What is claimed is:
1. A self-contained samplingtesting device comprising:
a. a sampler for collecting a target material;
b. a sampler washer comprising a wash solution; and
c. a signal generator comprising a dye which binds to said target material to signal the presence of said target material.
2. The device of claim 1, further comprising an absorbent material, wherein said sampler comprises a porous sample collection pad, and said absorbent material, said sampler, and said sampler washer are configured and arranged such that said sample collection pad can be disposed between said absorbent material and said sampler washer so that said wash solution separates dye bound to said target material immobilized on said sample collection pad from unbound dye.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said sampler comprises a porous sample collection pad for collecting said target material, wherein said dye and said wash solution are contained in a reagent tray housing capable of being contacted by said sampler to impart said dye and said wash solution across said target material contained on said sampler.
4. The device of claims 2 or 3 wherein said dye and said wash solution are contained in a plurality of reservoirs, wherein said reservoirs are serially contacted by said sampler to first expose said target material to said dye and then to wash unbound dye away from bound dye.
5. The device of claim 2 or 3, further comprising a wetting agent for moistening said sample collection pad in advance of collecting said target material.
6. The device of claim 5 wherein said wetting agent is identical to said wash solution.
7. The device of claim 2, wherein said sampler is hollow and wherein said absorbent material is disposed within said sampler to facilitate transport of said dye and said wash solution across said target material or said wash solution is disposed within said sampler.
8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a reagent housing comprising an additional absorbent material, wherein one of said absorbent materials is saturated with said wash solution, and the other of said absorbent materials is unsaturated, wherein unbound dye from a sample collection surface disposed there between is washed by the flow of said wash solution from said saturated absorbent material to said unsaturated absorbent material.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein said dye is transported by said wash solution to said target material to effect said binding.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein said dye is separated from a said absorbent material by at least one membrane that is rupturable during the course of a test.
11. The device of claim 8, wherein said reagent housing also comprises a cap for protecting said collection pad surface from contamination when not in use.
12. The device of claim 2 or 3 wherein said dye is a protein binding dye.
13. The device of claim 12, wherein said dye is Ponceau-S.
14. The device of claim 13, wherein Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% (wv) in a dilute acetic acid solution.
15. The device of claim 12, wherein said dye both precipitates and stains said protein.
16. The device of claim 2 or 3, wherein said dye is dry until contacted by said sampler.
17. The device of claim 1, further comprising a neutralizing agent to neutralize any compounds in the sample that might interfere with the binding of said dye to said target material.
18. The device of claim 17, wherein said neutralizing agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium thiosulfate, MgCl2.
19. The device of claim 1, wherein said dye is a frequency shift dye.
20. The device of claim 19, wherein said dye is a colloidal dye.
21. The device of claim 20, wherein said dye is a colloidal Coomassie Brilliant Blue dye.
22. The device of claim 1, further comprising a reaction reading portion.
23. The device of claim 22, wherein said sampler is contained within a lower housing providing protection from pre-testing contamination for said sampler, said device further comprising an upper housing, wherein said upper housing and said lower housing sealably engage, and said sampler is attached to said upper housing.
24. The device of claim 1, wherein said sampler further comprises
a hollow shaft and an absorbent tip;
a chamber housing said combined sample wash signal generator, said chamber further comprising a breakable shaft which upon breakage exposes an orifice through which said combined sample wash signal generator may flow, wherein said chamber is adjoined to a slidably engageable fitting, said fitting having an inner member and an outer member between which a lower housing may slidably engage, wherein said combined sample wash signal generator comprises a frequency shift dye;
a lower housing read portion below said sampler to contain the combined sample wash signal generator, wherein said read portion comprises walls allowing detection of a frequency shift of said dye.
25. A method for detecting the presence of a target material or contaminant, comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining on a sampler of a self-contained samplingtesting device a sample which may contain a target material that is capable of being bound by a dye to signal the presence of the target material; and
b) contacting said sample with said dye;
c) determining whether a color development or color change occurs following said contacting,
wherein said color development or color change is indicative of the presence of said target material in said sample.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising washing said sample with a washing solution.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein said dye is a precipitating dye.
28. The method of claim 25 or 27 wherein said dye is Ponceau-S.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein said Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% weight-volume in a dilute acetic acid solution.
30. The method of claim 25 or 27, wherein said dye precipitates and stains protein.
31. The method of claim 25 or 27, further comprising the step of washing said target material from said sampler so that said target material may be analyzed in solution in the presence of dye.
32. The method of claim 25, wherein said dye is a frequency shift dye.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein said dye is a colloidal dye.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein said colloidal dye is colloidal Coomassie Brilliant Blue dye.
35. The method of claim 26, wherein said wash solution participates in the collection of said target material by said sampler.
36. A method of making a self-contained samplingtesting device comprising the steps of:
a) providing a device comprising at least one reservoir, a sampler, and a housing;
b) depositing a dye within a said reservoir; and
c) depositing a wash solution with a said reservoir.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein said dye binds protein.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein said dye is a precipitating dye.
39. The method of claim 36, wherein said dye is Ponceau-S.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% (wv) in a dilute acetic acid solution.
41. The method of claim 36, wherein said dye is a colloidal dye.
42. The method of claim 41, wherein said colloidal dye is colloidal Coomassie blue dye.
43. The method of claim 36, wherein said dye is frequency shift dye.
44. A method of using a precipitating dye to fix a target material in a porous matrix such that said target material is resistant to migration outside of said matrix on treatment with said dye as compared to the migration of said target material in the absence of said dye, comprising the step of:
contacting a liquefied sample containing said target material in said porous matrix with a precipitating dye, wherein said porous material permits entry of said target material and binding of said dye to said target material inhibits egress of said target material from said porous material.
45. The method of claims 44, wherein said target material is protein.
46. The method of claim 45, wherein said dye is a sulfonated diazo dye.
47. The method of claim 46, wherein said sulfonated diazo dye is Ponceau-S.
48. The method of claim 47, wherein said Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% (wv) in a dilute acetic acid solution
49. A method for detecting a target material in a sample, comprising the steps of:
immobilizing target materialdye complexes from a liquefied sample in or on a solid matrix , wherein said dye is a precipitating dye; and
washing unbound dye from said solid matrix with a wash solution,
wherein the presence of a greater amount of dye retained in said porous matrix following said washing as compared to the amount of dye retained in said porous matrix in the absence of a sample is indicative of the presence of target material in said sample.
50. The method of claim 49, wherein said solid matrix is a porous matrix and said immobilizing is entrapment of said complexes in said porous matrix.
51. The method of claim 49, wherein said sample is contacted with said dye in solution and deposited on or in said solid matrix.
52. The method of claim 49, wherein said sample is contacted with said dye in or on said solid matrix.
53. The method of claim 50, wherein said entrapment results from binding of said dye to said target material.
54. The method of claims 49, wherein said target material is protein.
55. The method of claim 54, wherein said dye is a sulfonated diazo dye.
56. The method of claim 55, wherein said sulfonated diazo dye is Ponceau-S.
57. The method of claim 56, wherein said Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% (wv) in a dilute acetic acid solution
58. A method for detecting protein on a solid surface, comprising the step of:
contacting said surface with a Ponceau S dye solution; and
determining whether said dye is retained on said surface,
wherein if dye from said solution is retained on said surface it is indicative of the presence of protein on said surface.
59. The method of claim 58, wherein said surface is washed with a wash solution following said contacting and before said determining.
60. The method of claim 58, wherein said Ponceau-S is used at a final concentration of about 0.1-1.0% (wv) in a dilute acetic acid solution
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An image reader comprising:
a first reading unit that includes a first background member and reads an image on a front surface of an object to be read placed on the first background member to output a first output value;
a second reading unit that includes a second background member and reads an image on a back surface of the object placed on the second background member to output a second output value, the second background member being different from the first background member;
a ground output detecting unit that detects a first ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the front surface based on the first output value output by the first reading unit and a second ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the back surface based on the second output value output by the second reading unit;
a thickness calculating unit that calculates the thickness of the object based on an output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value; and
an output correction unit that corrects the first output value output by the first reading unit and the second output value output by the second reading unit based on the calculated thickness of the object, to output a corrected first output value and a corrected second output value, respectively.
2. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the first reading unit and the second reading unit are composed of different optical systems.
3. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the first reading unit and the second reading unit are composed of same optical systems.
4. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the output correction unit calculates a first correction factor for the first output value and a second correction factor for the second output value based on the thickness of the object calculated by the thickness calculating unit, and corrects the first output value and the second output value based on the first correction factor and the second correction factor, respectively.
5. The image reader according to claim 1, further comprising a correction table storing unit that stores a correction table including plural first correction factors for the first output value with respect to various thicknesses of the object and second correction factors for the second output value with respect to various thicknesses of the object, and wherein the output correction unit reads out the respective first correction factor and the second correction factor from the correction table storing unit based on the calculated thickness and corrects the first output value and the second output value based on the first correction factor and the second correction factor, respectively.
6. The image reader according to claim 5, wherein the first output value and the second output value include plural color components, the correction table storing unit stores plural of the correction tables corresponding to the color components, and each of the plural correction tables includes a color conversion matrix.
7. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the ground output detecting unit detects the first ground output value and the second ground output value based on the first output value and the second output value for the entire front surface of the object and the entire back surface of the object, respectively.
8. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the ground output detecting unit detects the first ground output value and the second ground output value based on the first output value and the second output value for a front edge part of the front surface of the object and a front edge part of the back surface of the object, respectively.
9. The image reader according to claim 1, further comprising a color determining unit that determines a color of the object based on the first ground output value or the second ground output value detected by the ground output detecting unit.
10. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the first output value and the second output value include color components of red, green and blue, and the thickness calculating unit calculates the thickness of the object based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value of at least one of the color components.
11. The image reader according to claim 1, further comprising a correction table storing unit that stores plural reference output ratios, each of which expresses the reference output ratio between a first reference ground output value for the first reading unit and a second reference ground output value for the second reading unit at a certain thickness of the object, with respect to various thicknesses of the object, wherein the thickness calculating unit calculates the thickness of the object based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value and the reference output ratio by referring to the correction table storing unit.
12. The image reader according to claim 1, further comprising a storing unit that stores an equation by which a thickness of the object can be calculated based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value, wherein the thickness calculating unit calculates the thickness of the object based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value by inputting the output ratio into the equation stored in the storing unit.
13. The image reader according to claim 1, wherein the second background member has a shading different from that of the first background member.
14. An image forming apparatus comprising the image reader according to claim 1, and forming an image based on the first corrected output value and the second corrected output value output from the image reader.
15. A method of correcting output values output from a first reading unit that includes a first background member and reads at image on a front surface of an object to be read placed on the first background member to output a first output value, and a second reading unit that includes a second background member and reads an image on a back surface of the object placed on the second background member to output a second output value, the second background member being different from the first background member, comprising:
detecting a first ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the front surface based on the first output value output by the first reading unit and a second ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the back surface based on the second output value output by the second reading unit;
calculating the thickness of the object based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value; and
correcting the first output value output by the first reading unit and the second output value output by the second reading unit based on the calculated thickness of the object, to output a corrected first output value and a corrected second output value, respectively.
16. The method of correcting output values according to claim 15, wherein in the calculating the thickness of the object, the thickness of the object is calculated based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value and plural reference output ratios, each of which expresses a reference output ratio between a first reference ground output value for the first reading unit and a second reference ground output value for the second reading unit at a certain thickness of the object, with respect to various thicknesses of the object stored in a correction table storing unit.
17. The method of correcting output values according to claim 15, wherein in the calculating the thickness of the object, the thickness of the object is calculated by inputting the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value into an equation by which the thickness of the object can be calculated based on the output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value stored in a storing unit.
18. The method of correcting output values according to claim 15, wherein the second background member has a shading different from that of the first background member.
19. An image reader comprising:
a first reading means, including a first background member, for reading an image on a front surface of an object to be read placed on the first background member to output a first output value;
a second reading means, including a second background member, for reading an image on a back surface of the object placed on the second background member to output a second output value, the second background member being different from the first background member;
a ground output detecting means for detecting a first ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the front surface based on the first output value output by the first reading means and a second ground output value that expresses an output value for a ground part of the back surface based on the second output value output by the second reading means;
a thickness calculating means for calculating the thickness of the object based on an output ratio between the first ground output value and the second ground output value; and
an output correction means for correcting the first output value output by the first reading means and the second output value output by the second reading means based on the calculated thickness of the object, to output a corrected first output value and a corrected second output value, respectively.