Portable water quality instrument

• US 10,254,229 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OndaVia, Inc.
• Original Assignee: OndaVia, Inc.
• Inventors: Peterman, Mark C., Benhabib, Merwan, Kleinman, Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Zalasky, Katherine
• Application Number:
  US14/198,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20140186939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,861 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 15/08 Selective adsorption, e.g. chromatography
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 35/30 Filter housing constructions
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 43/00 Separating particles from liquids, or liquids from solids, otherwise than by sedimentation or filtration flotation processes B03D1/00; drying solid materials or objects F26B
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 57/02 by electrophoresis treatment of water, waste water, sewage or sludge by electrophoresis C02F1/469; electrophoretic production of compounds or non-metals C25B7/00; investigating or analysing materials by using electrophoresis G01N27/26
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/04 Exchange or ejection of cartridges, containers or reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0652 Sorting or classification of particles or molecules
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/12 Specific details about manufacturing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0627 Sensor or part of a sensor is integrated
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0636 Integrated biosensor, microarrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0654 Lenses; Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0681 Filter
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0867 Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/087 Multiple sequential chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0418 electro-osmotic flow [EOF]
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0421 electrophoretic flow
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502761 specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads, for physically stretching molecules investigating characteristics of particles G01N15/00
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/28 by sorption using ion-exchange C02F1/42; sorbent compositions B01J
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/2866 Markers; Calibrating of scan
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/2879 Calibrating scan, e.g. Fabry Perot interferometer
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0256 : Compact construction
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0291 : Housings; Spectrometer accessories; Spatial arrangement of elements, e.g. folded path arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/18 : using diffraction elements, e.g. grating gratings per se G02B
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/44 : Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry ; Fluorescence spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/4412 : Scattering spectrometry particle sizing by light scattering G01N15/0205; optical velocimetry of particles G01P5/20, G01P5/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/651 : Cuvettes therefore
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/656 : Raman microprobe
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2030/0095 : Separation specially adapted for use outside laboratory, e.g. field sampling, portable equipments
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/47 : Scattering, i.e. diffuse reflection G01N21/25, G01N21/41 take precedence G01N21/55 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/4785 : Standardising light scatter apparatus; Standards therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/49 : within a body or fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/63 : optically excited
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/65 : Raman scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/658 : enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/66 : electrically excited, e.g. electroluminescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/68 : using high frequency electric fields
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/0221 : Portable; cableless; compact; hand-held
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/13 : Standards, constitution
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/44704 : Details; Accessories
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/44791 : Microapparatus sample containers with integrated microfluidic structures B01L3/5027
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/6065 : with varying cross section
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/6095 : Micromachined or nanomachined, e.g. micro- or nanosize
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/18 : Water

Abstract

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.

Claims

1. A hand-held microfluidic testing device comprising:

a) a housing, wherein said housing comprises a cartridge receiving port;

b) a cartridge, wherein said cartridge comprises

i) a sample channel, wherein said sample channel comprises a first sample channel region and a second sample channel region, wherein a cross-section of said first sample channel region is smaller than a cross-section of said second sample channel region;

ii) a detection region comprising a first detection region and a second detection region, wherein a cross-section of said first detection region is larger than a cross-section of said second detection region and said second sample channel region is connected to said first detection region;

iii) Raman-scattering nanoparticles wherein said Raman-scattering nanoparticles are larger than said cross-section of said first sample channel region and larger than said cross-section of said second detection region, wherein said Raman-scattering nanoparticles are disposed to collect in said first detection region to form a region of densely packed said Raman-scattering nanoparticles; and

,

c) an optical detection system in said housing, wherein said optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminating electric field, wherein said illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with said Raman-scattering nanoparticles to analyze said sample under test input to said cartridge.

2. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1, wherein said Raman-scattering nanoparticles have a size in a range of 10 nm to 10 μ

m.

3. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1, wherein said Raman-scattering nanoparticles move when subject to forces selected from the group consisting of electroosmosis, electrophoresis, fluid pressure, moveable wall pressure, undulary electroosmosis, undulary electrophoresis, undulary fluid pressure and undulary moveable wall pressure.

4. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1, wherein said Raman-scattering nanoparticles are selected from the group consisting of gold particles, copper particles, silver particles, magnetic particles, particles having binding chemistry, and quantum dots.

5. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1, wherein said second detection region comprises a sieve structure having openings smaller than said Raman-scattering nanoparticles.

6. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1, wherein said detection region comprises flexible material, wherein said flexible material is operably disposed to form said first sample channel region and said second detection channel region.

7. The microfluidic testing device of claim 1 comprising an input channel disposed to input said Raman-scattering nanoparticles into said second sample channel region.