Device to operate a laboratory microchip
First Claim
1. A device for operating a microchip with a microfluid structure for chemical, physical, and/or biological processing, the microchip including supply elements corresponding with the microfluid structure, comprisinga supply unit for providing a potential for moving substances corresponding to the microfluid structure, the supply unit having supply lines for enabling the potential to be coupled to the microchip, the supply lines being arranged to interact with the supply elements which correspond to the microfluid structure, an interface element, and a holder for carrying the interface element, the interface element including a structure for connecting the supply lines with at least one of the supply elements that correspond to the microfluid structure, the interface element and the holder having structures for enabling the interface element to be releasably connectable to the holder so that the interface element can be selectively secured to and removed from the holder, the interface element having exterior surfaces resistant to the substances processed by the microchip and further including a magnet/Hall sensor pair, the second assembly including elements mounted on the module, and an output device responsive to a Hall sensor of the magnet/Hall sensor pair.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a device to operate and handle a laboratory microchip to chemically process or analyze substances, the microchip is on a chip holder (41) that is part of a first assembly (42). The first assembly (42) also has an optical device (43) for contactless detection of the results of the chemical processes carried out on the microchip. A supply device (56) required to operate the microchip is in a module releasably connected to a second assembly (44, 55). In particular, the second assembly (44, 55) has an intermediate carrier (57) that is releasably connected to the supply device (56). The intermediate carrier has continuous electrical paths (60) or connecting channels that can bridge electrodes (58) or supply channels of the supply device (56) and the assigned counterelectrodes (53) of the microchip. There are correspondingly connecting lines (61) to bridge the supply of materials. On the one hand, the bridging serves to prevent wear and soiling of the supply device (56) electrodes that arises upon contacting the microchip. In addition, the intermediate carrier also serves to spatially adapt the electrodes of the supply device (56) to the respective surface or spatial arrangement of the electrode surfaces of the microchip. It is thereby advantageously possible to adapt the entire measuring or operating device to special microchip layouts merely by exchanging the intermediate carrier (57).
66 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A device for operating a microchip with a microfluid structure for chemical, physical, and/or biological processing, the microchip including supply elements corresponding with the microfluid structure, comprising
a supply unit for providing a potential for moving substances corresponding to the microfluid structure, the supply unit having supply lines for enabling the potential to be coupled to the microchip, the supply lines being arranged to interact with the supply elements which correspond to the microfluid structure, an interface element, and a holder for carrying the interface element, the interface element including a structure for connecting the supply lines with at least one of the supply elements that correspond to the microfluid structure, the interface element and the holder having structures for enabling the interface element to be releasably connectable to the holder so that the interface element can be selectively secured to and removed from the holder, the interface element having exterior surfaces resistant to the substances processed by the microchip and further including a magnet/Hall sensor pair, the second assembly including elements mounted on the module, and an output device responsive to a Hall sensor of the magnet/Hall sensor pair.
Specification