Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques are provided for rapidly characterizing compounds in combinatorial arrays of materials for discovering and/or optimizing new materials with specific desired properties. According to one aspect, a scanning mass spectrometer is used which includes an ionization chamber and a collector that outputs an electrical signal responsive to the quantity of gas ions contacting the collector surface. A conduit system selectively withdraws samples from the array of materials, passing the samples into the ionization chamber. In a specific embodiment, reactants are passed through the conduit system to the selected regions of interest on the substrate. Means are provided to selectively heat regions on the substrate.
Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials using infrared imaging techniques are provided. Typically, each of the individual materials on the array will be screened or interrogated for the same material characteristic. Once screened, the individual materials may be ranked or otherwise compared relative to each other with respect to the material characteristic under investigation. According to one aspect, infrared imaging techniques are used to identify the active sites within an array of compounds by monitoring the temperature change resulting from a reaction. This same technique can also be used to quantify the stability of each new material within an array of compounds. According to another aspect, identification and characterization of condensed phase products is achieved, wherein library elements are activated by a heat source serially, or in parallel. According to another aspect, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer is used to rapidly characterize a large number of chemical reactions contained within a combinatorial library.
Abstract:
A computer-implemented method for generating a library design for a combinatorial library of materials, a combinatorial library being a collection of two or more members that contain some variance in chemical composition, chemical amount, reaction conditions, and/or processing conditions, a member being a single position in a library, the method comprising: defining a set of one or more sources and one or more destinations, each source being electronic data representing a component to be used in preparing the combinatorial library and each destination being electronic data representing a conceptual arrangement of cells representing a combinatorial library, the cells corresponding to members of the combinatorial library and/or locations on a physical substrate; defining one or more mappings, the mappings in the aggregate defining a composition for each of a plurality of materials assigned to a plurality of cells in the arrangement; defining one or more parameters, each parameter being electronic data being electronic data corresponding to a process condition to be applied to one or more cells of the arrangement representing the combinatorial library; defining one or more parameter values for each of the parameters, the parameter values representing an amount of the corresponding process condition to be applied to one or more of the cells of the arrangement; and generating a data file defining the library design, the data file comprising electronic data describing the source elements, the destination elements, the mappings, the parameters and the parameter values.
Abstract:
Computer-implemented methods, programs and apparatus for generating a librar y design for a combinatorial library of materials. A library design includes a set of sources representing components to be used in preparing the combinatorial library, destinations representing arrangements of cells and mappings, defining one or more distribution patter ns for assigning components to cells in the destination arrangement or arrangements. Mappings include gradients and sets of user- defined equations, and are used to calculate the amount of one or more components to be assigned to a cell or cells in an arrangement. A library design can also include one or more process parameters defined to vary over time or across a plurality of destination cells. The invention outputs a data file defining the library design, including electronic data representing the sources, the destinations and the mapping, in a format suitable for implementing manually or using automated material handling apparatus.
Abstract:
A method of characterizing materials comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; synthesizing an array of materials on said substrate; providing at least one reactant gas wherein said reactant gas is in contact with said array of materials; activating at least one of said materials on said array with a heating source; and periodically monitoring an infrared emission from said activated material with an infrared camera, wherein said infrared camera outputs a series of signals corresponding to an emission intensity varying with time of said activated material.
Abstract:
A method of characterizing materials comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; synthesizing an array of materials on said substrate; providing at least one reactant gas wherein said reactant gas is in contact with said array of materials; activating at least one of said materials on said array with a heating source; and periodically monitoring an infrared emission from said activated material with an infrared camera, wherein said infrared camera outputs a series of signals corresponding to an emission intensity varying with time of said activated material.
Abstract:
A computer-implemented method for generating a library design for a combinatorial library of materials, a combinatorial library being a collection of two or more members that contain some variance in chemical composition, chemical amount, reaction conditions, and/or processing conditions, a member being a single position in a library, the method comprising: defining a set of one or more sources and one or more destinations, each source being electronic data representing a component to be used in preparing the combinatorial library and each destination being electronic data representing a conceptual arrangement of cells representing a combinatorial library, the cells corresponding to members of the combinatorial library and/or locations on a physical substrate; defining one or more mappings, the mappings in the aggregate defining a composition for each of a plurality of materials assigned to a plurality of cells in the arrangement; defining one or more parameters, each parameter being electronic data being electronic data corresponding to a process condition to be applied to one or more cells of the arrangement representing the combinatorial library; defining one or more parameter values for each of the parameters, the parameter values representing an amount of the corresponding process condition to be applied to one or more of the cells of the arrangement; and generating a data file defining the library design, the data file comprising electronic data describing the source elements, the destination elements, the mappings, the parameters and the parameter values.
Abstract:
A method of characterizing materials comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; synthesizing an array of materials on said substrate; providing at least one reactant gas wherein said reactant gas is in contact with said array of materials; activating at least one of said materials on said array with a heating source; and periodically monitoring an infrared emission from said activated material with an infrared camera, wherein said infrared camera outputs a series of signals corresponding to an emission intensity varying with time of said activated material.
Abstract:
A method of characterizing materials comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; synthesizing an array of materials on said substrate; providing at least one reactant gas wherein said reactant gas is in contact with said array of materials; activating at least one of said materials on said array with a heating source; and periodically monitoring an infrared emission from said activated material with an infrared camera, wherein said infrared camera outputs a series of signals corresponding to an emission intensity varying with time of said activated material.
Abstract:
A method of characterizing materials comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; synthesizing an array of materials on said substrate; providing at least one reactant gas wherein said reactant gas is in contact with said array of materials; activating at least one of said materials on said array with a heating source; and periodically monitoring an infrared emission from said activated material with an infrared camera, wherein said infrared camera outputs a series of signals corresponding to an emission intensity varying with time of said activated material.