Systems and methods for sample analysis using swabs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11710626-B2
Application number	US-202117222194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2021
Priority date	Aug 28, 2017
Publication date	Jul 25, 2023
Grant date	Jul 25, 2023

Abstract

The invention generally relates to systems and methods for sample analysis using swabs. In certain aspects, the invention provides systems that include a probe having a conductive proximal portion coupled to a porous material at a distal portion of the probe that is configured to retain a portion of a sample that has contacted the porous material, and a mass spectrometer having an inlet. The system is configured such that the porous material at a distal portion of the probe is aligned over the inlet of the mass spectrometer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for analyzing a sample, the method comprising:
contacting a distal portion of a probe to a sample such that a portion of the sample is retained on the distal portion of the probe;
positioning the distal portion of the probe directly vertically above a distal end of an upward opening inlet of a mass spectrometer;
applying solvent and voltage to the probe to generate ions of the sample that are downwardly expelled from the probe and into the inlet of the mass spectrometer; and
analyzing the ions in the mass spectrometer, thereby analyzing the sample.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sample is an in vivo human tissue sample and a portion of the in vivo human tissue sample is retained on the distal portion of the probe.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the in vivo human tissue sample is along a surface of a resection cavity of the human.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising determining if the in vivo human tissue sample comprises abnormal tissue.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the abnormal tissue is diseased tissue.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the diseased tissue is cancerous tissue.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the cancerous tissue is from a tumor.

8. A method for assessing a tissue, the method comprising:
contacting a medical swab to a tissue in a manner that a portion of the tissue is retained on the medical swab;
generating ions of one or more analytes from the portion of the tissue retained on the medical swab by:
positioning the portion of the tissue directly vertically above a distal end of an upward opening inlet of a mass spectrometer; and
applying solvent and voltage to the portion of the tissue to generate ions thereof that are downwardly expelled from the swab and into the upward opening inlet; and

analyzing the ions in the mass spectrometer, thereby assessing the tissue.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the tissue is in vivo tissue.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the in vivo tissue is tissue at a resection site in a patient.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the analyzing allows for assessment of tumor infiltration into the resection site.

Assignees

• Purdue Research Foundation

Inventors

• Cooks Robert Graham
• Jarmusch Alan Keith
• Pirro Valentina

Classifications

• H01J49/0459 Primary

  for solid samples · CPC title

• A61B5/14503

  invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter or needle or using implanted sensors (A61B5/1459, A61B5/1464, A61B5/1473, A61B5/1482, A61B5/14865 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61B5/7282

  Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition (cough events A61B5/0823; seizures A61B5/4094; sleep apnoea A61B5/4818) · CPC title

• A61B10/02 Primary

  Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy {(A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48)} · CPC title

• A61F13/38

  Swabs having a stick-type handle {, e.g. cotton tips} (A61M35/006 takes precedence) · CPC title