MICROFLOW ANALYTICAL SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A microflow analytical system comprising:
- a laminate pump assembly adapted to control parallel delivery of a plurality of fluids, the laminate pump assembly comprising a plurality of flow paths formed therewithin, each flow path comprising;
a pump valve;
an inlet valve connected to selectively provide fluid communication between an inlet connector and the pump valve, andan outlet valve connected to selectively provide fluid communication between the pump valve and an outlet channel,wherein the pump valve, inlet valve, and outlet valve each comprise a chamber formed at an interface of two layers of the laminate pump assembly having a pneumatically actuated membrane dividing the chamber into a fluid flow cavity and a pneumatic control cavity such that i) delivery of a pneumatic fluid to the pneumatic control cavity causes the fluid flow cavity to collapse, thereby blocking the flow path and forcing fluid within the fluid flow cavity out along the flow path, and ii) removal of pneumatic fluid from the pneumatic control cavity causes the fluid flow cavity to open, thereby drawing fluid within the flow path into the fluid flow cavity and permitting fluid flow through the flow path;
a pneumatic control pump for controlling application or removal of pneumatic fluid to the inlet valve, pump valve, and outlet valve;
a mixer connected in fluid communication with the outlet channels of the plurality of flow paths and adapted to mix fluid delivered from two or more of the flow paths; and
a sensor, coupled with the mixer and configured to obtain response data indicative of a characteristic of the mixed fluids.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microflow analytical system includes a laminate pump assembly connectable with one or more sources of fluid, one or more pneumatic control pumps, a mixer, and a sensor. The laminate pump assembly is adapted to deliver predetermined volumes of the fluid(s) through a plurality of flow paths which are formed within layers of the assembly. Each flow path can include an inlet valve, a pump valve, and an outlet valve each of which are controllable by the pneumatic control pumps. A series of manifolds can be formed within the layers of the pump assembly to provide for simultaneous activation of selected flow paths. Delivered fluid volumes can be mixed in the mixer which, in some embodiments, may be integral with the laminate pump assembly. The sensor can measure one or more characteristics of the mixed fluids to determine one or more properties of the fluids.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A microflow analytical system comprising:
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a laminate pump assembly adapted to control parallel delivery of a plurality of fluids, the laminate pump assembly comprising a plurality of flow paths formed therewithin, each flow path comprising; a pump valve; an inlet valve connected to selectively provide fluid communication between an inlet connector and the pump valve, and an outlet valve connected to selectively provide fluid communication between the pump valve and an outlet channel, wherein the pump valve, inlet valve, and outlet valve each comprise a chamber formed at an interface of two layers of the laminate pump assembly having a pneumatically actuated membrane dividing the chamber into a fluid flow cavity and a pneumatic control cavity such that i) delivery of a pneumatic fluid to the pneumatic control cavity causes the fluid flow cavity to collapse, thereby blocking the flow path and forcing fluid within the fluid flow cavity out along the flow path, and ii) removal of pneumatic fluid from the pneumatic control cavity causes the fluid flow cavity to open, thereby drawing fluid within the flow path into the fluid flow cavity and permitting fluid flow through the flow path; a pneumatic control pump for controlling application or removal of pneumatic fluid to the inlet valve, pump valve, and outlet valve; a mixer connected in fluid communication with the outlet channels of the plurality of flow paths and adapted to mix fluid delivered from two or more of the flow paths; and a sensor, coupled with the mixer and configured to obtain response data indicative of a characteristic of the mixed fluids. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24)
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5. The microflow analytical system of 4, wherein the volume of fluid delivered by each flow path during a pump cycle is approximately 30 microliters.
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16. A method for measuring a concentration of one or more analytes within a use composition, the method comprising:
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providing a) a laminate pump assembly adapted to control the delivery of volumes of a plurality of fluids, at least one of the fluids comprising the use composition, the laminate pump assembly comprising a plurality of flow paths formed therewithin, each flow path comprising a plurality of microfluidic valves adapted to deliver a metered fluid flow from an inlet connector of the flow path to an outlet channel of the flow path b) a mixer connected in fluid communication with the outlet channels of the plurality of flow paths and adapted to mix fluid delivered from two or more of the flow paths; and
d) a sensor, coupled with the mixer and configured to obtain response data indicative of a reaction of the mixed fluids;connecting a source of the use composition and a source of at least one reagent with the inlet connectors; activating the laminate pump assembly, thereby causing metered volumes of use composition and reagent to be delivered to mixer; mixing the metered volumes of use composition and reagent; obtaining response data from the sensor indicative of the concentration of the one or more analytes within the use composition; and calculating the concentration of the one or more analytes based on the response data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26)
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Specification