Micro-Fluidic Device And Uses Thereof

• US 20150238963A1
• Filed: 09/20/2013
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National University of Singapore
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National University of Singapore
• Inventors: Han, Jongyoon, Chen, Chao Yu Peter, Ong, Chong Jin, Bhagat, Ali Asgar, Guan, Guofeng, Wu, Lidan
• Granted Patent: US 9,789,485 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 21/00 Separation of suspended solid particles from liquids by sedimentation separation of ores or the like by sedimentation B03B5/48 - B03B5/60 ; differential sedimentation B03D3/00; purification of water, waste water, sewage or sludge C02F, e.g. devices for separating or removing fatty or oily substances or similar floating material from water, waste water or sewage C02F1/40
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 21/0087 Settling tanks provided with means for ensuring a special flow pattern, e.g. even inflow or outflow B01D21/2411 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 21/265 by using a vortex inducer or vortex guide, e.g. coil B01D21/0054 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/4231 using baffles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0652 Sorting or classification of particles or molecules
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0883 Serpentine channels
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0463 Hydrodynamic forces, venturi nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0478 pistons
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/084 Passive control of flow resistance
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/50273 characterised by the means or forces applied to move the fluids micropumps F04B19/006, of the membrane type F04B43/043
• 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: B03B 5/62 by hydraulic classifiers, e.g. of launder, tank, spiral or helical chute concentrator type
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 47/04 Cell isolation or sorting purging biological preparations of unwanted cells C12N5/0081, determining the presence or kind of microorganism C12Q1/04

Abstract

A micro-fluidic device includes at least one inlet and a curvilinear microchannel having a trapezoidal cross section defined by a radially inner side, a radially outer side, a bottom side, and a top side, the cross section having a) the radially inner side and the radially outer side unequal in height, or b) the radially inner side equal in height to the radially outer side, and wherein the top side has at least two continuous straight sections, each unequal in width to the bottom side.

Claims

1. A micro-fluidic device comprising that can preferentially generate at least one strong Dean vortex along the flow stream:

i) at least one inlet;

ii) a curvilinear microchannel having a trapezoidal cross section defined by a radially inner side, a radially outer side, a bottom side, and a top side, the cross section having a) the radially inner side and the radially outer side unequal in height, or b) the radially inner side equal in height to the radially outer side, and wherein the top side has at least two continuous straight sections, each unequal in width to the bottom side, resulting in the generation of at least one strong Dean vortex core; and

iii) at least one outlet.

2. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the cross section has (a) the height of the radially inner side larger than the height of the radially outer side, or (b) the height of the radially inner side is smaller than the height of the radially outer side, or (c) the top side includes at least one step forming a stepped profile, or (d) the top side includes at least one shallow region in between the radially inner side and the radially outer side.

3. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the trapezoidal cross section is a right trapezoidal cross section.

4. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the top side or bottom side of the trapezoidal cross section is curved.

5. The micro-fluidic device of claim 4, wherein curved section is convex or concave.

10. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the radially inner side or radially outer side of the trapezoidal cross section has a height in a range of between about 20 microns and about 200 microns.

12. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the top side or bottom side of the trapezoidal cross section has a width in a range of between about 100 microns and about 2000 microns.

14. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the curvilinear microchannel is a spiral microchannel or a serpentine microchannel.

16. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the curvilinear microchannel has a radius of curvature in a range of between about 2.5 mm and about 25 mm.

17. The micro-fluidic device of claim 1, wherein the curvilinear microchannel has a length in a range of between about 4 cm and about 100 cm.

20. A method of separating by size one or more particles from a mixture of particles suspended in a liquid media, comprising introducing the mixture into at least one inlet of a micro-fluidic device of claim 2(b), at a flow rate that isolates particles along portions of the cross-section of the microchannel based on particle size, wherein larger particles flow along the radially inner side of the microchannel to a first outlet and smaller particles flow along other portions of the microchannel to at least one other outlet, thereby size separating the particles from the mixture and optionally collecting size separated particles from the first outlet.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the particles are cells or a mixture of cells.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the cells are stem cells;

the mixture of cells is a blood sample;

the mixture of cells is a bone marrow sample;

the mixture of cells are stem cells and hematologic cells;

the mixture of cells are CTC'"'"'s and hematologic cells;

the mixture of cells are leukocytes and hematologic cells.

34. A method of concentrating cells from a mixture, comprising introducing the mixture into at least one inlet of the micro-fluidic device of claim 2(a), at a flow rate that isolates the cells along the radially inner side of the cross section of the microchannel and directs them to a first outlet, thereby concentrating the cells from the mixture and optionally collecting concentrated cells from the first outlet.

37. A method of filtering particulates from a mixture, comprising introducing a particulate containing mixture into at least one inlet of the micro-fluidic device of claim 2(a) at a flow rate that isolates particulates along the radially inner side of the cross section of the microchannel and directs them to a first outlet, thereby filtering the particulates from the mixture and optionally collecting isolated particulates from the first outlet.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the mixture is water.

41. A method of distributing cells in a mixture, comprising introducing the mixture into at least one inlet of the micro-fluidic device of claim 2(c) at a flow rate that distributes cells along portions of the stepped profile, wherein cells do not impact the sides before, during, or after distribution to separate outlets, thereby distributing the cells in the mixture and optionally collecting distributed cells from the separate outlets.

44. A method of mixing cells in a liquid, comprising introducing a liquid and cells into at least one inlet of the micro-fluidic device of a micro-fluidic device of claim 2(d) at a flow rate that mixes cells along the microchannel and directs the mixture to a first outlet and optionally collecting the mixture from the first outlet.

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