Fluid separation device

• US 7,897,044 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, École Supérieure de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, University Pierre et Marie Curie
• Original Assignee: Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
• Inventors: Kurowski, Pascal, Callens, Natacha, Hoyos, Mauricio
• Primary Examiner(s): Therkorn; Ernest G
• Application Number:
  US11/851,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20080067128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 209/18, 209/131, 209/156, 209/422, 210/656, 210/198.2, 210/511, 422/100, 422/101
• US Class Current: 210/198.2
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/3011 using a sheathing stream of a fluid surrounding a central stream of a different fluid, e.g. for reducing the cross-section of the central stream or to produce droplets from the central stream
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0636 Focussing flows, e.g. to laminate flows
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0647 Handling flowable solids, e.g. microscopic beads, cells, particles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0874 Three dimensional network
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0887 Laminated structure
• 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: B01L 3/502776 specially adapted for focusing or laminating flows
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/149 specially adapted for sorting particles, e.g. by their size or optical properties

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluidic separation device comprising:

• • at least one microchannel (2; 66) extending along a longitudinal axis (X), the microchannel having a cross-section that presents a width measured along a first transverse axis (Y) and a thickness measured along a second transverse axis (Z) perpendicular to the first, the width being greater than the thickness, the microchannel including, along the second transverse axis, bottom and top walls (3 and 4);
  • at least first, second, and third inlets (7, 8, and 9) in fluidic communication with the microchannel (2), the second inlet (8) being disposed on the second transverse axis (Z) between the first and third inlets (7 and 9); and
  • at least first and third transverse separation walls (10 and 11) respectively separating the first and second inlets and the second and third inlets, the first and second separation walls (10; 11) being arranged in such a manner that the second inlet (8) is separated from each of said bottom and top walls (3 and 4) by a non-zero distance measured along the second transverse axis (Z), the second inlet (8) being, in particular, adjacent to at least one of the separation walls.

Claims

1. A fluidic separation device comprising:

at least one microchannel extending along a longitudinal axis (X), the microchannel having a cross-section that presents a width measured along a first transverse axis (Y) and a thickness measured along a second transverse axis (Z) perpendicular to the first, the width being greater than the thickness, the microchannel including, along the second transverse axis, bottom and top walls;

at least first, second, and third inlets in fluidic communication with the microchannel, the second inlet being disposed on the second transverse axis (Z) between the first and third inlets; and

at least first and second transverse separation walls respectively separating the first and second inlets and the second and third inlets, the first and second separation walls being arranged in such a manner that the second inlet is separated from each of said bottom and top walls by a non-zero distance measured along the second transverse axis (Z), the second inlet being adjacent to at least one of the separation walls.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the width/thickness ratio of the microchannel is greater than 2.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the microchannel presents a cross-section that is substantially rectangular.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said three inlets presents a width that is not less than the width of the microchannel.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the three inlets opens out in one of the bottom and top walls of the microchannel, and another one of the three inlets opens out in the other one of the bottom and top walls of the microchannel.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the first and third inlets are placed facing each other.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein said at least three inlets all open out either into the bottom wall or into the top wall of the microchannel.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the first and third inlets are offset relative to each other along the longitudinal axis of the microchannel.

9. A device according to claim 1, wherein the second inlet opens out into the microchannel parallel to its longitudinal axis (X).

10. A device according to claim 1, wherein the second inlet is adjacent to or upstream from at least one of the separation walls.

11. A device according to claim 1, including at least one feed orifice associated with one of said three inlets, the feed orifice being in fluidic communication with said inlet via a duct, the duct including a diverging portion that diverges from a tip of the duct, the feed orifice opening out into the duct adjacent to said tip, and perpendicularly to the duct.

12. A device according to claim 1, including at least first and second outlets in fluidic communication with the microchannel, and separated from each other by a transverse separation wall of non-zero height measured along the second transverse axis (Z).

13. A device according to claim 12, wherein the first and second outlets are offset from each other along the longitudinal axis of the microchannel.

14. A device according to claim 12, wherein the first and second outlets are disposed facing each other.

15. A device according to claim 12, further comprising a third outlet, the second outlet being disposed between the first and third outlets along the second transverse axis, the first and second outlets and the second and third outlets being mutually separated by respective transverse separation walls of non-zero height measured along the second transverse axis.

16. A device according to claim 12, including at least one outlet orifice associated with one of said outlets, said orifice being in fluidic communication with said outlets via a duct, the duct including a portion that converges towards a tip, the outlet orifice opening out into the duct perpendicularly to the duct.

17. A device according to claim 1, which is arranged to generate within at least a fraction of the microchannel at least one transverse force field, said force field selected from the group consisting of a gravitational, electric, magnetic, or acoustic field.

18. A device according to claim 1, including at least one sheet of plastics material or of metal forming the microchannel at least in part, the sheet being sandwiched between at least two plates of plastics material.

19. A device according to claim 1, including an array of parallel microchannels.

20. A fluidic separation device comprising:

at least one microchannel extending along a longitudinal axis (X), the microchannel having a cross-section presenting a width measured along a first transverse axis (Y) and a thickness measured along a second transverse axis (Z) perpendicular to the first, the width being greater than the thickness, the microchannel including along the second transverse axis, bottom and top walls;

at least first and second inlets in fluidic communication with the microchannel; and

at least one transverse separation wall separating the first and second inlets, said separation wall being arranged in such a manner that the second inlet is separated from one of said bottom and top walls by a non-zero distance measured along the second transverse axis (Z), the second inlet being adjacent to the separation wall;

the device including at least one sheet having a cutout forming at least part of a flow channel, said sheet being sandwiched between at least two plates.