Biochip with microchannels

• US 7,585,462 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2005
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Parng, Shaw-Hwa
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin; Walter D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ramdhanie; Bobby
• Application Number:
  US11/270,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20070080976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,400 Days
• Field of Search: 422/58
• US Class Current: 422/417
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0858 Side walls
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0867 Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/084 Passive control of flow resistance
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502746 characterised by the means for controlling flow resistance, e.g. flow controllers, baffles B01L3/502738 takes precedence

Abstract

A biochip with multiple microchannels is provided. Due to the sloped microchannels, the fluids in the microchannels flow at substantially the same rate, thus facilitating cellular experiments of potential medicaments. Since the flow resistance of the sloped microchannels changes gradually, the fluids can flow in the microchannels without retention and the reagents react consistently with the cells in the microchannels. Hence, the cellular reaction time for the reagents in the microchannels can be correctly determined. Moreover, the biochip of this invention further includes at least one multi-splitter to control the influx or efflux of the fluids.

Claims

1. A biochip with a plurality of microchannels, comprising:

a substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface and having a plurality of microchannels formed on the top surface of the substrate and parallel to each other arranged; and

a lid covering the top surface of the substrate,

wherein each microchannel has an inlet and an outlet at both ends of the microchannel, the inlet and the outlet are respectively connected to a splitting pool and a collection pool on the top surface of the substrate, and a fluid is able to flow into the splitting pool via an inflow mouth, pass through the microchannels, flow into the collection pool and flow out from an outflow mouth, wherein the microchannels are deeper at the inlet and shallower at the outlet and accordingly have a positive slope.

2. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrate is a transparent, plastic, mono-layered plate.

3. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein a material of the lid comprises polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

4. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein the splitting pool comprises a multi-splitter with a plurality of channels in different depths for evenly dividing the fluid to flow into the microchannels.

5. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein the collection pool comprises a multi-splitter with a plurality of channels in different depths.

6. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein each microchannel has a narrow gate adjacent to the inlet.

7. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein each microchannel has a narrow gate adjacent to the outlet.

8. The biochip as recited in claim 1, wherein an angle of the positive slope is approximately between 0.01°

and 10°

.

9. The biochip as recited in claim 8, wherein the angle of the positive slope is approximately between 0.1°

and 3°

.

10. A biochip, comprising:

a substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface and having a plurality of microchannels formed on the top surface of the substrate, wherein the microchannels are arranged in parallel; and

a lid covering the top surface of the substrate,

wherein each microchannel has an inlet and an outlet at both ends of the microchannel, the inlet and the outlet are respectively connected to a splitting pool and a collection pool on the top surface of the substrate, and a fluid is able to flow into the splitting pool via an inflow mouth, pass through the microchannels, flow into the collection pool and flow out from an outflow mouth, wherein the splitting pool comprises a multi-splitter with a plurality of channels in different depths for evenly dividing the fluid to flow into the microchannels.

11. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein the microchannels have a positive slope and the positive slope is calculated based on a depth difference between the inlet and the outlet of each of the plurality of the microchannels, so that the microchannels are deeper at the inlet and shallower at the outlet.

12. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein the microchannels have a flat slope.

13. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein the collection pool further comprises a multi-splitter with a plurality of channels in different depths.

14. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein each microchannel has a narrow gate adjacent to the inlet.

15. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein each microchannel has a narrow gate adjacent to the outlet.

16. The biochip as recited in claim 11, wherein an angle of the positive slope is approximately between 0.01°

and 10°

.

17. The biochip as recited in claim 16, wherein the angle of the positive slope is approximately between 0.1°

and 3°

.

18. The biochip as recited in claim 10, wherein the substrate is a transparent, plastic, mono-layered plate, while a material of the lid comprises polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).