Microfluidic accumulating and proportioning component

• US 20020168298A1
• Filed: 05/09/2002
• Published: 11/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eppendorf AG
• Original Assignee: Eppendorf AG
• Inventors: Timmann, Lutz, Huhn, Rudiger, Sander, Dietmar, Blum, Roger
• Granted Patent: US 7,067,086 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/100
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/04 Exchange or ejection of cartridges, containers or reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0615 Loss of fluid by dripping
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0642 Filling fluids into wells by specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0684 Venting, avoiding backpressure, avoid gas bubbles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/16 Reagents, handling or storing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0406 capillary forces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0268 using pulse dispensing or spraying, eg. inkjet type, piezo actuated ejection of droplets from capillaries
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502723 characterised by venting arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/1039 Micropipettes, e.g. microcapillary tubes

Abstract

A microfluidic accumulating and proportioning component, including:

a reservoir including an aeration port and an outlet disposed below for a liquid,

capillary cavities in the reservoir,

a displacement chamber which is disposed at least partly at the same level as the reservoir, with an inlet disposed above and a proportioning outlet disposed below for a liquid, and

a rising capillary channel connecting the outlet of the reservoir to the inlet of the displacement chamber.

Claims

1. A microfluidic accumulating and proportioning component, comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26) and an outlet (30) disposed below for a liquid,

capillary cavities (20′

, 20″

) in the reservoir (15),

a displacement chamber (34) which is disposed at least partly at the same level as the reservoir (15), with an inlet (36) disposed above and a proportioning outlet (9) disposed below for a liquid, and

a rising capillary channel (22) connecting the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15) to the inlet (36) of the displacement chamber (34).

2. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reservoir (15) and the displacement chamber (34) are disposed substantially at the same level.

3. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the capillary cavities (20′

, 20″

) are capillary channels leading to the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15).

4. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rising channel (22) is connected to the inlet (36) of the displacement chamber (34) via a connection duct (37) with which a filling level sensor is associated.

5. The component as claimed in claim 4 wherein the connection duct (37) is disposed between the highest level of the rising channel (22) and the inlet (36) of the displacement chamber (34).

6. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rising capillary channel (22) is laterally connected to the reservoir (15) via a capillary gap (31) with the capillary gap (31) being designed so as to cause a liquid to flow substantially from the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15) into the displacement chamber (34) through the capillary rising channel (22) in the proportioning mode and, if the component is disposed in a centrifugal field directed counter to the direction of flow in the rising channel (22) in the proportioning mode, to cause a liquid to flow from the displacement chamber (34) and the rising channel (22) into the reservoir (15) through the gap (31).

7. The component as claimed in claim 6 wherein the capillary gap (31) opens at least partly into a region of the reservoir (15) above the capillary cavities (20′

, 20″

).

8. The component as claimed in claim 6 wherein the capillarity of the gap (31) is reduced from bottom to top.

9. The component as claimed in claim 1 which has a filling port (11) at top that is connected to the reservoir (15).

10. The component as claimed in claim 9 wherein a filling channel (24) is disposed between the filling port (11) and the rising channel (22).

11. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reservoir (15) and the displacement chamber (34) are substantially disposed in parallel layers of at least one planar body (1).

12. The component as claimed in claim 11 wherein the rising channel (22) and/or the filling channel (24) are substantially disposed in the same layer as the reservoir (15) and/or the connection duct (37) is/are substantially disposed in the same layer as the displacement chamber (34).

13. The component as claimed in claim 11 wherein the rising channel (22) and the connection duct (37) or the inlet (36) of the displacement chamber (34) are connected to each other via a transversely directed passage (23) of the at least one planar body (1).

14. The component as claimed in claim 11 wherein the proportioning outlet (9) is disposed in one end face (2) and/or the filling port (11) is disposed in the other end face (4) of the at least one planar body (1).

15. The component as claimed in claim 11 wherein the reservoir (15) and/or the rising channel (22) and/or the filling channel (24) are disposed on one large-surface side of a planar basic body (6), the displacement chamber (34) and/or the connection duct (37) are disposed on the other large-surface side of the planar basic body (6), the transversely directed passage (23) is disposed in the planar basic body (6) in a transverse direction, the proportioning outlet (9) is disposed in one end face (2) and/or the filling port (11) is disposed in the other end face (4) of the planar basic body (6) and the planar basic body (6) is closed by a reservoir lid (7) on the side of the reservoir (15) and by a membrane lid (8) on the side of the displacement chamber (34).

16. The component as claimed in claim 15 wherein the reservoir lid (7) partly contains the reservoir (15) and/or the rising channel (22) and/or the filling channel (24) and/or the membrane lid (8) partly contains/contain the displacement chamber and/or the connection duct (37).

18. The component as claimed in claim 17 wherein the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15) has a connection (22) to an inlet (36) of a displacement chamber (34) having a proportioning outlet (9) for a liquid.

19. The component as claimed in claim 17 wherein the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

) are defined by parallel lamellar strips (18′

, 18″

) and the capillary connections (29) are defined by transversely directed linking gaps between the lamellar strips (18′

, 18″

).

20. The component as claimed in claim 19 which has a planar basic body (6) which has lamellar strips (18′

) protruding on one side from the bottom (17′

) of an indentation (15′

) defining one part of the reservoir (15) and has a reservoir lid (7) disposed on this side of the basic body (6) which has lamellar strips (18″

) protruding from the bottom (17″

) of an indentation (15″

) defining a second part of the reservoir (15) wherein the lamellar strips (18′

) of the basic body (6) and the lamellar strips (18″

) of the reservoir lid (7) are flush with each other and the capillary connections (29) are located between the lamellar strips (18′

) of the basic body (6) and the lamellar strips (18″

) of the reservoir lid (7).

21. The component as claimed in claim 20 wherein the capillary connections (29) are disposed in the separation plane between the basic body (6) and the reservoir lid (7).

44. The component as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inlet (36) of the displacement chamber (34) has a throttle valve and/or the proportioning outlet (9) has a nozzle.

45. The component as claimed in claim 1 which is releasably connected to a proportioning device which has an actuator acting on a wall (8) of the displacement chamber (34) of the component to shift the wall and to displace a liquid contained in the displacement chamber (34).

46. The component as claimed in claim 1 which is releasably connected to a proportioning device which has a filling-level sensor to sense the filling level in the connection duct (37).

17. A microfluidic accumulating and/or proportioning component comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26) and an outlet (30) for a liquid,

parallel capillary channels (20′

, 20″

) disposed in the reservoir (15) and leading to the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15) and capillary connections (29) directed transversely to the capillary channels and interconnecting adjacent capillary channels and connected to the outlet (30) the capillarity of which exceeds that of the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

).

22. A microfluidic accumulating and/or proportioning component comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26) and an outlet (30) for a liquid,

capillary channels (20′

, 20″

) disposed in the reservoir (15) and leading to the outlet, and

shoulders (21, 21″

) at the ends of the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

) in which outlet ports (30′

) of the outlet (30) for a liquid are disposed that have a cross-section smaller than that of the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

).

23. The component as claimed in claim 22 wherein the outlet (30) has a connection (22) including an inlet (36) of a displacement chamber (34) having a proportioning outlet (9) for a liquid.

24. The component as claimed in claim 22 wherein the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

) are parallel and/or straight-lined.

25. The component as claimed in claim 22 wherein the outlet ports (30′

) are centrally oriented towards the capillary channels (20′

, 20″

).

26. The component as claimed in claim 22 wherein a planar basic body (6) has one part of the reservoir (15) on one side and a reservoir lid (7) disposed on this side has another part of the reservoir (15) and the shoulders (21′

, 21″

) have one part on the basic body (6) and another part on the reservoir lid (7).

28. The component as claimed in claim 27 wherein the outlet (30) of the reservoir (15) has a connection (22) to the inlet (36) of a displacement chamber (34) including a proportioning outlet (9) for a liquid.

29. The component as claimed in claim 27 wherein the reservoir (15) has a part including capillary cavities (20′

, 20″

) and a part free from capillary cavities in which the aeration port (26) is disposed.

30. The component as claimed in claim 27 wherein the part of the reservoir (15) which is free from capillary cavities (20′

, 20″

) is adapted to receive approximately the same liquid volume as is the part of the reservoir (15) in which the capillary cavities are.

31. The component as claimed in claim 27 wherein the aeration port (26) has a sharp-edged bordering.

32. The component as claimed in claim 27 wherein the reservoir (15) is at least partly formed as an indentation (15′

) in one side of a planar basic body (6) and a spigot (25) protrudes from the bottom of the indentation (15′

) the free end of which has disposed thereon the aeration port (26) from which an aeration channel (27) extends into the basic body (6) through the spigot (25) and extends to an outwardly leading mouth (10) through the wall of the basic body (6).

33. The component as claimed in claim 32 wherein a reservoir lid (7) is disposed on the side of the basic body (6) including the aeration port (26) and which has an indentation (15″

) defining another part of the reservoir (15).

34. The component as claimed in claim 32 wherein the aeration port (26) is disposed in the separation plane of the basic body (6) and the reservoir lid (7).

35. The component as claimed in claim 32 wherein the aeration port (26) traverses the basic body (6) and has an open portion on the other side of the basic body.

36. The component as claimed in claim 32 wherein the aeration port (26) has its mouth (10) in a end face of the basic body (6) in which also the proportioning outlet (9) has its mouth.

38. The component as claimed in claim 37 wherein the body (1) and the inscription flag (13) are plate-shaped.

39. The component as claimed in claim 37 wherein said body (1) and said inscription flag (13) are oriented perpendicularly to each other.

40. The component as claimed in claim 37 wherein a slit (14) is located between said inscription flag (13) and said body (1) to receive a casing portion of a device accommodating the component.

27. A microfluidic accumulating and/or proportioning component comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26) and an outlet (30) for a liquid,

wherein the aeration port (26) is disposed at a central location in the reservoir (15) at a distance from reservoir limitation walls so that if the reservoir (15) filled with a maximum admissible liquid volume is randomly oriented no liquid exits to the outside through the aeration port (26).

37. A microfluidic accumulating and/or proportioning component, comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26),

a displacement chamber (34) connected to the reservoir (15) including a proportioning outlet (9),

a body (1) comprising the reservoir (15) and the displacement chamber (34), and

an inscription flag (13) connected to the body (1) via a web (12).

41. A microfluidic accumulating and/or proportioning component, comprising:

a reservoir (15) including an aeration port (26),

a displacement chamber (34) connected to the reservoir (15) including a proportioning outlet (9),

a body (1) in which the reservoir (15) and the displacement chamber (34) are formed and which has the proportioning outlet (9) and/or a mouth (10) of the aeration port (26) in a end face (2), and

a catch contour (3′

, 3″

) formed at the end face (2) including the pro-portioning outlet.

42. The component as claimed in claim 41 wherein the catch contour (3′

, 3″

) is of a dovetail shape.

43. The component as claimed in claim 41 wherein the catch contour (3′

, 3″

) is releasably connected to a closing cap to close the proportioning outlet (9) and/or the mouth (10) or to an aim-taking aid to direct the proportioning outlet (9) to an object.