the dye
partitioning to the polymer microparticles and the concentration of
dye in said microparticles; and
[0052] (c) incubating the microparticle suspension for a period of
time so that the amount of dye partitioning to the microparticles,
for a given initial dye concentration in the dye solution, is
determined by the amount of second solvent added to the
microparticle suspension.
[0053] In yet another embodiment, the invention is a method of
producing dyed polymer microparticles comprising:
[0054] (a) providing: [0055] (i) at least one first solvent in
which the dye and the microparticle polymer are soluble; [0056]
(ii) at least one second solvent in which the dye and the
microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first
and second solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible;
[0057] (iii) at least one third solvent in which the dye and the
microparticle polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said third
solvent being miscible with the first and second solvents;
[0058] (b) forming a suspension of said polymer microparticles in a
designated volume of a mixture comprising at least one second
solvent and at least one third solvent;
[0059] (c) adding to said polymer microparticle suspension a
solution comprising the dye dissolved in said first solvent whereby
the dye is taken up by the microparticles to provide a master-batch
suspension of microparticles characterized by a first concentration
of said dye in the microparticles;
[0060] (d) creating two or more aliquots from said microparticle
master-batch suspension containing selected added amounts of second
solvent to change the amount of dye partitioning to the polymer
microparticles in said aliquots; and
[0061] (e) incubating the microparticle suspension aliquots for a
period of time so that the amount of dye partitioning to the
microparticles, for a given initial dye concentration in the dye
solution, is determined by the amount of second solvent added to
the microparticle suspension aliquots.
[0062] An automated method for producing dyed polymer
microparticles is also provided. The method comprises:
[0063] (a) providing a microparticle master-batch suspension
comprising microparticles characterized by a first dye state, said
microparticles suspended in a dye solution comprising at least one
dye and a solvent system comprising: [0064] (i) at least one first
solvent in which the dye and the microparticle polymer are soluble;
[0065] (ii) at least one second solvent in which the dye and the
polymer are not or only weakly soluble, said first and second
solvents being immiscible or at most partially miscible; [0066]
(iii) at least one third solvent in which the dye and the polymer
are not or only weakly soluble, said third solvent being miscible
with the first and second solvents;
[0067] (b) creating two or more microparticle suspension aliquots
from said master-batch suspension, each such suspension aliquot
characterized by microparticles of said first dye state suspended
in said dye solution;
[0068] (c) executing, at least once for each created aliquot, the
following sequence of steps to transform the microparticle dye
state in each aliquot from said first dye state to a selected
second dye state: [0069] (i) computing, for the selected second dye
state: [0070] (1) the amount of dye dissolved in said first
solvent, and [0071] (2) the amount of second solvent, required to
be added to said aliquot to attain said selected second
microparticle dye state; and [0072] (ii) dispensing to said aliquot
the amount of dye dissolved in said first solvent and the amount of
second solvent required to attain said selected second
microparticle dye state.
[0073] An apparatus for producing dyed polymer microparticles
comprises a computer operatively connected to a pipetting robot,
wherein the computer is programmed to carry out the aforesaid
automated method
[0074] The step of creating said two or more microparticle
suspension aliquots containing selected added amounts of second
solvent may comprise dividing the microparticle suspension
master-batch into two or more aliquots, and adding selected amounts
of second solvent to said aliquots. Alternatively, the step of
creating the two or more microparticle suspension aliquots
containing selected added amounts of second solvent may comprise
continuously or semi-continuously adding second solvent to the
microparticle suspension master-batch and removing at least one
portion of the master-batch at a time interval during the course of
the second solvent addition. The result is the formation of two or
more microparticle suspension aliquots containing selected added
amounts of second solvent.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0075] FIG. 1(a) is a schematic representation of a ternary solvent
solution for use in the present invention.
[0076] FIG. 1(b) is a diagram of the sequence of steps of an
embodiment of the invention.
[0077] FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional plot of the level of dye
incorporation into polymer microparticles in a solvent bath
according to the present invention as a function of three
variables. (X) is the mass of dye in the bath (represented as the
concentration of the dye, C.sup.(s), multiplied by the volume of
the dye added to the bath, V.sup.(s)) divided by the volume of the
microparticles, V.sup.(p). (Y) is the volume fraction of the
microparticles in the bath, .phi..sup.(p), divided by the volume
fraction of solvent, .phi..sup.(s). (Z) is the concentration of dye
contained in the microparticles, C.sup.(p). Thus, the (Z) axis
represents the mass of dye partitioned into the microparticle
divided by the microparticle volume. The volume fraction of the
particles, .phi..sup.(p), is given by the equation
.phi..sup.(p)=(1-.phi..sup.(s)). Line (P.sub.0) in plane (X,Z)
represents dye partitioning as a function of X into microparticles
in the absence of tuning solvent. Line (P.sub.1) represents dye
partitioning into microparticles as a function of the mass of dye
in the bath (X) in the presence of a volume fraction, .phi., of
tuning solvent.
[0078] FIG. 3(a) is a schematic diagram of a parallel processing
embodiment of the invention for producing n sub-populations
(F.sub.n(S.sub.n)) of fluorescently stained microparticles, from n
solvent system/microparticle suspensions B.sub.n. Each suspension
contains a designated amount S.sub.n of tuning solvent.
[0079] FIG. 3(b) is a schematic diagram of a serial processing
embodiment of the invention for producing n sub-populations of
fluorescently stained microparticles from a single reaction. [B]
Represents a pre-incubated master-batch of solvent
system/microparticle suspension, to which a continuous stream of
tuning solvent is fed. F.sub.n(S.sub.n) represent fractions of the
microparticle suspension removed from the master-batch at times
t=t.sub.Fn. The fractions contain S.sub.n amounts of tuning
solvent.
[0080] FIG. 3(c) is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the
invention for producing n sub-populations F.sub.n(S.sub.n) of
fluorescently stained microparticles by a combination of series and
parallel processing. [B] Represents a pre-incubated master-batch of
solvent system/microparticle suspension to which a known amount of
tuning solvent, S(t.sub.F), is fed. The master-batch is then split
into n different aliquots, B.sub.n, to which n different designated
amounts of tuning solvent, .delta.S.sub.n are added.
[0081] FIG. 3(d) is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the
invention for producing m.times.n sub-populations F.sub.m(S.sub.m,
D.sub.n) of fluorescently stained microparticles by serial followed
by parallel processing, using a combination of solvent tuning and
dye addition. S.sub.m denotes the amounts of tuning solvent, and
D.sub.n the amounts of fluorescent dye, added to the various
sub-populations F.sub.m(S.sub.m, D.sub.n).
[0082] FIG. 4 is a plot of the fluorescence of the collection of
particles prepared according to Example 1, below.
[0083] FIG. 5 is a plot of the fluorescence of the collection of
particles prepared according to Example 2, below.
[0084] FIG. 6(a) is a fluorescence calibration curve plotting the
intensity of fluorescence at emission wavelength 512 nm versus dye
concentration for the green fluorescent dye
4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoic
acid, succinimidyl ester, dissolved in ethanol.
[0085] FIG. 6(b) is a plot of the variation of the calculated
amount of green fluorescent dye entrapped in particles as a
function of the water volume fraction utilized in preparing the
particles of Examples 3-6.
[0086] FIG. 6(c) is a plot of the variation of the calculated
amount of green fluorescent dye entrapped in particles as a
function of the green fluorescent dye intensity for the particles
of Examples 3-6.
[0087] FIG. 6(d) is plot of the variation of the partition
coefficient of the green fluorescent dye as a function of Y (where,
Y=(1=.phi..sub.s/.phi..sub.s).
[0088] FIG. 7 is a plot of the fluorescence of the collection of
particles prepared according to Example 26.
[0089] FIG. 8 is a plot of the fluorescence emitted by the
particles produced according to Example 30.
[0090] FIG. 9 is a plot of the fluorescence emitted by the
particles produced according to Example 31.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0091] The distribution of a solute between two immiscible phases
designated 1 and 2 is governed by the partition coefficient, K,
which represents the ratio of the equilibrium amounts of solute (N)
in the two phases, that is, K=[N.sub.1/N.sub.2].
[0092] The present invention provides methods to tune the partition
coefficient, K, governing the distribution of a solute between two
substantially immiscible phases, that is, distribution between a
liquid continuous phase and a dispersed solid phase comprising
solid particles dispersed in the liquid continuous phase. Thus, the
invention provides for the controlled introduction of solutes into
polymer microparticles in solvent systems. The solute may comprise
any material which may be partitioned to the polymer microparticle
phase, such as dyes, pigments, drugs, catalysts, nanoparticles, or
any other useful material for which loading onto or into a polymer
microparticle is desired.
[0093] In a preferred embodiment, the solute is a dye, and the
invention is illustrated hereinafter by the partition of dye
(solute), between two substantially immiscible phases, namely a
population of preformed polymer microparticle (phase 1) and a
homogeneous ternary solvent mixture (phase 2). The microparticles
comprise a solid phase. The solvent mixture comprises a liquid
phase. The dye may be any substance capable of imparting a desired
color or desired fluorescence to a polymer microparticle. Thus, the
dye may comprise a chromophore or a fluorophore. The amount of dye
incorporated in the microparticles is precisely controlled by
tuning, for given initial dye concentration, the composition of the
ternary solvent mixture. As illustrated below, the method is
capable of producing populations of distinguishable dye-stained
microparticles containing reproducible pre-determined levels of
dye, i.e. "dye encoding", with minimal intra-sample variation of
dye content.
[0094] The method of the present invention thus introduces solvent
composition as a novel control parameter for the preparation of
stained microparticles by providing for the quantitative
adjustment, over a wide range, of the partition coefficient
governing the distribution of dye between dye bath and
microparticles. Specifically, the partition coefficient, K, of the
dye under solvent tuning obeys the following relation: K=a exp(bY),
where Y=(1-.phi..sub.s)/.phi..sub.s; .phi..sub.s denotes the volume
fraction of the solvent; and (a) and (b) are constants.
[0095] Dye encoding according to the present invention results from
varying the dye loading of the particles. By "loading" with respect
to the dye contained in a microparticle is meant the amount and/or
character of the dye incorporated into the microparticle. The
loading can thus vary by at least one property selected from the
(i) amount of incorporated dye and (ii) the identity of
incorporated dye. Encoding may thus take the form of varying the
amount of a single dye as between different sets of microparticle,
varying the chemical nature of the dye (using different dyes, or
different combinations of dyes), or both.
[0096] A homogenous ternary solvent mixture according to the
present invention for the preparation of dyed microparticles,
particularly fluorescently dyed microparticles, is schematically
illustrated in FIG. 1(a). Solvent #1 is a strong solvent for both
the dye and the polymer from which the microparticle is formed.
Solvent #2, also referred to herein as the "tuning solvent", is a
weak solvent or non-solvent for the dye and the polymer. In a
preferred embodiment, Solvent #2 is an aqueous solvent, preferably
water. Solvents #1 and #2 are either immiscible or partially
miscible with respect to each other. A third solvent, Solvent #3,
is a weak solvent or non-solvent for the dye and polymer, but
serves as a co-solvent with respect to Solvents #1 and #2 in that
it is miscible with both Solvents #1 and #2. In a preferred
embodiment, Solvent #3 is an alcohol.
[0097] The prior art "swelling" methods of microparticle dye
incorporation are limited by the narrow range of choices of
available solvents for dyes of interest, generally requiring the
use of cross-linked particles. These prior art methods involve
identifying a solvent of choice in which the dye is soluble over a
range of concentrations, and preparing a dye solution of desired
concentration. Then, the dye solution is contacted with the polymer
microparticles for a period of time so as to permit the dye to
penetrate into in the microparticles.
[0098] Prior art swelling methods of fluorescent particle
production suffer from limited dye solubility in the dye bath. Even
when dye solubility is not an issue, the low partition coefficient
of many dyes for the polymer requires a large excess of valuable
fluorescent dye, which is lost. In contrast, the present invention
produces microparticles of very high dye content, even from poorly
soluble dye/solvent formulations. This aspect of the invention
reflects the fact that the dye in the bath may be completely
depleted by solvent tuning.
[0099] In contrast to prior art solvent swelling based methods, the
dye incorporation method of the present invention may be used with
equal efficacy for the dyeing of non-cross-linked as well as
cross-linked particles. By "cross-linked" as describing a polymer
comprising a microparticle is meant a polymer in which chains are
joined together to form a three-dimensional network structure.
Cross-linking can be carried out during the polymerization process
by use of a cross-linking agent, that is, an agent which has two or
more groups capable of reacting with functional groups on the
polymer chain. Cross-linked polymers may also be prepared by the
polymerization of monomers with an average functionality greater
than two.
[0100] The invention thus provides, for the first time, dye-loaded
microparticles that are composed of a non-cross-linked polymer.
This is a significant improvement because highly cross-linked
particles are often very difficult to synthesize. Furthermore,
unlike many prior art particle-dyeing methods that rely on intense
mixing to achieve uniformity in dye staining of the microparticles,
the present method requires only mild agitation. The mild agitation
is required merely to keep the particles suspended. This is a
significant improvement over prior art methods because the intense
mixing of those methods requires specialized equipment and is
difficult to scale up.
[0101] Polymer cross-linking generally restrains swelling of
microparticles formed from cross-linked polymers, and also prevents
penetration of the dye into the particle. As a result, the dye is
restricted to a thin outer layer of the microparticle, and limits
the dye loading. The ability to utilize non-cross-linked polymers
as the microparticle material allows, for the first time, the
production of dyed polymer microparticles that are characterized by
a substantially uniform dye distribution throughout the volume of
the microparticle. By "substantially uniform" is meant that the
stained particle produces a symmetric and unimodal fluorescent
intensity profile under conditions of fluorescent imaging. In
contrast, a surface-stained particle (where the fluorescent agent
is confined to the surface, or to a shallow region close to the
surface) produces a symmetric but bimodal fluorescent intensity
profile.
[0102] In some circumstances, it may be desirable to obtain a
controlled non-uniform dye distribution in the microparticle. Less
than complete dye penetration can be achieved by removing the
microparticle from the staining bath before the microparticle phase
dye has reached equilibrium with the liquid phase dye. The extent
of dye penetration is determined by the microparticles' incubation
time in the staining bath. Removal of the particles from the bath
prior to equilibration results in a symmetric but bimodal
fluorescent intensity profile. The shape of the particle
fluorescence intensity profile, in particular the location of
intensity peaks, is a function of the pre-equilibration incubation
time. Thus, microparticle incubation time in the staining bath
provides a further dimension for microparticle encoding.
Microparticle sets of varied fluorescence intensity profiles may be
produced, using the same dye but by varying the microparticle
incubation times in the staining bath. Multiple dyes may be
utilized to provide even greater encoding.
[0103] According to the present invention, the amount of dye
incorporated into the microparticles is controlled by adjusting the
ratio of dye with respect to polymer, and by adjusting the
composition of the dye bath. In particular, and in contrast to
prior art methods, the volume fraction of one constituent of the
ternary solvent system, namely the tuning solvent, is conveniently
varied so as to control the partitioning of the dye between the
solvent and the polymer comprising the microparticles. Unlike prior
art methods, the invention provides considerably greater
flexibility in dye selection and solvent system formulation.
Considerably greater control of dye partitioning is achieved using
a multi-constituent solvent system. As elaborated below, the method
of the invention takes advantage of an exponential dependence of
the partition coefficient K on solvent composition and thereby
attains greater control of dye incorporation than is achievable by
the prior art "swelling` methods. Rather than tuning the partition
coefficient, prior art methods simply vary the initial dye
concentration in the bath, and thereby achieve a proportional
variation in the dye content of the microparticle (the
proportionality constant being the partition coefficient K).
[0104] FIG. 2 contrasts the solvent tuning method of the present
invention in the context of varying dye partitioning into polymer
microparticles with the swelling method of the prior art. Points
X.sub.1.sup.(1), X.sub.2.sup.(1) and X.sub.3.sup.(1), each
represent the mass of dye in the solvent system divided by the
volume of the microparticles contained in the system. Points
Z.sub.1.sup.(1), Z.sub.2.sup.(1) and Z.sub.3.sup.(1) each represent
the corresponding concentration of dye incorporated into
microparticles The level of dye incorporation into the
microparticles is linearly related (line P.sub.o) to the mass of
dye in the solvent system, the slope of the line being a function
of the partition coefficient K. It will thus be appreciated that
the prior art solvent-swelling methods confine the trajectories
available for the preparation of stained microparticles to the XZ
plane. Multiple sub-populations of dyed microparticles are obtained
only by explicitly varying the solvent bath initial dye
concentration (for a given number of microparticles to be stained)
to produce a corresponding proportional variation in the level of
dye incorporated into loading of the particles.
[0105] In contrast, the present invention introduces solvent
composition as a new variable to control the process of producing a
multiplicity of stained microparticles. It may be appreciated from
a consideration of FIG. 2 that the present invention provides for
an entire additional dimension of parameter space (Y) for the
preparation of stained microparticles by permitting trajectories
within a 3-d parameter space (XYZ). For example, starting from the
compositions Z.sub.1.sup.(1), Z.sub.2.sup.(1) and Z.sub.3.sup.(1),
distinct particle sub-populations displaying well-defined and
predictable levels of dye incorporation Z.sub.1.sup.(2),
Z.sub.2.sup.(2)), Z.sub.3.sup.(2) are prepared by following the
non-linear operating curves shown in FIG. 2. At any fixed solvent
composition (fixed Y) Z and X are related to each other in a linear
fashion (line OP.sub.1, for a solvent composition with the volume
fraction of tuning solvent=.phi.).
[0106] Accordingly, any point in the three-dimensional parameter
space XYZ of FIG. 2 may be approached along a multiplicity of
trajectories. In turn, each trajectory permits the preparation of
multiple sub-populations of stained microparticles in a predictable
manner. The methods of the present invention, by operating in a
regime governed by thermodynamic equilibrium and providing
quantitative expressions for these trajectories, permit the
rational design of protocols for the preparation of multiple
sub-populations of stained particles.
[0107] Without wishing to be bound by any theory, the operation of
the present invention for controlling the partitioning of a solute
(dye) between a liquid continuous phase and a dispersed solid phase
(microparticles) may be described by the following mathematical
relationships.
[0108] The equation Z=G(X, Y) governs the transformation of the
system from a first state, {X.sub.1, Y.sub.1, Z.sub.1} to a desired
second state {X.sub.2, Y.sub.2, Z.sub.2}, wherein the concentration
of the solute (dye) in the dispersed (microparticle) phase (Z) is a
function of the concentration of solute (X) and solvent composition
(Y). The desired second state {X.sub.2, Y.sub.2, Z.sub.2} is
selected from a multiplicity of possible such second states
accessible from the given first state, by adjusting X and Y in a
prescribed fashion in accordance with the equation Z=G(X, Y). The
relationship is governed by the variables (X), (Y) and (Z), which
are defined as follows:
X=C.sup.(S){.phi..sup.(S)/.phi..sup.(P)}
Y={.phi..sup.(P)/.phi..sup.(S)}
Z=C.sup.(P)
wherein:
[0109] .phi..sup.(P)={V.sup.(P)/(V.sup.(P)+V.sup.(S))}=volume
fraction of particle phase
[0110] .phi..sup.(S)=(1-.phi..sup.(P))=volume fraction of the
solvent phase
[0111] C.sup.(S)=concentration of solute in solution phase at
equilibrium
[0112] C.sup.(P)=concentration of solute in particle phase at
equilibrium
[0113] V.sup.(P)=volume of particle phase
[0114] V.sup.(S)=volume of solvent phase.
The distribution of the solute (dye) between the particle phase (P)
and the solvent phase (S) is governed by the partition coefficient,
K:
K={N.sup.(P)/N.sup.(S)}
wherein N.sup.(P) is the number of solute molecules in the particle
phase at equilibrium, and N.sup.(S) is the number of solute
molecules in the solvent phase at equilibrium.
[0115] Thus, the value of the partition coefficient K in state 1 is
given as
K.sub.1=N.sup.(P).sub.1/N.sup.(S).sub.1
and the value of the partition coefficient K in state 2 is given
as
K.sub.2=N.sup.(P).sub.2/N.sup.(S).sub.2.
[0116] Applying the following mass balance equations,
N.sup.T.sub.1=N.sup.T.sub.2 for the total amount of solute (1)
N.sup.(P).sub.1+N.sup.(S).sub.1+.DELTA.N.sup.(S).sub.1=N.sup.T.sub.1
for the total number of solute in state 1 (2)
N.sup.(P).sub.2+N.sup.(S).sub.2=N.sup.T.sub.2 for the total number
of solute in state 2 (3)
wherein N.sup.T.sub.i is the total amount (number) of solute
molecules in state i, and .DELTA.N.sup.(S).sub.i is the number of
additional solute molecules added to the solvent phase in state i,
results in the following iterative equations:
X.sub.2={(1+K.sub.1)/(1+K.sub.2)}X.sub.1+{1/(1+K.sub.2)}.DELTA.X.sub.1
(4)
Y.sub.2=Y.sub.1+.DELTA.Y.sub.1 (5)
Z.sub.2={(1+K.sub.1.sup.-1)/(1+K.sub.2.sup.-1)}Z.sub.1+{1/(1+K.sub.2.sup-
.-1)}.DELTA.X.sub.1 (6)
[0117] In the special case of maintaining the variable Y constant,
that is, transforming state 1 into state 2 solely by addition of
solute so that K.sub.1=K.sub.2, the following equation is
obtained:
Z.sub.2=Z.sub.1+{1/(1+K.sup.-1)}.DELTA.X.sub.1 (7)
Further, the dependence of Z on X and Y is obtained in the form
Z=K(Y)X. The dependence of the partition coefficient, K, on Y
reflects the fact that addition of tuning solvent to the solvent
phase diminishes the capacity of solvent to dissolve the solute and
therefore causes redistribution of solute into the available
dispersed phase. Specifically, experimental data and analysis
support the following functional formula:
K=aexp(bY) (8)
where a and b are constants determined from the analysis of data
such as those presented in FIG. 6d.
[0118] Accordingly, the present invention provides an explicit set
of prescriptions to effect the desired state transformation.
Specifically, an entire series of second states may be produced by
transformation of a single first state.
[0119] The above transformation equations, particularly in their
iterative form as provided herein, facilitate the automated
production of collections of dye-modified microparticles using a
personal computer and a standard automated pipetting instrument
("robot") to dispense requisite metered aliquots of dye or other
solute as well as tuning solvent. A software application, developed
in any standard programming language such as BASIC or C, is used to
evaluate the iterative transformation equations. The program
computes requisite aliquots of dye and tuning solvent. The
pipetting robot is accordingly controlled to meter and dispense
these requisite aliquots using a standard laboratory instrument
control interface such as a GPIB protocol and a standard software
development environment such as LabView (National Instruments). For
example, using a master batch as disclosed herein, sets of stained
microparticles are readily prepared by such a system by executing
the steps of dispensing one or more aliquots of the master batch to
produce a first state of the suspension, computing requisite
amounts of dye and dye solvent to attain a desired second state of
the suspension, dispensing said requisite amounts of solute and dye
solvents, and permitting the transformation to occur. These steps
are repeated as desired.
[0120] Dyeing of functional group-modified microparticles by prior
art selling methods may adversely affect the integrity of the
functional group. As demonstrated by Example 28, below, functional
group-modified particles may be dyed according to the practice of
the present invention without loss of functional group
integrity.
[0121] It may be appreciated that one of ordinary skill in the art
may utilize readily available information to select microparticle
chemistries, solvents and dyes in accordance with the solubility
parameters described herein, for practicing the present
invention.
[0122] It will also be apparent from the description of the process
of the invention that any polymer may be used to provide the
polymer particles provided a stable dispersion of the polymer
particles is available or can be made. The material may comprise a
homopolymer or copolymer, the latter term meant to include not only
polymers formed of two monomer units, but also polymers formed of
three or more monomer units, sometimes termed "terpolymers".
Hydrophobic polymers are preferred. Polymers comprising monomers of
the vinyl class, that is, monomers containing the vinyl group, are
particularly preferred, most particularly the styrene group. One
group of preferred polymers includes polystyrene or polystyrene
copolymers containing from about 50% to about 100% by weight
styrene monomer units. The polymer optionally may be cross-linked
or uncross-linked. In one embodiment, the microparticle is formed
of polystyrene cross-linked with 1% divinylbenzene, based on the
weight of the microparticle. In another embodiment, the
microparticle comprises styrene/methacrylic acid copolymer
containing from about 0.6 to about 1% methacrylic acid, based on
the weight of the microparticle.
[0123] Suitable polymeric materials include, by way of example and
not by way of limitation, polymers of the following monomers:
[0124] acrylic acid, or any ester thereof, such as methyl acrylate,
ethyl acrylate, propyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethyl hexyl
acrylate or glycidyl acrylate;
[0125] methacrylic acid, or any ester thereof, such as methyl
methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl methacrylate, butyl
methacrylate, lauryl mathacrylate, cetyl methacrylate, stearyl
mathacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol
dimethacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate or N,N-(methacryloxy hydroxy
propyl)-(hydroxy alkyl)amino ethyl amidazolidinone;
[0126] allyl esters such as allyl methacrylate;
[0127] itaconic acid, or ester thereof;
[0128] crotonic acid, or ester thereof;
[0129] maleic acid, or ester thereof, such as dibutyl maleate,
dioctyl maleate, dioctyl maleate or diethyl maleate;
[0130] styrene, or substituted derivatives thereof such as ethyl
styrene, butyl styrene or divinyl benzene;
[0131] monomer units which include an amine functionality, such as
dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate or butyl amino ethyl
methacrylate;
[0132] monomer units which include an amide functionality, such as
acrylamide or methacrylamide;
[0133] vinyl-containing monomers such as vinyl ethers; vinyl
thioethers; vinyl alcohols; vinyl ketones; vinyl halides, such as
vinyl chlorides; vinyl esters, such as vinyl acetate or vinyl
versatate; vinyl nitriles, such as acrylonitrile or
methacrylonitrile;
[0134] vinylidene halides, such as vinylidene chloride and
vinylidene fluoride;
[0135] tetrafluoroethylene;
[0136] diene monomers, such as butadiene and isoprene; and
[0137] allyl ethers, such as allyl glycidyl ether.
[0138] Particularly preferred homopolymers and copolymers
comprising vinyl-containing monomers include polystyrene,
poly(methyl methacrylate), polyacrylamide, poly(ethylene glycol),
poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate), poly(vinyltoluene) and
poly(divinylbenzene).
[0139] Suitable polymeric materials may include, by way of example
and not by way of limitation the following polymers: polyoxides,
such as poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide); polyesters,
such as poly(ethylene terepthalate); polyurethane; polysulfonate;
polysiloxanes, such as poly(dimethyl siloxane); polysulfide;
polyacetylene; polysulfone; polysulfonamide; polyamides such as
polycaprolactam and poly(hexamethylene adipamide); polyimine;
polyurea; heterocyclic polymers such as polyvinylpyridine and
polyvinyl pyrrolidinone; naturally occurring polymers such as
natural rubber, gelatin, cellulose; polycarbonate; polyanhydride;
and polyalkenes such as polyethylene, polypropylene and
ethylene-propylene copolymer.
[0140] The polymeric material may contain functional groups such as
carboxylates, esters, amines, aldehydes, alcohols, or halides that
provide sites for the attachment of chemical or biological moieties
desirable to enhance the utility of the particles in chemical or
biological analyses. Methods for preparing microparticles from such
polymers are well known in the art. Representative procedures for
preparing microparticles as well as cross-linked microparticles are
set forth in the Preparative Examples, below.
[0141] The methods of the present invention also may be applied to
the staining of core-shell microparticles. Core-shell
microparticles comprise a central core of one or more core polymers
and a shell of one or more shell polymers containing the core. The
polymer shell may be formed by any polymer-coating technique.
Core-shell morphology is thermodynamically favored if the
shell-forming polymer exhibits higher polarity, or lower
interfacial tension than does the core-forming polymer. Core-shell
morphology also is favored if the volume fraction of the
shell-forming polymer is greater than that of the core-forming
polymer. Thus, synthesis of core-shell particles is performed at a
shell/core weight ratio greater than 1. In certain embodiments, the
core polymer is hydrophobic and the shell polymer is relatively
hydrophilic and carries functional groups of interest.
[0142] Copolymers of styrene and a monomer more hydrophilic than
styrene (e.g., methacrylic acid) are preferred for the core polymer
over polystyrene homopolymer. The comonomer serves to decrease the
hydrophobicity of the core and to render it more compatible with
the hydrophilic shell polymerization compositions.
[0143] Within these constraints, any monomer or combination of
monomers may be selected as the shell polymer. A mixture of vinyl
monomers is preferred. According to one embodiment of the
invention, a monomer mixture of methyl methacrylate as the major
constituent, and hydroxyethyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid as
minor constituents, is used to form a shell over a polystyrene or
modified polystyrene core. One such monomer mixture is composed of,
by weight, about 6% hydroxyethyl methacrylate, from about 5% to
about 20% methacrylic acid, the balance being methyl methacrylate.
These monomers are more hydrophilic than polystyrene.
[0144] Microparticle size may be chosen appropriately for the
intended end use. Typically, particles will range in size from
about 0.1 to about 100 microns in diameter, more typically from
about 0.5 to about 50 microns, even more typically from about 2 to
about 10 microns. Preferably, the microparticles are
"monodisperse", that is, microparticles in a set have a narrow size
range, preferably displaying a coefficient of variation of the mean
diameter ("CV") of no more than about 5%.
[0145] Microparticles may be rendered magnetically responsive by
incorporation of an appropriate magnetic material, before or after
staining, according to well-known procedures. According to one such
method, particles are impregnated with a ferrofluid, such as a
ferrofluid prepared according to Example 19. By "magnetically
responsive" is meant the ability to change location or orientation
in response to application of a magnetic field.
[0146] The dye may comprise any dye that imparts a visual or
machine-observable color or fluorescence. The color or fluorescence
may be detectable with the naked eye or with the aid of a
microscope or other optical instrument. The preferred fluorescent
dyes are styryl dyes, such as p-bis(o-methylstyryl)benzene;
pyromethane dyes such as fluorescent green dye
4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-penta-
noic acid, succinimidyl ester and the fluorescent orange dye
4,4-difluoro-5-(2-thienyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diazo-s-indacene-3-propionic
acid-succinimidyl ester; and coumarin dyes such as methoxycoumarin.
Preferred are those fluorescent dyes having emission wavelengths in
the range from about 400 nm to about 1000 nm. When more than one
dye is used, the dyes can be selected so that they have
substantially different absorption spectra, emission spectra or
emission lifetimes.
[0147] According to one embodiment, the microparticle comprises a
polystyrene polymer or copolymer and the dye is a hydrophobic dye.
Possible solvents are selected, for example, from Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Candidate solvents for polystyrene
microparticle and hydrophobic dye combination Solvent #1: Good
Solvent #2: Weak Solvent #3: Weak solvent for hydro- solvent or
non-solvent solvent or non-solvent phobic dye and for hydrophobic
dye for hydrophobic dye polystyrene and polystyrene and polystyrene
microparticle microparticle microparticle (Dye Solvent) (Tuning
Solvent) (Co-Solvent) methylene chloride water Acetone chloroform
lower alcohols, tetrahydrofuran especially methanol, dioxane
ethanol and isopropanol cyclohexane benzene toluene butylacetate
lower chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons.
[0148] A representative system utilizing a polar, water-soluble dye
is composed of poly(ethylene oxide) microparticles in a ternary
solvent system comprising water as Solvent #1; hexane as Solvent
#2; and dioxane as Solvent #3.
[0149] From the solvents listed in the above table and a standard
solvent miscibility chart, several ternary solvent systems may be
designed for a combination of polystyrene polymer or copolymer and
hydrophobic dye in accordance with the present invention. For
example, a hydrophobic dye solute may be dissolved in a liquid
phase consisting of a homogeneous ternary mixture of water (tuning
solvent, Solvent #2), alcohol (co-solvent, Solvent #3) and
dichloromethane (dye solvent, Solvent #1) and contacted with a
solid polymeric phase consisting of polystyrene or polystyrene
copolymer microparticles. The dye partition coefficient, K,
governing the relative abundance of dye in the polymeric phase vs.
that in the ternary solvent mixture, increases as the volume
fraction of tuning solvent in the liquid phase increases, and
correspondingly decreases as the volume fractions of dye solvent or
cosolvent decreases). In addition to the
water/alcohol/dichloromethane ternary system disclosed, other
representative ternary systems include, for example,
water/acetone/methylene chloride.
[0150] The invention has been described for purposes of
illustration as containing one each of Solvent #1, Solvent #2 and
Solvent #3, the characteristics of which have been described above.
However, it is possible to practice the invention by including more
than one solvent in each category. For example, the solvent mixture
may contain a single solvent of type #1, two solvents of type #2,
and a single solvent of type #3.
[0151] The microparticles of the invention may be functionalized to
include chemical or biological entities such as, for example,
nucleic acids and fragments thereof, including aptamers, proteins,
peptides, and small organic molecules. The attachment of such
molecules can be performed using processes known in the art, for
example, a covalent coupling reaction. See, e.g., G. T. Hermanson,
Bioconjugate Techniques (Academic Press, 1996) and L. Illum, P. D.
E. Jones, Methods in Enzymology 112, 67-84 (1985), the entire
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These
entities can be selected depending on the assay of interest.
Examples of such assays are disclosed in PCT/US01/20179 and U.S.
Pat. No. 6,251,691, which are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
[0152] One embodiment of the method of the invention is
diagrammatically summarized in FIG. 1(b). Microparticles are first
incubated with a solvent solution comprising Solvent #2 and Solvent
#3 in the presence of optional stabilizers to form a suspension.
The function of the stabilizer is to prevent the destabilization of
the suspension of microparticles. Representative stabilizers
include polymers, particularly polymeric alcohols, such as
polyvinyl alcohol; polymeric oxides, such as polyethylene oxide;
polyvinyl polymers, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone; poly acids, such
as polyacrylic acid. Other representative stabilizers include ionic
surfactants, such as sodium dodecylsulfate and Aerosol OT; and
non-ionic surfactants, such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate
and polyethyleneglycol tert-octylphenyl ether. The concentration of
the stabilizer may range from about 0% to about 2%, by weight of
the solvent/microparticle suspension.
[0153] The suspension is preferably subjected to slow agitation.
The incubation is typically conducted at room temperature, but
higher or lower temperatures may be utilized so long as the
integrity of the microparticles is not adversely affected, and the
solvent composition remains stable. The incubation is conducted to
permit the optional stabilizer to adsorb onto the microparticles.
The requisite pre-incubation time will vary according to the
composition of the solvents and microparticles, and may be selected
accordingly.
[0154] Following the above first incubation step, dye solubilized
in dye solvent (Solvent #1) is then added to the microparticle
suspension. Sufficient dye should be added to ensure incorporation
of dye to the desired level in order to generate a detectable dye
signal. The incubation is carried typically out at room
temperature, but higher or lower temperatures may be used. The
second incubation is conducted to permit the dye solvent (Solvent
#1) to penetrate the microparticles.
[0155] It has been found that the combination of a first step of
incubating particles with a mixture of a Solvent #2 and a Solvent
#3, and optional stabilizers(s), followed by a second step of
adding dye dissolved in Solvent #1, substantially decreases the
need for intense mechanical or acoustic mixing during the dyeing
step, as required by prior art protocols. The particles require
only mild agitation during the dyeing process in order to keep them
suspended. This is a significant improvement because intense mixing
requires specialized equipment and is difficult to scale up.
[0156] According to one embodiment, the concentration of dye in the
microparticle suspension is selected in the range from about 1
.mu.g/g of particles to about 100 .mu.g/g of particles, based upon
the weight of the particle suspension. Concentrations below and
above this range may be appropriate in some applications depending
on the composition of the solvent solution and microparticles.
[0157] An amount of tuning solvent is then slowly added to favor
partitioning of dye into the microparticles, while the suspension
is slowly agitated. The volume fraction, .phi., of tuning solvent
is selected so as to attain a desired endpoint composition along a
trajectory in FIG. 2.
[0158] The tuning solvent should be added at a controlled rate to
maintain phase stability in the suspension. By "phase stability" is
meant a condition characterized by the presence of an essentially
homogeneous mixture of solute (dye) and liquid phase. Under a
condition of phase stability, the dye remains dissolved in the
solution phase while being incorporated into the microparticles.
The dye does not precipitate out of the solvent. Phase stability is
further characterized by the absence of liquid-liquid phase
separation.
[0159] According to prior art methods, complete uptake of the dye
into the microparticle phase must be obtained so that the dye
loading of the microparticles may be derived with certainty, based
upon the initial dye amount in the solvent bath and the
microparticle volume. In such methods, the precise level of dye
loading should be known to ensure that the dye signal emitted is
within the dynamic range of instruments utilized for detecting that
signal. An accurate determination of the dye loading is
particularly important when a library of particles is to be
constructed, and different particle sets are to be distinguished by
different loadings of the same dye. Thus, the level of dye
incorporation must be monitored until no more dye is apparent in
the suspension continuous phase, signaling that substantially all
the dye introduced into the system has been take up by the
microparticle phase.
[0160] According to the present invention, the amount of dye
incorporated into the microparticles is precisely controlled by
modulating the amount of tuning solvent added to the microparticle
suspension, as determined by the iterative equations discussed
above. A pre-selected level of dye loading may be delivered with
certainty, even in the absence of complete partitioning of the dye
into the microparticle phase. By "complete partitioning" with
respect to a solute (e.g., dye) is meant the state characterized by
essentially complete uptake of the solute from the liquid phase to
the microparticle phase, and the essentially complete absence of
dye from the liquid phase. Thus, it is not necessary to monitor the
status of dye migration from the liquid phase of the microparticle
suspension into the microparticle phase to ensure that all dye in
the system has been taken up by the microparticles, as complete dye
uptake is not critical to the control of the dye loading.
[0161] The suspension of microparticles in the staining bath should
be incubated for a period of time so as to provide substantially
uniform partitioning of dye into the microparticles.
[0162] To complete the process, the microparticle suspension is
centrifuged, and the microparticles are optionally washed and
resuspended in a suitable buffer, typically an aqueous buffer
containing optional surfactants. The resulting microparticles
comprise a set of dyed particles containing a pre-determined,
specific amount of dye that permits the identification of particles
from a given set.
[0163] According to one embodiment, sub-populations of polymer
microparticles containing different levels of incorporated dye may
be produced in parallel fashion. Pre-calculated amounts of tuning
solvent are added to separate aliquots of microparticle suspension
pre-incubated in dye solution. In accordance with the present
invention, the level of dye partitioning into the microparticles is
determined by the final volume fraction of tuning solvent and the
initial dye concentration in the suspension. This approach is
illustrated in FIG. 3(a), where the various pre-incubated aliquots
are denoted as B.sub.n. The respective amounts of tuning solvent
introduced into each aliquot are represented as S.sub.n, and the
corresponding resulting sub-populations of particles in each batch
are denoted as Fn(S.sub.n).
[0164] According to another embodiment of the invention,
sub-populations of polymer microparticles containing different
levels of dye are produced in a serial fashion. From a master-batch
microparticle suspension in dye solution, aliquots are withdrawn at
different elapsed times during continuous or semi-continuous
addition of the tuning solvent to the microparticle suspension in
dye solution. In "semi-continuous" addition of tuning solvent, the
process is momentarily interrupted, for example, to permit the
operation of removing a sample of microparticles from the batch.
Fractions of the suspension F.sub.n(S.sub.n) collected at
successive elapsed times (t.sub.Fn), contain correspondingly
differing amounts of solvent S.sub.n and yield multiple
sub-populations of stained particles from the same master batch.
These sub-populations corresponding to levels of dye incorporation
will produce correspondingly differing fluorescence intensities.
This approach is illustrated in FIG. 3(b) wherein [B] denotes the
pre-incubated master-batch, to which a continuous stream of the
tuning solvent is fed. F.sub.n(S.sub.n) are the fractions of the
microparticle suspension collected from the master-batch at
successive lapsed times, t.sub.Fn, respectively.
[0165] Alternatively, when a specified time (t.sub.F) has lapsed,
the continuous addition of tuning solvent is interrupted, and the
suspension of dyed microparticles is divided into two or more
aliquots for adjustment of final dye content by solvent tuning. A
selected amount of tuning solvent (.delta.S.sub.n) is added to each
aliquot so as to produce different levels of dye incorporation in
at least two aliquots, each said level being determined by the
total amount of tuning solvent added during solvent tuning and to
the initial dye concentration. It may be appreciated that the
selected amount of tuning solvent added to each aliquot may
comprise zero in one or more aliquots, provided that a non-zero
amount of tuning solvent is added to at least one of the aliquots.
This serial-followed-by-parallel processing approach is illustrated
in FIG. 3(c).
[0166] Other variations of serial and parallel processing are
possible. FIG. 3(d) illustrates a process combining serial and
parallel processing, employing both solvent tuning and direct
adjustment of dye concentration. As shown in FIG. 3(d), a
continuous stream of tuning solvent is fed into master-batch [B].
Fractions of microparticle suspension F.sub.n(S.sub.n),
respectively containing S.sub.n amounts of the tuning solvent, are
collected. Each fraction is then subjected to a separate labeling
step, initiated, for example, by addition of a third dye, D.sub.n,
permitting discrimination of microparticles in previously identical
aliquots. The labeling steps respectively involving dyes D.sub.1,
D.sub.2, . . . D.sub.n produce distinguishable sub-populations
F.sub.m(S.sub.m, D.sub.n) from each aliquot.
[0167] Microparticles from each aliquot comprise a set of particles
containing a pre-determined, specific amount of one or more
fluorophores (or chromophores) permitting the identification of
particles from a given set.
[0168] The method of the present invention may be adapted to
provide a library of combinatorially encoded microparticles by
sequential addition of solutions of distinguishable fluorescent
dyes. The microparticles are encoded in accordance with any one of
a variety of available codes, including binary codes. Preferably,
the microparticles are encoded with a binary encoding method that
permits in-situ decoding, such as the method of WO 98/53093, the
entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0169] The practice of the invention is illustrated by the
following non-limiting examples.
PREPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
Non-Cross-Linked Polystyrene Homopolymer Particles
[0170] A 100-ml round bottom glass flask, equipped with a reflux
condenser, N.sub.2 inlet-outlet adapter and an agitator, was placed
in a jacketed oil bath. The flask was charged with a solution of
0.9475 g of polyvinylpyrolidone (Aldrich, average molecular weight
about 29,000) in 43.3 ml of ethyl alcohol (Aldrich, 200 proof,
anhydrous, 99.5%) and 18.95 g styrene. In order to remove free
oxygen, the system was purged with N.sub.2 for one half hour under
mild agitation (50-70 rpm). Then, the temperature was raised to
70.degree. C. and the agitator speed to 350 rpm. Polymerization of
styrene monomer was initiated by adding 10 ml of a solution of 2.4
wt % 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile in ethanol. After 17 hours of
reaction, the system was cooled to room temperature. Monodisperse
polystyrene particles having a volume average diameter of 4.1 .mu.m
were obtained. The monomer conversion efficiency was 96.4% and the
solids content of the final latex was 27.9%.
PREPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2
Non-Cross-Linked Copolymer Particles
[0171] The same procedure as Preparative Example 1 was used to
prepare a polystyrene copolymer containing 3% methacrylic acid, by
reacting 10.5 g of a mixture of styrene and methacrylic acid
monomers (3 wt. % methacrylic acid monomer, based upon the total
monomer weight). Monodisperse particles were obtained. The final
conversion was 95.7%, particle diameter 3.2 .mu.m, and the latex
contained 15.9% solids. The copolymer particle had a parking area
of 2.45 .mu.m.sup.2/COOH group.
PREPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3
Cross-Linked Copolymer Particles
[0172] A 100-ml round bottom flask equipped with a reflux
condenser, N.sub.2 inlet-outlet adapter, and agitator was placed in
a jacketed oil bath. The flask was charged with 1.5 g of
polyvinylpyrolidone (as in Preparative Example 1), 0.475 g of
sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (Aldrich, 98%), 53.5 ml of ethyl
alcohol (Aldrich, 200 proof, anhydrous, 99.5%), 9.405 g styrene and
0.095 g divinylbenzene (Aldrich, mixture of isomers, 80% purity).
After removing the free oxygen by purging N.sub.2 for 30 min., the
temperature was raised to 70.degree. C. The polymerization was
started by adding 0.095 g of 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid)
(Aldrich, 75%) dissolved in 10 ml of ethanol. After 27 hours, the
reaction was stopped by cooling to room temperature. Monodisperse
particles were obtained. The monomer conversion was 93% and the
particle volume average diameter was 1.6 .mu.m.
PREPARATIVE EXAMPLE 4
Non-Cross-Linked Core-Shell Particles
[0173] A 100 ml three-neck round bottom flask, equipped with a
mechanical stirrer, an inlet-outlet N.sub.2 purge and a condenser
was placed in a thermostatted water bath at 70.degree. C. To the
flask 5.48 g of a latex containing 12.3 wt. % polystyrene
monodisperse particles having a diameter of 3.15 .mu.m was added.
To this latex a solution 0.009 g sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.007 g
sodium bicarbonate dissolved in 43.3 ml of distilled deionized
water was added. The suspension was agitated at 100 rpm and allowed
to reach 70.degree. C. under N.sub.2 purge. When the temperature of
the reaction mixture was stable, 0.0068 g of potassium persulfate
in 0.5 ml of distilled deionized water was added. Immediately
following this the reaction was started by feeding a mixture of
0.676 g of a mixture of 74% methyl methacrylate, 6% hydroxymethyl
methacrylate and 20% methacrylic acid at a rate of 0.01 ml/min with
a syringe pump. After the completion of feeding (1.2 h) the
reaction was allowed to proceed under agitation for 2 additional
hours at 70.degree. C. The reaction was then quenched by adding
0.0068 g of hydroquinone in 1 ml water and cooled rapidly to room
temperature. A latex of 2.75 wt. % solids having monodisperse
core-shell particles of 3.32 .mu.m diameter was obtained. The
surface carboxyl group parking area was 1.52 .ANG..sup.2/group.
EXAMPLE 1
Synthesis of Fluorescent Green Non-Cross-Linked Microparticles
(Dye/Polymer=0.334 mg/g)
[0174] A 25 ml three neck round bottom glass flask was charged with
0.05 g of cleaned (1 ml ethanol, three rounds of centrifugation
(6500 rpm at room temperature) and redispersion) and
non-cross-linked copolymer particles, added as 0.312 ml of the
latex as prepared in Preparative Ex. 2. To the particle suspension,
1 ml sodium dodecyl sulfate solution ("SDS") (0.75 wt. %), 1.5 ml
poly(vinyl alcohol) (Aldrich, molecular weight 85,000-146,000,
hydrolyzed grade 87-89%) as a 0.1% water solution, and 4.75 ml of
ethanol were added. To this mixture, 0.0835 ml of a dichloromethane
(Aldrich, 99.9%) solution containing 0.0167 mg of fluorescent green
dye, Bodipy FL C5, SE
(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoic
acid, succinimidyl ester, Mw=417.22, Molecular Probes) was added.
Finally, 10.6 ml of distilled deionized water was added and the
mixture agitated for another 2 hours. The whole mixture was then
transferred to a 50 ml plastic centrifuge tube and centrifuged at
4500 rpm for 1 min. The supernatant was removed and the pellet
containing the colored beads was washed three times with 2 ml of
ethanol, and finally resuspended in 2 ml of 0.2% SDS solution. The
ratio of green dye to polymer was 0.334 mg/g. The intensity and the
uniformity of the green fluorescence were determined using a Nikon
fluorescence microscope with a charge-couple device (CCD) camera
and image acquisition software. The results are shown as a scatter
plot in FIG. 4 The ordinate of each spot represents the green
fluorescence intensity associated with a single particle; data were
not corrected for background signal/noise.
EXAMPLE 2
Preparation of Green Fluorescent Cross-Linked Microparticles
(Dye/Polymer=1.667 mg/g)
[0175] This example is similar to Example 1, except that the
polymer particles had a cross-linked structure, and the scale of
the experiment was increased four-fold. A 2 ml latex emulsion
containing 0.2 g of cross-linked core-shell particles (Bangs
Laboratories, Inc., 3.2 .mu.m, 10% solids, 12.5% divinylbenzene)
was cleaned of emulsifier by adding 1 ml ethanol and centrifuging
at 6500 rpm for 2 min. This operation was repeated 3 times. The
cleaned polymer particles were transferred to a 100 ml round bottom
flask filled with 6 ml of an aqueous solution of 1.0 wt. %
polyvinyl alcohol, 4 ml of a aqueous solution of 0.75 wt. % SDS and
19 ml ethanol. To this mixture, 1.5 ml of CH.sub.2Cl.sub.2
containing 0.3334 mg of fluorescent green dye, Bodipy FL C5, SE,
was added. After this, 53 ml of distilled deionized water was
added. The particle suspension was then transferred to a rotary
evaporator and the solvents were removed under vacuum (26.5 Hg
inches) while the temperature was gradually increased to 40.degree.
C., then to 56.degree. C., and finally to 63.degree. C. for removal
of the organic solvents. The concentrated colored suspension was
collected and centrifuged at 6500 for 2 min. and the supernatant
discarded. The microparticle pellet was washed by three rounds of
centrifugation and resuspended with 5 ml ethanol. Finally, the
cleaned colored beads were resuspended in 2 ml SDS 0.2 wt. % to a
concentration of about 10% solids. The ratio of green dye to
polymer was 1.667 mg/g. The intensity and the uniformity of the
green fluorescence were determined using a Nikon fluorescence
microscope with attached CCD camera and image acquisition software.
The results are shown as a scatter plot in FIG. 5. The ordinate of
each spot represents the green fluorescence intensity associated
with a single particle; data were not corrected for background
signal/noise.
EXAMPLE 2A
Library of Fluorescent Green Dye-Encoded Cross-Linked
Microparticles (Initial Dye/Polymer Concentration=0.833 mg/g)
[0176] The procedure of Ex. 1 was followed, except that the green
fluorescent dye amount in the CH.sub.2Cl.sub.2 solution was 166.67
mg and the water feed rate was 21 ml/h. During the course of water
addition, four separate fractions were withdrawn at a time interval
of 30 minutes apart. The serial run thus generated five different
populations of colored particles (one fraction was collected before
starting the water feed) with each population having a distinct
mean fluorescence intensity, which was a function of the amount of
water added at the fraction, was withdrawn. The particles were
analyzed according to the procedure described in Ex. 1. The green
fluorescence intensity value measured for each type of colored
particles is presented in Table 1a. In Table 1a, and elsewhere
herein, "a.u." means arbitrary units.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1a Green fluorescence intensity values for
samples withdrawn in Ex. 2A. Particle fluorescence Fraction # Added
water/polymer (ml/g) intensity (a.u.) 1 52.5 283.4 2 105.0 1396 3
157.5 3623 4 210.0 13061 5 262.5 14658
EXAMPLE 2B
Library of Dual-Colored Non-Cross-Linked Microparticles Encoded
with Green and Orange Fluorescent Dyes (Initial Dye/Polymer
Concentration: Green Dye/Polymer=Orange Dye/Polymer=0.75 mg/g)
[0177] A set of distinguishable dual-colored non-cross-linked
particles encoded with green and orange fluorescent dyes was
produced by invoking the serial solvent tuning method of the
present invention, using the following initial dye concentrations:
Green fluorescent dye/polymer=0.75 mg/g; orange fluorescent
dye/polymer=0.75 mg/g. Three separate fractions were collected
according to the methodology of Example 2A above, except that two
fluorescent dyes were present in the initial pre-incubation
suspension. The amounts of water added until the time of fraction
withdrawal and the mean intensities of the different fractions of
microparticles collected are shown in Table 1b.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 1b Green and Orange Fluorescent Intensities
from Ex. 2B (26.5 ml/h water fed rate) Fed Green Orange
[Green].sub.i/polymer [Orange].sub.i/polymer water/ fluorescent
fluorescent Fraction mmol/g .times. mmol/g .times. polymer
intensity intensity # mg/g 10.sup.-3 mg/g 10.sup.-3 ml/g (a.u.)
(a.u.) 1 0.75 1.79 0.75 1.69 265.0 1220 1388 2 0.75 1.79 0.75 1.69
265.0 7082 7798 3 0.75 1.79 0.75 1.69 265.0 11698 15479
EXAMPLES 3-6
Analysis of Dye Partitioning in the Preparation of Green
Fluorescent Cross-Linked Microparticles
[0178] Four separate green fluorescent-dyed particle preparations
were prepared by a protocol as in Ex. 2, but on a smaller scale,
comparable to the scale of Ex. 1. The respective amounts of water
added were: 0.833 ml, 1.74 ml, 5.31 ml and 10.59 ml, corresponding
to water volume fractions of 0.398, 0.463, 0.623 and 0.738,
respectively. Following completion of dye incorporation, the
colored particles were centrifuged. The supernatant was saved in
order to determine, the green dye remaining in solution.
Accordingly, equal amounts of each of the four supernatant
solutions were diluted (24.times.) with alcohol and fluorescence
spectra were recorded. The emission intensity values (see Table 2)
were used to calculate the concentration of green dye remaining in
each solution according to the calibration curve of FIG. 6(a). The
concentration of green dye concentration incorporated into the
particles was calculated as the difference between the total
initial amount of green dye in the reaction and that remaining in
the supernatant. These values are shown in Table 2.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 2 Dye partitioning details Dye Dye bath
Supernatant Supernatant dye Initial incorporated Measured water
fluorescence conc. (from dye in particles particle Ex. volume
intensity calibration curve) conc. (.mu.g/mg) fluorescence #
fraction (a.u.) (.mu.g/ml) (.mu.g/ml) (calculated) intensity 3
0.39806 580.4 1.808 1.929 0.0208 135 4 0.4629 494.15 1.539 1.72
0.0348 539 5 0.6227 270.1 0.841 1.205 0.0997 2909 6 0.73823 54.34
0.169 0.834 0.2639 7581
[0179] FIG. 6(b) shows the nonlinear variation of incorporated dye
content as a function of water volume fraction.
[0180] The calculated incorporated green dye content also was
correlated to the intensity of green fluorescence recorded by
fluorescence microscopy from stained particles. The results in FIG.
6(c) display a linear correlation.
[0181] FIG. 6(d) shows the partition coefficient of the dye, K,
plotted against Y. The curve exhibits a characteristic exponential
dependence illustrating the fine-tuning of dye incorporation by way
of modulation of the solvent composition in accordance with the
present invention.
EXAMPLE 7
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Green Fluorescent Dye
(Dye/Polymer=0.833 mg/g)
[0182] The procedure of Example 2 was followed, except that the
green dye solution in CH.sub.2Cl.sub.2 added to the particle
suspension had a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml, and the experiment was
run at half the scale in a 50 ml flask. Accordingly, the amount of
water added following the addition of the dye solution, was 1.765
ml. The colored particles were recovered and washed by repeated
centrifugation and re-dispersion.
EXAMPLES 8-10
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Green Fluorescent Dye
[0183] The procedure of Example 7 was followed to generate three
additional particle sets, except that the water amounts were 5.3
ml, 10.6 ml and 21.2 ml, respectively.
EXAMPLE 11
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Orange Fluorescent Dye
(Dye/Polymer=0.334 mg/g)
[0184] The procedure of Example 7 was followed, except that the dye
was orange Bodipy 558/568, SE
(4,4-difluoro-5-(2-thienyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-propionic
acid, succinimidyl ester, Mw=443.23, Molecular Probes). The
concentration of orange dye in methylene chloride solution was
0.045 mg/ml. The amount of water added following the addition of
the dye solution was 1.765 ml. The ratio of orange dye to polymer
was 0.833 mg/g. The concentration of orange dye in methylene
chloride solution was 0.045 mg/ml.
EXAMPLES 12-14
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Orange Fluorescent Dye
[0185] The procedure of Example 11 was followed to generate three
additional particle sets, except that the respective amounts of
water added were 5.3 ml, 10.6 ml and 21.2 ml.
EXAMPLE 15
Cross-Linked Particles Containing 1:1 Molar Ratio of Green and
Orange Fluorescent Dyes (Green Dye/Polymer=0.150 mg/g; Orange
Dye/Polymer 0.153 mg/g)
[0186] The procedure of Example 7 was followed, except that instead
of one dye, an equimolar mixture of the green and the orange dyes
of Examples 7-14 were used. Specifically, the methylene chloride
solution with the two dyes had a concentration of 0.20 mg/ml of the
green dye and 0.212 mg/ml of the orange dye.
EXAMPLES 16-17
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Differing Amounts of Green and
Orange Fluorescent Dyes
[0187] The procedure of Example 15 was followed to generate two
additional particle sets, except that the respective amounts of
water added were 5.3 ml and 21.2 ml.
EXAMPLE 18
Cross-Linked Particles Containing 1:0.5 Molar Ratio of Green and
Orange Fluorescent Dyes (Green Dye/Polymer=0.150 mg/g; Orange
Dye/Polymer=0.765 mg/g)
[0188] The procedure of Example 15 was followed, except that green
and orange dyes were used in a molar ratio of 1:05. Specifically,
the methylene chloride solution containing the two dyes had a
concentration of 0.20 mg/ml of the green dye and 0.10 mg/ml of the
orange dye.
EXAMPLES 19-21
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Green and Orange Fluorescent
Dyes
[0189] The procedure of Example 18 was followed to generate three
additional particle sets, except that the respective amounts of
water added were 5.3 ml, 10.6 ml and 21.2 ml.
EXAMPLE 22
Cross-Linked Particles Containing 0.5:1 Molar Ratio of Fluorescent
Green and Orange Dye (Green Dye/Polymer=0.150 mg/g; Orange
Dye/Polymer=0.765 mg/g)
[0190] The procedure of Example 15 was followed, except that (a)
the green and orange dyes were used in a molar ratio of 0.5:1 and
(b) the amount of water added was 1.5 ml. The methylene chloride
solution containing the two dyes had a concentration of 0.10 mg/ml
of the green dye and 0.212 mg/ml of the orange dye.
EXAMPLES 23-25
Cross-Linked Particles Containing Green and Orange Fluorescent
Dyes
[0191] The procedure of Example 22 was followed to generate three
additional particle sets, except that the respective amounts of
water added were 5.3 ml, 10.6 ml and 21.2 ml.
[0192] The fluorescence intensities of the dyed particle sets
prepared in accordance with Examples 7-25 are shown in Table 3.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 3 Green and Orange Intensities as a function
of initial dye concentrations and added water amount Orange Green
Example Amt. of dye Water volume Intensity Intensity # (mg/g
polymer) fraction (mean) (mean) 7 0.833 0.2626 -- 980.184 8 0.833
0.5168 -- 2638.53 9 0.833 0.6815 -- 7251.29 10 0.833 0.8106 --
13175.8 11 0.333 0.2626 655.519 -- 12 0.333 0.5168 1676.34 -- 13
0.333 0.6815 6518.44 -- 14 0.333 0.8106 12434.9 -- 15 0.303 0.2626
1118.73 851.539 16 0.303 0.5168 2707.29 1989.1 17 0.303 0.8106 7296
5575.43 18 0.227 0.2626 196.022 326.917 19 0.227 0.5168 537.007
740.114 20 0.227 0.6815 1175.03 1686.59 21 0.227 0.8106 3140.37
5008.65 22 0.228 0.2324 261.14 176.635 23 0.228 0.5168 1087.38
439.545 24 0.228 0.6815 3469.4 1162.34 25 0.228 0.8106 8659.33
2974.67
EXAMPLE 26
Construction of a Fluorescence-Encoded Microparticle Library
[0193] A library containing the nineteen fluorescent microparticle
sets according to Examples 7-25 was constructed. Ten of the
nineteen sets were pooled and a fluorescence image of the mixture
was recorded using a Nikon fluorescence microscope attached with a
CCD camera and image acquisition software, permitting recording of
the green and orange fluorescence. Ten clusters corresponding to
the ten sets in the pool are apparent in the scatter plot (cluster
map) of FIG. 7 employing logarithmic units of orange and green
intensities on abscissa and ordinate, respectively. Results of the
analysis of the clusters are summarized in Table 4.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 4 Cluster mean intensities and corresponding
coefficients of variation Cluster details Cluster Orange Intensity
Green Intensity # (mean) CV(%) (mean) CV(%) 11 211.363 10.27 541.50
8.65 12 584.10 6.74 1309.52 6.93 13 1300.47 5.66 3154.83 6.49 14
3369.32 4.75 9083.26 5.47 15 1228.41 5.81 1515.42 6.61 16 7699.52
4.53 9973.90 5.40 17 2868.52 5.28 3511.96 6.0 18 1242.01 5.95
825.846 6.93 19 4077.29 4.60 2386.0 5.54 20 9546.03 4.92 5627.64
5.79
EXAMPLE 27
Preparation of Encoded Magnetic Particles
A. Synthesis of Aqueous Ferrofluid
[0194] Stock solutions of 1M FeCl.sub.3 in 1N HCl and 2M FeCl.sub.2
in 1N HCl were prepared. In a 100 ml glass bottle, 4 ml of 1M
FeCl.sub.3 and 1 ml of 2M FeCl.sub.2 solution were combined 400 ml
of deionized distilled water and 100 ml of a 30 wt. % NH.sub.4OH
solution were mixed to give 500 ml of an about 1.7 M solution of
NH.sub.3 in water. Fifty ml of the ammonia solution was added
slowly to the glass bottle containing the iron salt solutions under
vigorous agitation. Following completion of this step. 2 ml of a 25
wt. % solution of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide was added and the
solution sonicated for about 1 hr. Following this, the ferrofluid
was allowed to settle overnight under the influence of a magnetic
field. Next, the supernatant was decanted and the precipitate
washed with distilled water. The iron oxide nanoparticle suspension
in deionized water was homogenized and allowed to settle overnight
under the influence of gravity. Following settling, the precipitate
was discarded and the dark colored supernatant collected as the
final ferrofluid suspension.
B. Synthesis of Encoded Magnetic Particles
[0195] Colored polymer microparticles of identical dye content and
about 3 microns in diameter were prepared according to methods
described herein to comprise a polystyrene core and a methyl
methacrylate (MMA), hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and methacrylic
acid (MAA) shell. The particles were dispersed in de-ionized water
to give 1 ml of an about 1% suspension. A 50 microliter aliquot of
the ferrofluid suspension was then added to the suspension. The
suspensions were admixed with end-over-end rotation for 48 hours at
room temperature. The resultant solution was centrifuged at about
200 g for 10 minutes. A tan colored particle pellet was separated
from the brownish red colored supernatant containing the excess
nanopaticles. The supernatant was discarded and the pellet
resuspended in 1% SDS solution and centrifuged again. This step was
repeated two times and the pellet finally redispersed in PBS buffer
with 0.5% Tween-20. The 1 ml particle suspension was taken in a
standard 1.5 ml standard Eppendorf tube and the tube was mounted on
a Promega Multitube Magnetic Stand. Complete separation of the
suspended particles (as a pellet on the wall of the tube) took
place in about 10 minutes.
EXAMPLE 28
Coupling of Avidin to Surface of Fluorescence-Encoded,
Carboxyl-Functionalized Microparticles
[0196] The carboxylate-functionalized polymer microparticles
prepared according to Preparative Example 4 were rendered
fluorescent according to the procedure of Example 1 to provide
green fluorescent microparticles (dye/polymer=0.334 mg/g). In a 2
ml vial, an aliquot containing 10 mg of the green fluorescent
microparticles was mixed with 1 ml 10 mM borate buffer (pH=8.5).
The particles were then separated by centrifugation and the
supernatant was siphoned off. Following this, the separated pellet
was washed two times in 0.1M MES buffer (pH=4.5) and finally
resuspended in 600 .mu.l of the same. In a separate vial, 3 mg of
Neutravidin (a biotin-binding protein, Pierce Chemicals, Rockford,
Ill.) was dissolved in 300 .mu.l of the MES buffer and the solution
slowly added to the suspension of the polymer microparticles. The
suspension was briefly sonicated using a probe sonicator. Following
this, 150 .mu.l of a 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide
(Aldrich-Sigma, Milwaukee, Wis.) (EDAC) solution (200 mg/ml) was
added to the particle solution. The mixture was allowed to react
for 2 hours at room temperature, following which
NeutrAvidin-functionalized polymer microparticles were separated,
washed once in coupling buffer, twice in borate buffer and finally
resuspended and stored in storage buffer (PBS pH=7.4, 0.1% (w/v)
BSA, 0.5% (w/v) Tween 20, 10 mM ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid
(EDTA) and 0.02% (w/v) NaN.sub.3) at 2-8.degree. C.
EXAMPLE 29
Coupling of Avidin to Surface of Fluorescence-Encoded,
Tosyl-Functionalized Microparticles
[0197] Commercially available cross-linked, tosyl-functionalized
fluorescent core-shell microparticles (Bangs Laboratories, Inc.,
3.2 .mu.m, 10% solids, 12.5% divinylbenzene) were used in this
example. The microparticles contained a green fluorescent dye
loading of about 0.3 mg dye/g microparticle. Two hundred
microliters of a suspension containing 1% of the microparticles
were washed three times with 500 .mu.l of 100 mM phosphate buffer
(pH 7.4) and resuspended in 500 .mu.l of that buffer. Following
this, 20 .mu.l of 5 mg/ml NeutrAvidin was added and the reaction
allowed to proceed overnight at 37.degree. C. Following completion
of the incubation, the functionalized particles were washed once
with 500 .mu.l of PBS (pH 7.4) containing 10 mg/ml BSA, resuspended
in 500 .mu.l of that buffer and reacted for 1 hr at 37.degree. C.
to block unreacted sites on the microparticle surface. Following
the blocking step, the microparticles were washed three times with
500 .mu.l of PBS (pH 7.4) containing 10 mg/ml BSA and stored in 200
.mu.l of PBS (pH 7.4) with 10 mg/ml BSA.
EXAMPLE 30
NeutrAvidin-Biotin Binding Assay Using Fluorescent
Microparticles
[0198] One hundred microliters of the NeutrAvidin-functionalized
fluorescent microparticles, containing 1% solids of Example 28,
were placed in a 1.5 ml vial and the suspension diluted with 900
.mu.l of PBS containing 0.01% (w/v) of Tween-20 (PBST). The
microparticles were mixed by vortexing and then separated by
centrifugation. The supernatant was aspirated off, and the pellet
resuspended in 980 .mu.l of PBS. 20 .mu.l of a
biotin-Oligo(dT).sub.5-CY5.5 (oligo labeled with a fluorescent dye
Cy5.5) (IDT, Coralville, Iowa) at a concentration (26.7 ng/ml) was
added and the mixture was incubated for 30 minutes at room
temperature. Following this, the microparticles were separated and
washed twice in PBST and resuspended in 1 ml of PBST. The
microparticles were then assembled on a chip and their surface
fluorescence was determined as a direct measure of the amount of
biotin-Oligo(dT).sub.5-CY5.5 bound to the
NeutrAvidin-functionalized particles. The results displayed in FIG.
8 show the biotinylated probe capture efficiency of two different
particles (marked as samples) dyed using the method of the present
invention and the capture efficiency of a non-dyed microparticle
that was used as a positive control.
EXAMPLE 31
Hybridization Assay Using Fluorescent Microparticles
[0199] Biotinylated oligonucleotides with known base sequence were
attached to the fluorescence-encoded microparticles functionalized
with NeutrAvidin (as prepared in Example 30) as follows. Fifty
microliters of a solution containing 1% of the
NeutrAvidin-functionalized microparticles was placed in 0.1 ml
reaction buffer (150 mM NaCl, 0.05 M EDTA, 0.5% bovine serum
albumin, 0.5 mM Tris-HCl, and 100 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.2)
containing 0.4 .mu.M biotinylated oligonucleotides and
approximately 7.times.10.sup.5 microparticles. The reaction mixture
was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes under vortexing.
Upon completion of the reaction, the particles were collected by
centrifugation, washed three times with PBST (150 mM NaCl, 100 mM
sodium phosphate, pH 7.2 with 0.05% Tween 20) and resuspended in
0.2 ml PBS (150 mM NaCl, 100 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.2.). The
foregoing procedure can be utilized to couple any biotinylated
oligonucleotide of interest to NeutrAvidin-functionalized
particles.
[0200] One microliter of a 10 .mu.M solution of a synthetic target
(5'-/CY5.5/SEQ ID NO:1/-3') in de-ionized water was diluted with 19
.mu.l of 1.times.TMAC (4.5 M tetramethyl ammonium chloride, 75 mM
Tris pH 8.0, 3 mM EDTA, 0.15% SDS) to a final volume of 20 .mu.l.
Two types of oligonucleotide-functionalized fluorescent
microparticles were assembled into planar arrays on silicon
substrates. The first microparticle type was functionalized with a
matched probe sequence 5'-Biotin/(TEGspacer)/SEQ ID NO:2/-3' The
second microparticle type was functionalized with a mismatched
probe sequence Biotin/(TEGspacer)/SEQ ID NO:3/-3'). Twenty
microliters of the synthetic target was added to the substrate
surface and the substrate was placed in a 53.degree. C. heater for
15 minutes under shaking at 30 rpm. The slide was then removed from
the heater the target solution was aspirated. The substrate was
washed once with 1.times.TMAC at room temperature. Following this,
10 .mu.l of 1.times.TMAC was placed on the substrate surface,
covered with a glass cover-slip and the fluorescence intensity of
the array recorded using the instrumentation described before. The
results in FIG. 9 show that the hybridization was specific.
EXAMPLE 32
Immunoassay Using Fluorescent Microparticles
[0201] Commercially available cross-linked, tosyl-functionalized
fluorescent core-shell microparticles (Bangs Laboratories, Inc.,
3.2 .mu.m, 10% solids, 12.5% divinylbenzene) were used in this
example. The microparticles contained a green fluorescent dye
loading of about 0.3 mg dye/g microparticle. One ml of PBST (PBS pH
7.4 containing 0.1% Tween-20) and 50 .mu.L of a 1% suspension of
the dyed tosylate-functionalized microparticles (0.5 mg) were
combined in an eppendorf tube and mixed well by vortexing.
Following this, the suspension was centrifuged at 7500 rpm for 2
min. and the supernatant decanted. The operation was repeated once
with 1 mL of PBST and once with 1 mL of PBS. Microparticles were
finally resuspended in 1 mL of PBS. A pre-calculated amount of
anti-TNF-.alpha. antibody (R&D Systems), at a concentration of
50 .mu.g protein/mg microparticles, was added, and the suspension
was incubated overnight at room temperature under end-over-end
rotation. The microparticles were then washed and resuspended in 1
ml of blocking/storage buffer (0.1M PBS pH 7.4 containing 0.1% BSA,
0.1% Tween 20 and 0.1% NaN.sub.3). Ten microliters of the
antibody-functionalized microparticle suspension were placed in a
1.5 mL Eppendorf tube. The particles were washed twice with 1 mL of
PBST and once with 1 mL of PBS (pH7.2). Thirty microliters of a
stock solution of Cy5.5-labeled goat anti-mouse IgG was diluted by
adding 1470 .mu.L of PBS (1:50). Five hundred microliters of this
solution was transferred to the microparticle suspension and the
antibody-binding reaction incubated for 60 min. at room temperature
under end-over-end mixing. Following incubation, the particles were
washed twice with 1 mL of PBST and then resuspended in 10 .mu.L of
PBS. A planar array of microparticles was then assembled on silicon
substrate for analysis as in Example 31. An average Cy5.5 intensity
of 6,500 was recorded using the conditions and instrumentation
described before.
[0202] All references discussed herein are incorporated by
reference. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the
present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and
obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent
therein. The present invention may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes
thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended
claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating
the scope of the invention.
Sequence CWU 1
1
3127DNAArtificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence
Synthetic oligonucleotide 1ccgctcgtct tccaggatgt ccttctg
27218DNAArtificial SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence
Synthetic oligonucleotide 2aaggacatcc tggaagac 18318DNAArtificial
SequenceDescription of Artificial Sequence Synthetic
oligonucleotide 3ataaccagga ggagttcg 18
* * * * *