Fluidic structures including meandering and wide channels
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- carrying out a chemical and/or biological reaction in a meandering region of a microfluidic channel;
exposing the meandering region to light, wherein the meandering region has an area of at least 0.5 mm2; and
measuring a signal averaged over more than one adjacent segments of the microfluidic channel in the meandering region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to microfluidic structures, and more specifically, to microfluidic structures and methods including meandering and wide channels. Microfluidic systems can provide an advantageous environment for performing various reactions and analysis due to a reduction in sample and reagent quantities that are required, a reduction in the size of the operating system, and a decrease in reaction time compared to conventional systems. Unfortunately, the small size of microfluidic channels can sometimes result in difficulty in detecting a species without magnifying optics (such as a microscope or a photomultiplier). A series of tightly packed microchannels, i.e., a meandering region, or a wide channel having a dimension on the order of millimeters, can serve as a solution to this problem by creating a wide measurement area. Although this invention mainly describes the use of meandering and wide channels in heterogeneous immunoassays on a microfluidic chip, this invention could be used for amplifying optical signals for other types of reactions and/or assays.
44 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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carrying out a chemical and/or biological reaction in a meandering region of a microfluidic channel; exposing the meandering region to light, wherein the meandering region has an area of at least 0.5 mm2; and measuring a signal averaged over more than one adjacent segments of the microfluidic channel in the meandering region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 37, 38)
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8. A method comprising:
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passing a fluid over a surface of a meandering region of a microfluidic channel, wherein at least a portion of the microfluidic channel in the meandering region has a width of less than 0.5 mm; allowing a sample component to bind with a binding partner disposed on the surface; allowing a metal colloid to associate with a sample component; flowing a metal solution over the surface to form a metallic layer; and measuring a signal averaged over more than one adjacent segments of the microfluidic channel in the meandering region. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 31, 34)
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15. A method comprising:
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passing a fluid over a surface of a meandering region of a microfluidic channel, wherein at least a portion of the microfluidic channel in the meandering region has a width of less than 0.5 mm, and wherein the microfluidic channel comprises an upper surface and a lower surface; allowing a sample component to bind with a binding partner disposed on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces; allowing a metal colloid to associate with a sample component; flowing a metal solution over the surface to form a metallic layer; and measuring a signal averaged over more than one adjacent segments of the microfluidic channel in the meandering-region. - View Dependent Claims (16, 32, 35, 36)
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Specification