ELECTRICAL PATTERNS FOR BIOSENSOR AND METHOD OF MAKING

• US 20110000785A1
• Filed: 04/29/2010
• Published: 01/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roche Diabetes Care Inc. (Roche Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations Incorporated (Roche Holding AG)
• Inventors: Bhullar, Raghbir Singh, Celenatano, Mike, El-Rahaiby, Said K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,603,308 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/403.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/3272 Test elements therefor, i.e. disposable laminated substrates with electrodes, reagent and channels optical biosensors G01N33/52
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/3277 being a redox reaction, e.g. detection by cyclic voltammetry voltammetry per se G01N27/42, G01N27/48
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/5438 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1082 Partial cutting bonded sandwich [e.g., grooving or incising]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49155 Manufacturing circuit on or in base
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49156 with selective destruction of conductive paths

Abstract

The present invention provides an inventive biosensor that includes multiple regions in which the electrical pattern is formed from different electrically conductive materials. The present invention also provides an inventive method for mass producing biosensors as just described. In one embodiment of this method, first and second different electrically conductive materials are deposited side by side on a portion of an electrically insulating base material, and a plurality of electrical patterns is formed on the portion of the base material. Each electrical pattern includes a first region formed from the first electrically conductive material electrically connected to a second region formed from the second electrically conductive material. The electrically conductive materials can be deposited as layers on the base material and portions of the layers can be removed to form the electrical patterns, or, the electrical patterns can be formed by transferring the conductive material in the shape of the electrical pattern directly to the base material, such as by a laser direct transfer technique.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a base substrate having an electrical pattern thereon for use in an electrochemical biosensor, the method comprising:

providing a base material having a first layer of a first electrically conductive material positioned substantially side by side to and in electrical contact with a second layer of a second electrically conductive material; and

removing at least a portion of the first layer and the second layer to form an electrical pattern on the base material, the electrical pattern including a first region formed from the first electrically conductive material electrically connected to a second region formed from the second electrically conductive material, the first region of the electrical pattern comprising at least one electrode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step comprises ablating the portion of the first layer and the second layer by projecting an image of the electrical pattern onto the base material with a laser apparatus to form the electrical pattern from both the first and second layers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the removing step a plurality of times at spaced intervals along the base material to form a base substrate web having a plurality of the electrical patterns thereon.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

depositing a reagent layer on the base substrate web over at least a portion of the at least one electrode of each electrical pattern of the plurality of electrical patterns;

laminating at least one covering layer or a spacing layer over the base substrate web, thereby forming covers and sample receiving chambers for individual biosensors to be formed; and

cutting through the at least one covering layer or spacing layer and the base substrate web to form a plurality of biosensors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step comprises forming working and counter electrodes from the first electrically conductive material and forming contact pads from the second electrically conductive material.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing step comprises providing the base material with the first layer formed from a noble metal and the second layer formed from an electrically conductive material substantially more robust than a noble metal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the noble metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, palladium and platinum.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the electrically conductive material for the second layer is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, carbon, cobalt, copper, gallium, indium, iridium, iron, lead, magnesium, mercury, nickel, niobium, osmium, rhenium, rhodium, selenium, silicon, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zinc, zirconium, indium tin oxide and mixtures thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing step comprises providing the base material with the first and second layers in a partially overlapping arrangement.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to the providing step, depositing the first and second layers of electrically conductive material substantially side by side along a portion of the base material.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

prior to the providing step, depositing third and fourth layers of electrically conductive material substantially side by side along a second portion of the base material, the third layer being adjacent to the second electrically conductive layer; and

cutting the base material between the second and third layers.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the depositing step comprises one or more of sputtering, physical vapor deposition, plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electron beam physical vapor deposition, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, and laser induced forward transfer.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a second base material having a second electrical pattern formed thereon and combining the first base material and the second base material into a laminate in which the first electrical pattern faces the second electrical pattern.

14. A method of manufacturing a base substrate web comprising a plurality of electrical patterns for use in electrochemical biosensors, the method comprising:

providing an electrically insulating base material;

depositing first and second different electrically conductive materials on a portion of the base material substantially side by side to one another; and

forming a plurality of electrical patterns on the portion of the base material, each electrical pattern including a first region formed from the first electrically conductive material electrically connected to a second region formed from the second electrically conductive material, the first region of the electrical pattern comprising at least one electrical feature.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the depositing step comprises depositing a first layer of the first electrically conductive material on the portion of the base material and depositing a second layer of the second electrically conductive material on the portion of the base material substantially side by side to and in electrical contact with the first layer, further wherein the step of forming the electrical patterns comprises removing a portion of the first layer and the second layer after the depositing step.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the removing step comprises forming working and counter electrodes from the first electrically conductive material and forming contact pads from the second electrically conductive material.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the depositing step comprises depositing a noble metal as the first electrically conductive material and depositing a material that is substantially more robust than a noble metal as the second electrically conductive material.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the noble metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, palladium and platinum.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the second electrically conductive material is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, carbon, cobalt, copper, gallium, indium, iridium, iron, lead, magnesium, mercury, nickel, niobium, osmium, rhenium, rhodium, selenium, silicon, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zinc, zirconium, indium tin oxide and mixtures thereof.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first and second electrically conductive materials substantially comprises the shape of a portion of the electrical pattern before the depositing step is complete.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the depositing step comprises laser induced forward transfer.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising depositing third and fourth different electrically conductive materials substantially side by side along a second portion of the base material and cutting the base material to separate the portion from the second portion.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

forming a plurality of second electrical patterns on the second portion of the base material;

incorporating the portion of base material having the first and second electrically conductive materials into a first set of biosensors; and

incorporating the second portion of the base material having the third and fourth electrically conductive materials into a second set of biosensors.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first and second electrically conductive materials are the same as the third and fourth electrically conductive materials, respectively, whereby the first and second sets of biosensors are the same.

25. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

depositing a reagent layer on the base substrate web over at least a portion of the at least one electrical feature of each electrical pattern of the plurality of electrical patterns;

laminating at least one covering layer or a spacing layer over the base material, thereby forming covers and sample receiving chambers for individual biosensors to be formed; and

cutting through the at least one covering layer or spacing layer and the base substrate web to form a plurality of biosensors.

26. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing a second base material having a plurality of second electrical patterns formed thereon; and

combining the first base material and the second base material into a laminate in which each electrical pattern of the plurality of electrical patterns faces a respective second electrical pattern of the plurality of second electrical patterns.

27. A biosensor for determining presence or concentration of an analyte in a fluid sample, comprising:

a substrate having an electrical pattern formed thereon, the electrical pattern comprising a working electrode, a counter electrode, contact pads, and traces electrically connecting the working and counter electrodes to their respective contact pads;

one or more of a spacing layer and a covering layer overlying the substrate and cooperating with the substrate to define a sample receiving chamber;

the biosensor having a first region in which the electrical pattern is formed of a first electrically conductive material and a second region in which the electrical pattern is formed of a second electrically conductive material, wherein at least one of the traces includes a first section located in the first region electrically connected to a second section located in the second region, the first and second sections being comprised of the first and second electrically conductive materials, respectively.

28. The biosensor of claim 27, wherein the first section and the second section partially overlap.

29. The biosensor of claim 27, wherein the first electrically conductive material comprises a noble metal.

30. The biosensor of claim 29, wherein the noble metal is gold.

31. The biosensor of claim 29, wherein the second electrically conductive material comprises a material substantially more robust than a noble metal.

32. The biosensor of claim 31, wherein the second electrically conductive material is copper or indium-tin oxide.

33. The biosensor of claim 31, wherein the electrodes are located in the first region and the contact pads are located in the second region.

34. The biosensor of claim 27, wherein the electrodes are located in the first region and a reagent layer overlies at least one of the electrodes.

35. The biosensor of claim 34, wherein the reagent layer terminates substantially at the interface between the first and second regions.

36. The biosensor of claim 34, wherein a portion of the first region of the electrical pattern extends beyond the reagent layer in a direction toward the transition between the first and second regions.

37. The biosensor of claim 34, wherein the first region of the electrical pattern is formed from a noble metal.

38. The biosensor of claim 27, wherein the at least one trace comprises at least four traces.

39. The biosensor of claim 27, further comprising a generally thin and flat biosensor body having a length greater than its width, a dosing end, and a meter insertion end, wherein the dosing end is located in the first region and the meter insertion end is located in the second region.

40. The biosensor of claim 27, further comprising a third region in which the electrical pattern is formed of a third electrically conductive material.

41. The biosensor of claim 40, wherein the first, second and third regions are positioned side by side along a lengthwise direction of the biosensor.

42. The biosensor of claim 27, further comprising a second substrate having at least one electrical feature formed thereon, the electrical feature facing the electrical pattern.

43. A method for manufacturing a base substrate having an electrical pattern thereon for use in an electrochemical biosensor, comprising the steps of:

providing an electrically insulating base material;

forming an electrode region on the base material, the electrode region comprising at least a pair of electrically isolated electrodes formed of a first electrically conductive material;

forming a contact region on the base material adjacent the electrode region, the contact region comprising at least first and second electrically isolated contact areas formed of a second electrically conductive material; and

forming at least first and second electrically isolated traces on the base material, each trace having a first section and a second section, the first section being formed from the first electrically conductive material and being electrically connected to the electrode region, the second section being formed from the second electrically conductive material and being electrically connected to the contact region;

wherein the first and second contact areas are each in electrical contact with a corresponding one of the pair of electrodes through a corresponding one of the traces, further wherein the electrode region, the traces and the contact region cooperate to define an electrical pattern for the biosensor.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

providing the base material with a first layer formed of the first electrically conductive material positioned substantially side by side to and in electrical contact with a second layer formed of the second electrically conductive material; and

removing at least a portion of the first layer and the second layer to form the electrical pattern on the base material.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the removing step comprises ablating the portion of the first layer and the second layer by projecting an image of the electrical pattern onto the base material with a laser apparatus to form the electrical pattern from both the first and second layers.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising repeating the removing step a plurality of times at spaced intervals along the base material to form a base substrate web having a plurality of the electrical patterns thereon.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

depositing a reagent layer on the base substrate web over at least a portion of the at least one electrode of each electrical pattern of the plurality of electrical patterns;

laminating at least one covering layer or a spacing layer over the base substrate, thereby forming covers and sample receiving chambers for individual biosensors to be formed; and

cutting through the at least one covering layer or spacing layer and the base substrate web to form a plurality of biosensors.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein the providing step comprises providing the base material with the first and second layers in a partially overlapping arrangement.

49. The method of claim 44, further comprising, prior to providing the base material, depositing the first and second layers of electrically conductive material substantially side by side along a portion of the base material.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the depositing step comprises one or more of sputtering, physical vapor deposition, plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electron beam physical vapor deposition, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, and laser induced forward transfer.

51. The method of claim 43, wherein the first electrically conductive material comprises a noble metal and the second electrically conductive material comprises a material substantially more robust than a noble metal.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the noble metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, palladium and platinum.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the second electrically conductive material is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, carbon, cobalt, copper, gallium, indium, iridium, iron, lead, magnesium, mercury, nickel, niobium, osmium, rhenium, rhodium, selenium, silicon, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zinc, zirconium, indium tin oxide and mixtures thereof.

54. The method of claim 43, further comprising providing a second base material having a second electrical pattern formed thereon and combining the first base material and the second base material into a laminate in which the first electrical pattern faces the second electrical pattern.

55. The method of claim 43, wherein at least a portion of the electrode region, contact region or the traces is formed by laser induced direct transfer.