Staining reagents and other liquids for histological processing of biological specimens and associated technology

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10416176-B2
Application number	US-201615179834-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2016
Priority date	Dec 13, 2013
Publication date	Sep 17, 2019
Grant date	Sep 17, 2019

Abstract

Processing specimens in an automated histological staining system comprising robotically moving a slide carrier into a stainer of the system, the slide carrier carrying slides which respectively carry the specimens, and the specimens being at least partially embedded in paraffin. Liquids are automatically dispensed onto the slides according to a predetermined recipe for at least deparaffinizing, staining, and counterstaining the specimens. The slide carrier can be robotically moved out of the stainer after automatically dispensing the liquids. In some embodiments, a total of all liquid dispensed onto the slides after moving the slide carrier into the stainer and before moving the slide carrier out of the stainer has a greater volumetric concentration of polyol than of monohydric alcohol.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for processing specimens in an automated histological staining system, the method comprising:
robotically moving a slide carrier into a stainer of the system, wherein the slide carrier carries slides, the slides respectively carry the specimens, and the specimens are at least partially embedded in paraffin;
automatically dispensing liquids onto the slides according to a predetermined recipe for at least deparaffinizing, staining, and counterstaining the specimens; and
robotically moving the slide carrier out of the stainer after automatically dispensing the liquids,
wherein a total of all liquid dispensed onto the slides after moving the slide carrier into the stainer and before moving the slide carrier out of the stainer has a greater volumetric concentration of polyol than of monohydric alcohol.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein staining the specimens includes non-immunohistochemically staining the specimens.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the total of all liquid dispensed onto the slides after moving the slide carrier into the stainer and before moving the slide carrier out of the stainer has a volumetric concentration of monohydric alcohol less than 3%.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the total of all liquid dispensed onto the slides after moving the slide carrier into the stainer and before moving the slide carrier out of the stainer is at least substantially free of monohydric alcohol.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the total of all liquid dispensed onto the slides after moving the slide carrier into the stainer and before moving the slide carrier out of the stainer is at least substantially free of xylene.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
robotically moving the slide carrier into the stainer includes robotically moving the slide carrier into a temperature-controlled internal environment of the stainer; and
automatically dispensing the liquids includes automatically dispensing the liquids while an average temperature of the internal environment is greater than ambient temperature.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically dispensing the liquids includes automatically dispensing a deparaffinizing liquid, a conditioning liquid, a staining reagent, a stain-setting reagent, a counterstaining reagent, and a washing liquid.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the deparaffinizing liquid has a C9-C18 alkane concentration greater than 50% by volume.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein automatically dispensing the liquids includes automatically dispensing a stain-differentiating liquid.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein automatically dispensing the liquids includes automatically dispensing liquids of no more than seven different formulations.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein automatically dispensing the liquids includes automatically dispensing liquids respectively drawn from no more than seven different supply containers.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the deparaffinizing liquid has a C14-C16 alkane concentration from 10% to 30% by volume and a C9-C15 alkane concentration from 70% to 90% by volume.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the conditioning liquid includes greater than 50% by volume glycol ether.

14. The method of claim 7 , wherein the conditioning liquid includes greater than 50% by volume di(propylene glycol) ether.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the staining reagent, the counterstaining reagent, and the washing liquid include greater than 10% by volume polyol.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein at least three of the staining reagent, the stain-setting reagent, the counterstaining reagent, and the washing liquid include greater than 10% by volume of the same polyol.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein at least three of the staining reagent, the stain-setting reagent, the counterstaining reagent, and the washing liquid include greater than 10% by volume propylene glycol.

18. An apparatus configured to perform the method of claim 1 .

19. An automated histological staining system, comprising:
a stainer;
a set of liquids respectively held in no more than seven containers, the set including a staining reagent, a stain-setting reagent, a counterstaining reagent, and a washing liquid; and
a slide carrier within the stainer,
wherein
the slide carrier carries slides,
the slides respectively carry specimens at least partially embedded in paraffin, and
the system is fluidically self-contained and operable to execute a predetermined recipe for at least deparaffinizing, staining, and counterstaining the specimens, and
the stainer is not fluidically connected to any liquids not included in the set of liquids.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the staining reagent is a non-immunohistochemical staining reagent.

Assignees

• Ventana Med Syst Inc

Inventors

• Barnett Heidi
• Champion Daniel
• Durrant Edward
• Kernag Casey
• Kram Brian Howard
• Orosz Kristina
• Polaske Melinda
• Weidner Charles
• Wilkinson Chad
• Wosinska Zofia

Classifications

• G01N35/0099

  comprising robots or similar manipulators (robots per se B25J) · CPC title

• G01N35/1002

  Reagent dispensers · CPC title

• G01N1/312

  for samples mounted on planar substrates · CPC title

• G01N2035/00138

  Slides · CPC title

• G01N2035/00039

  Transport arrangements specific to flat sample substrates, e.g. pusher blade · CPC title