Hybrid microfluidic and nanofluidic system
First Claim
1. A fluid circuit comprising:
- a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side;
a first channel containing fluid extending along said first side of the membrane;
a second channel containing fluid extending along said second side of the membrane and crossing said first channel; and
an electrical source in electrical communication with at least one of said first fluid and second fluid for selectively developing an electrical potential between fluid in said first channel and fluid in said second channel thereby causing at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in the membrane from one of said first channel and said second channel to the other of said first channel and said second channel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fluid circuit includes a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite the first side, and a pore extending from the first side to the second side. The circuit also includes a first channel containing fluid extending along the first side of the membrane and a second channel containing fluid extending along the second side of the membrane and crossing the first channel. The circuit also includes an electrical source in electrical communication with at least one of the first fluid and second fluid for selectively developing an electrical potential between fluid in the first channel and fluid in the second channel. This causes at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in the membrane from one of the first channel and the second channel to the other of the first channel and the second channel.
139 Citations
87 Claims
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1. A fluid circuit comprising:
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a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side;
a first channel containing fluid extending along said first side of the membrane;
a second channel containing fluid extending along said second side of the membrane and crossing said first channel; and
an electrical source in electrical communication with at least one of said first fluid and second fluid for selectively developing an electrical potential between fluid in said first channel and fluid in said second channel thereby causing at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in the membrane from one of said first channel and said second channel to the other of said first channel and said second channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A fluid circuit comprising:
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a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side having a width less than about 250 nanometers;
a first channel containing fluid extending along said first side of the membrane; and
a second channel containing fluid extending along said second side of the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A fluid circuit comprising:
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a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side;
a first channel containing a first fluid having a first Debye length in fluid communication with said first side of the membrane; and
a second channel containing a second fluid having a second Debye length at least as long as said first Debye length in fluid communication with said second side of the membrane;
wherein the pore has a width between about 0.01 and about 1000 times the first Debye length. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. Apparatus for constructing a fluid circuit comprising:
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a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side;
a first channel adjacent said first side of the membrane for containing fluid in fluid communication with said first side of the membrane;
a second channel adjacent said second side of the membrane for containing fluid in fluid communication with said second side of the membrane; and
an electrical source in electrical communication with at least one of said first channel and second channel for selectively developing an electrical potential between fluid in said first channel and fluid in said second channel thereby causing at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in the membrane from one of said first channel and said second channel to the other of said first channel and said second channel. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A method of selectively transferring at least one component of fluid from a first channel to a second channel comprising the steps of:
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delivering fluid to a first channel extending along a first side of a membrane;
delivering fluid to a second channel extending along a second side of the membrane, said membrane having a pore extending from said first side to said second side; and
developing an electrical potential between the fluid in said first channel and the fluid in said second channel thereby causing at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (82)
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83. A method of tagging a selected component within a fluid comprising a plurality of components using a fluid circuit including a membrane having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side, said method comprising the steps of:
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passing a chemical reagent through the pore so that the reagent coats a surface of the pore;
flushing the pore to remove the reagent from a central portion of the pore so at least a portion of the reagent coating remains on the surface of the pore; and
passing at least one component of the fluid through the pore so the selected component contacts the reagent. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86)
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87. Apparatus for constructing a fluid circuit comprising:
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a plurality of membranes, each of said membranes having a first side, a second side opposite said first side, and a pore extending from said first side to said second side;
a plurality of pairs of channels, each of said pairs of channels including a first channel adjacent at least one of said first sides of the membranes for containing fluid in fluid communication with said first side of the respective membrane and a second channel adjacent at least one of said second sides of the membranes for containing fluid in fluid communication with said second side of the respective membrane; and
an electrical source in electrical communication with at least one of said channels for selectively developing an electrical potential between fluid in said channels thereby causing at least one component of fluid to pass through the pore in at least one of said membranes.
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Specification