Microfabricated structures for facilitating fluid introduction into microfluidic devices
First Claim
1. A method for introducing a plurality of samples into a microfluidic substrate, the method comprising:
- forming a volume of each sample on an associated pin, the pins arranged in an array;
aligning the array of pins with an array of ports on the substrate; and
bringing the aligned pins and ports together so that the volumes transfer from the pins to associated ports of the substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Fluid introduction is facilitated through the use of a port which extends entirely through a microfluidic substrate. Capillary forces can be used to retain the fluid within the port, and a series of samples or other fluids may be introduced through a single port by sequentially blowing the fluid out through the substrate and replacing the removed fluid with an alternate fluid, or by displacing the fluid in part with additional fluid. In another aspect, microfluidic substrates have channels which varying in cross-sectional dimension so that capillary action spreads a fluid only within a limited portion of the channel network. In yet another aspect, the introduction ports may include a multiplicity of very small channels leading from the port to a fluid channel, so as to filter out particles or other contaminants which might otherwise block the channel at the junction between the channel and the introduction port.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for introducing a plurality of samples into a microfluidic substrate, the method comprising:
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forming a volume of each sample on an associated pin, the pins arranged in an array;
aligning the array of pins with an array of ports on the substrate; and
bringing the aligned pins and ports together so that the volumes transfer from the pins to associated ports of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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2. A method for introducing a plurality of fluids into a microfluidic substrate, the method comprising:
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inserting a first fluid into a port of the substrate;
transferring a portion of the first fluid from the port into a microfluidic channel of the substrate;
removing an unused portion of the first fluid from the port; and
inserting a second fluid into the port. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A microfluidic system comprising:
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a substrate having a first microfluidic channel and a capillary limit region; and
a second microfluidic channel in fluid communication with the first channel through the limit region, the second channel having a cross-sectional dimension adjacent the limit region which is larger than a cross-sectional dimension of the limit region to inhibit wicking from the limit region into the second channel. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for controllably distributing fluids within microfluidic substrates, the method comprising:
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wicking a first fluid along a first channel and into a capillary limit region; and
preventing the first fluid from wicking beyond the limit region and into a second channel with differential capillary force. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19)
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13. A filtered microfluidic system comprising a substrate having:
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a reservoir;
a channel having a microfluidic fluid channel cross-section; and
a plurality of filter channels, each filter channel extending between the reservoir and the channel, each filter channel having a cross-sectional dimension which is smaller than a cross-sectional dimension of the microfluidic channel.
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21. A method for filtering a fluid sample entering a microfluidic channel network, the method comprising:
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introducing the fluid sample into a port;
passing the fluid sample through a plurality of filter channels in parallel, the filter channels blocking particles having cross sections which are larger than a maximum filter particle size; and
collecting the filtered fluid sample and transporting the filtered fluid sample through a microfluidic channel having a cross-section which is larger than the maximum filter size. - View Dependent Claims (20, 22)
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Specification