Systems and methods for determining attributes of biological samples

Abstract

Systems and methods of determining pre-quantitation attributes of biological samples using post-quantitation attributes of those samples is disclosed. By altering a set of biological samples in a measurable way before running the set through an instrument (e.g., a mass spectrometer), a model can be developed that enables determination of the unknown pre-quantitation attributes in other biological samples as a function of post-quantitation attributes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for determining an unknown attribute of a sample including:
 an instrument that processes at least one first biological sample to determine at least one post quantitation attributes of the at least one biological sample;   a computing device that determines at least one known pre quantitation attribute and creates a data pair with the at least one post quantitation attribute and at least one pre quantitation attribute,   wherein,   the computing device develops a model based on the at least one pre quantitation attribute and the at least one post quantitatively attribute,   the computing device determines an unknown attribute related to at least one second biological sample based on the model.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the model is processed by the instrument. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first at least one biological sample is altered prior to processing and the alterations are incorporated into the model. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each data pair is unique. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , the second biological sample is processed by the same instrument as the first biological sample. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the model includes information transmitted from the instrument. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one second biological sample is altered in the same manner as the at least one first biological sample. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is communicatively coupled to the instrument. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one first biological sample and at least one second biological sample are subjected to a degradation scheme. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the degradation scheme includes modifications to the environmental conditions the samples are subject to. 
     
     
         11 . A method determining an unknown attribute of a sample including the steps of:
 processing at least one first biological sample to determine at least one post quantitation attributes of the at least one biological sample via an instrument;   determining at least one known pre quantitation attribute and creates a data pair with the at least one post quantitation attribute and at least one pre quantitation attribute via a computing device,   developing a model based on the at least one pre quantitation attribute and the at least one post quantitatively attribute via the computing device,   determining an unknown attribute related to at least one second biological sample based on the model via the computing device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , including the step of processing the model via the instrument. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , including the step of altering the first at least one biological sample is altered prior to processing, and incorporating the alterations into the model. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each data pair is unique. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , the second biological sample is processed by the same instrument as the first biological sample. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the model includes information transmitted from the instrument. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , including the step of altering the at least one second biological sample in the same manner as the at least one first biological sample. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the computing device is communicatively coupled to the instrument. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one first biological sample and at least one second biological sample are subjected to a degradation scheme. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the degradation scheme includes modifications to the environmental conditions the samples are subject to.