MICROFLUIDIC SYSTEMS INCLUDING POROUS POLYMER ELECTRODES

• US 20070175768A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Biosystems LLC (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Applera Corporation (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Faulstich, Konrad, Scaboo, Kristian, Lau, Aldrich
• Application Number:
  US11/558,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20070175768A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 205/777.500
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/10 Integrating sample preparation and analysis in single entity, e.g. lab-on-a-chip concept
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/12 Specific details about manufacturing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0645 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0681 Filter
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0418 electro-osmotic flow [EOF]
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0421 electrophoretic flow
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5023 with a sample being transported to, and subsequently stored in an absorbent for analysis
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502707 characterised by the manufacture of the container or its components by shaping or joining plastic parts B29C59/00, B29C65/00; by laminating B32B37/00; manufacture of microstructural devices in general B81C
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502753 characterised by bulk separation arrangements on lab-on-a-chip devices, e.g. for filtration or centrifugation separation in general B01D; microapparatus for analysis using electrophoresis G01N27/44791; sample preparation G01N1/28
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/52 with provision for submitting samples to a predetermined sequence of different temperatures, e.g. for treating nucleic acid samples amplification or hybridisation processes per se C12Q1/68; controlling sequential reactions for synthesis B01J19/0046
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/44704 Details; Accessories

Abstract

Microfluidic devices that incorporate a porous polymer electrode assemblies, including microfluidic device useful for detection of nucleic acids, as well as methods of using the microfluidic devices.

Claims

1. A microfluidic device, comprising:

a porous electrode assembly that includes

a porous monolith;

a conductive polymer applied to at least a portion of the porous monolith, so that the surface of the material defines a porous topography; and

an electrical connection between the conductive polymer and a potential source; and

a controller configured to control the electrical potential applied to the conductive polymer.

2. The microfluidic device of claim 1, wherein the porous monolith includes a conductive material;

and the electrical connection between the conductive polymer and the potential source includes the porous monolith.

3. The microfluidic device of claim 1, further comprising a fluidic system configured to transport a sample of interest to and from the porous polymer electrode.

4. The microfluidic device of claim 3, where the fluidic system further comprises one or more filters configured to filter the sample of interest.

5. The microfluidic device of claim 3, further comprising one or more components suitable for preparing a sample solution for analysis by the porous polymer electrode.

6. The microfluidic device of claim 5, where the one or more components suitable for preparing a sample solution of interest include one or more reagent reservoirs.

7. The microfluidic device of claim 5, where the one or more components suitable for preparing a sample solution of interest include a chamber configured for a lysis reaction.

8. The microfluidic device of claim 5, where the one or more components suitable for preparing a sample solution of interest include a chamber configured for a denaturation reaction.

9. The microfluidic device of claim 5, where the one or more components suitable for preparing a sample solution of interest include a chamber configured for a polymerase chain reaction.

10. The microfluidic device of claim 1, wherein the porous monolith includes pores that are about 2 μ

m to about 100 μ

m across.

11. The microfluidic device of claim 1, where the porous polymer electrode assembly comprises:

a substrate;

a conductive layer disposed on the substrate;

a porous monolith disposed on the conductive layer; and

a conductive polymer applied to the porous monolith, so that the conductive polymer at least partially defines the pores present in the porous monolith, and so that an electrical connection is formed between the conductive layer and the conductive polymer.

12. The microfluidic device of claim 1, where the porous polymer electrode assembly comprises:

a porous nonconductive monolith;

a nonporous and nonconductive filler material within the pores of the porous monolith; and

a conductive polymer disposed in the pores of the monolith, and interposed between the monolith and the filler material.

13. The microfluidic device of claim 12, wherein a surface of the porous electrode assembly exposes a plurality of conductive domains at least partially isolated by nonconductive filler material and nonconductive monolith.

14. The microfluidic device of claim 13, wherein the conductive domains are exposed on an external surface of the porous electrode assembly.

15. The microfluidic device of claim 13, wherein the conductive domains are exposed on an internal surface of a channel in the porous electrode assembly.

19. A method of analyzing a sample, comprising:

introducing a sample into the microfluidic device of claim 1;

preparing the sample for analysis by the porous polymer electrode;

transporting the sample to the porous polymer electrode; and

applying an electrical potential to the porous polymer electrode.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising detecting an analyte of interest in the sample.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein detecting the analyte of interest includes detecting a charged biomolecule.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein detecting the analyte of interest includes detecting an electrochemically active tag associated with the analyte of interest.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein detecting the analyte of interest includes detecting a negatively charged biomolecule, and applying an electrical potential includes applying a positive electrical potential to the porous polymer electrode.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising retaining an analyte of interest in the porous polymer electrode due to the applied electrical potential.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising applying a second electrical potential to the porous polymer electrode, where the second applied potential releases the analyte of interest from the porous polymer electrode.

16. A microfluidic device for analyzing nucleic acids, comprising

a substrate having a plurality of microfluidic chambers and channels fabricated therein;

a cover adhering to the substrate surface;

an inlet configured to receive a biological sample;

one or more chambers configured for pretreatment of the biological sample;

one or more chambers configured for subjecting the biological sample to a polymerase chain reaction;

one or more chambers configured to separate a nucleic acid polymer amplified by the polymerase chain reaction; and

a porous polymer electrode configured to detect the amplified nucleic acid polymer.

17. The microfluidic device of claim 16, further comprising a chamber configured to associate the amplified nucleic acid polymer with an electrochemically detectable label.

18. The microfluidic device of claim 16, where the chambers configured to separate the amplified nucleic acid polymer are configured to electrophoretically separate the amplified nucleic acid polymer.

26. A method of detecting a nucleic acid, comprising:

introducing a sample thought to contain a target nucleic acid into the microfluidic device of claim 16;

pretreating the sample;

subjecting the pretreated sample to the polymerase chain reaction;

separating amplified nucleic acid polymers from the polymerase chain reaction mixture; and

detecting the amplified nucleic acid polymers using the porous polymer electrode.

27. The method of claim 26, where pretreating the sample includes one or more of digesting, liquidating, diluting, lysing, and denaturing the sample.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising labeling the amplified nucleic acid polymers with an electrochemically active label.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising labeling the amplified nucleic acid polymers with a specific complexing protein.

30. The method of claim 26, where separating the amplified nucleic acid polymers includes electrophoretically separating the amplified nucleic acid polymers from the polymerase chain reaction mixture.