Gail Marie Harrison

US Patent:

49593013, Sep 25, 1990

Filed:

Apr 22, 1988

Appl. No.:

7/185083

Inventors:

James C. Weaver - Sudbury MA
Jonathan G. Bliss - Somerville MA
Gregory B. Williams - Tewksbury MA
Kevin T. Powell - Boston MA
Gail I. Harrison - Watertown MA

Assignee:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge MA

International Classification:

C12Q 170
C12Q 102

US Classification:

435 5

Abstract:

A process for rapidly enumerating viable biological entities is disclosed, wherein viability is determined by the critierion of growth of biological entities contained in microdroplets. Alternatively, in some cases, viability is determined by use of vital staining of biological entities contained in microdroplets. The process involves formation of microdroplets, which are very small volume liquid or gel particles, such that some of the microdroplets contain biololgical entities, followed by measurements of biological entities and of microdroplet volumes, such that use of statistical analysis can be used self-consistently to determine the number of viable entities per volume of a sample.