APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRAPPING BEAD BASED REAGENTS WITHIN MICROFLUIDIC ANALYSIS SYSTEMS

• US 20110048945A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The Governors of the University of Alberta (University of Alberta)
• Original Assignee: The Governors of the University of Alberta (University of Alberta)
• Inventors: Skinner, Cameron, Oleschuk, Richard, Harrison, D. Jed, Li, Paul, Shultz-Lockyear, Loranelle
• Application Number:
  US12/852,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20110048945A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/451
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0668 Trapping microscopic beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0877 Flow chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0415 electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/043 magnetic forces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• 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 3/502761 specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads, for physically stretching molecules investigating characteristics of particles G01N15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/40 Concentrating samples
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/405 by adsorption or absorption
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2030/285 electrically driven carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2030/565 slurry packing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/56 Packing methods or coating methods
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/6095 Micromachined or nanomachined, e.g. micro- or nanosize
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25 including sample preparation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25375 Liberation or purification of sample or separation of material from a sample [e.g., filtering, centrifuging, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/255 including use of a solid sorbent, semipermeable membrane, or liquid extraction
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

An on-chip packed reactor bed design is disclosed that allows for an effective exchange of packing materials such as beads at a miniaturized level. Also disclosed is a method of treating a sample within a microfluidic analysis system, comprising; providing a main channel having a trapping zone; providing a slurry of a reagent treated packing material; inducing a flow of said packing material into said trapping zone through a flow channel connected to said trapping zone to load said trapping zone and form a packed bed of said packing material; and flowing a sample containing analytes through said packed bed, said reagent treating the sample. The present invention extends the function of microfluidic analysis systems to new applications including on-chip solid phase extraction (SPE) and on-chip capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The design can be further extended to include integrated packed bed immuno- or enzyme reactors.

Claims

1-39. -39. (canceled)

40. A method comprising:

a) providing particles susceptible to a magnetic field; and

b) trapping said particles with a magnetic field in a chamber of a microfluidic device.

41. The method of claim 40 further comprising flowing the particles into the chamber through a microfluidic channel.

42. The method of claim 40 further comprising:

c) removing the particles from the chamber.

43. The method of claim 40, 41 or 42 wherein an analyte is retained by the particles and the method further comprises eluting the analyte off the particles in the chamber.

44. The method of claim 43 further comprising washing the particles prior to eluting the analyte.

45. The method of claim 40 wherein the particles comprise beads.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the beads are spheroid.

53. The method of claim 45 wherein the beads are spheroid.

47. A method comprising:

a) providing a microfluidic device comprising a microfluidic channel and a chamber;

b) moving a solid phase separation component through the microfluidic channel into the chamber;

b) trapping the solid phase separation component in the chamber, wherein the solid phase separation component comprises a retained analyte captured from a sample; and

c) washing the solid phase separation component in the chamber to remove impurities.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising:

d) eluting the analyte from the solid phase separation component.

49. The method of claim 47 wherein the solid phase separation component is trapped using a magnetic field.

50. The method of claim 47 wherein the analyte has higher concentration in the eluant than in the sample.

51. The method of claim 47 further comprising:

d) removing the magnetic material from the chamber.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the solid phase separation component comprises beads.

54. A method comprising:

a) providing a microfluidic device comprising a main channel having a trapping zone suitable for trapping a solid phase separation component;

b) flowing a solid phase separation component into the trapping zone; and

c) flowing the solid phase separation component out of the trapping zone.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the solid phase separation component in the trapping zone comprises a retained analyte captured from a sample.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein the solid phase separation component comprises beads.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein the beads are spheroid.