Microfluidic systems and methods for determining modulator kinetics
First Claim
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1. A method of determining the effect of a modulator on the interaction between at least two compounds at a plurality of modulator concentrations using a microfluidic device, the method comprising:
- relying on the principles of Taylor dispersion and diffusion to estimate a concentration profile of the modulator in the flow direction of the modulator at a first detection point along a length of a first microchannel of the microfluidic device, the concentration profile including a plurality of modulator concentrations;
introducing the interacting compounds into the first microchannel at a location upstream from said first detection point, at least a portion of the interacting compounds interacting in the presence of the modulator as they travel through the first microchannel;
detecting the effect of the modulator on the interacting compounds at the first detection point thereby providing a modulation signal profile of the effect of the modulator on the interacting compounds; and
correlating the estimated concentration profile of the modulator to the modulation signal profile to determine the effect of the modulator on the interaction between the two compounds at the plurality of modulator concentrations.
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Abstract
Methods, systems, kits, and apparatus for calculating kinetic and concentration information in microscale systems are provided. Dwell times for access by a microfluidic system are varied and the resulting modulation of signal profile information used to provide a first order estimation of an activity of a potential activity modulator accessed by the system.
202 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of determining the effect of a modulator on the interaction between at least two compounds at a plurality of modulator concentrations using a microfluidic device, the method comprising:
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relying on the principles of Taylor dispersion and diffusion to estimate a concentration profile of the modulator in the flow direction of the modulator at a first detection point along a length of a first microchannel of the microfluidic device, the concentration profile including a plurality of modulator concentrations;
introducing the interacting compounds into the first microchannel at a location upstream from said first detection point, at least a portion of the interacting compounds interacting in the presence of the modulator as they travel through the first microchannel;
detecting the effect of the modulator on the interacting compounds at the first detection point thereby providing a modulation signal profile of the effect of the modulator on the interacting compounds; and
correlating the estimated concentration profile of the modulator to the modulation signal profile to determine the effect of the modulator on the interaction between the two compounds at the plurality of modulator concentrations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of determining the effect of a modulator on the interaction between at least two compounds at a plurality of modulator concentrations using a microfluidic device, the method comprising:
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relying on the principles of Taylor dispersion and diffusion to estimate a plurality of concentration profiles of a modulator in the flow direction of the modulator at a first detection point along a length of a first microchannel of the microfluidic device, each concentration profile comprising a maximum concentration;
introducing a plurality of aliquots of modulator into the first microchannel at a location upstream from the first detection point, the aliquots having at least two different dwell times in the first microchannel;
introducing the interacting compounds into the first microchannel at a location upstream from said first detection point, at least a portion of the interacting compounds interacting in the presence of each aliquot of modulator as they travel through the first microchannel;
detecting the effect of each aliquot of the modulator on the interacting compounds at the first detection point thereby providing a plurality of modulation signal profiles of the effect of each modulator aliquot on the interacting compounds; and
determining the modulation signal from each modulation signal profile of each modulator aliquot which corresponds to the maximum concentration of each concentration profile to determine the effect of the modulator on the interaction between the two compounds at the plurality of maximum modulator concentrations. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification