Unitary cartridge for particle processing

• US 8,679,422 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cytonome/St, Llc (Cytonome Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cytonome/St, Llc (Cytonome Inc.)
• Inventors: Gilbert, John R., Lewis, Hugh, Beaupre, Derek, Trikha, Jaishree, Deshpande, Manish
• Primary Examiner(s): Nagpaul, Jyoti
• Application Number:
  US13/240,521
• Publication Number:
  US 20120009619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 422/50, 422500-504, 436/180
• US Class Current: 422/502
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/027 for microfluidic devices
• 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 2200/082 Handling hazardous material
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/10 Integrating sample preparation and analysis in single entity, e.g. lab-on-a-chip concept
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0809 rectangular shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• 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: B01L 5/00 Gas handling apparatus gas jars or cylinders B01L3/12; cold traps or cold baffles B01D8/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 9/527 for microfluidic devices, e.g. used for lab-on-a-chip
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 47/04 Cell isolation or sorting purging biological preparations of unwanted cells C12N5/0081, determining the presence or kind of microorganism C12Q1/04
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1023 Microstructural devices for non-optical measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1484 microstructural devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/149 specially adapted for sorting particles, e.g. by their size or optical properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1486 Counting the particles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/577 involving monoclonal antibodies binding reaction mechanisms characterised by the use of monoclonal antibodies; monoclonal antibodies per se are classified with their corresponding antigens; G01N33/53 - G01N33/576 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

A single disposable cartridge for performing a process on a particle, such as particle sorting, encapsulates all fluid contact surfaces in the cartridge for use with microfluidic particle processing technology. The cartridge interfaces with an operating system for effecting particle processing. The encapsulation of the fluid contact surfaces insures, improves or promotes operator isolation and/or product isolation. The cartridge may employ any suitable technique for processing particles.

Claims

1. A particle processing system comprising:

a microfluidic network including one or more microchannels formed in a substrate;

a first particle processing mechanism associated with a first flow path of the microfluidic network and adapted for processing or analyzing a sample having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the first flow path of the microfluidic network;

one or more fluid contact surfaces in fluidic communication with the first flow path for receiving via an output from the first processing mechanism an outputted sample including a portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample; and

a recirculation flow path fluidically coupleable between the one or more fluid contact surfaces and an input to the microfluidic network for introducing the portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample via the input to the microfluidic network.

2. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the input to the microfluidic network is an input to the first particle processing mechanism.

3. The particle processing system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second particle processing mechanism associated with a second flow path of the microfluidic network;

wherein the input to the microfluidic network is an input to the second particle processing mechanism, wherein the second flow path is parallel to the first flow path; and

whereby the first and second particle processing mechanisms are configured for parallel processing.

4. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces are external to the substrate.

5. The particle processing system of claim 4 further comprising a holder for mounting the substrate relative to the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate, whereby the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate are placed in fluid communication with the microfluidic network.

6. The particle processing system of claim 5 further comprising, a plurality of particle processing mechanisms for analyzing or processing in parallel one or more samples having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the microfluidic network.

7. The particle processing system of claim 6, wherein the holder is configured to aggregate sample from a plurality of outputs from the plurality of particle processing mechanisms.

8. The particle processing system of claim 5, wherein the holder is configured to provide a fluidic interface between the microfluidic network and the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate.

9. The particle processing system of claim 4, further comprising a cartridge defining the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate include one or more chambers or fluid paths.

10. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces fluidically connect the output from the first particle processing mechanism relative to the input to the microfluidic network via the recirculation flow path.

11. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample is a portion or component of the particle suspension medium.

12. The particle processing system of claim 1 further comprising an isolating mechanism operatively coupled relative to the output from the particle processing mechanism and adapted for isolating the portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample from the outputted sample.

13. The particle processing system of claim 12, wherein the isolating mechanism is disposed between the particle processing mechanism and the one or more fluid contact surfaces.

14. The particle processing system of claim 12, wherein the isolating mechanism is a filter.

15. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the microfluidic network comprises a plurality of microfluidic networks.

16. The particle processing system of claim 1 further comprising, a plurality of particle processing mechanisms for analyzing or processing in parallel one or more samples having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the microfluidic network, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces are configured to aggregate sample from a plurality of outputs from the plurality of particle processing mechanisms.

17. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the micofluidic network includes a plurality of parallel processing microchannels each having a dedicated outlet from the substrate.

18. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces include a first receptacle fluidically connected relative to the output of the particle processing mechanism.

19. The particle processing system of claim 18, wherein the first receptacle stores between 1 and 5000 ml.

20. The particle processing system of claim 18, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces are external to the substrate.

21. The particle processing system of claim 20 further comprising, a cartridge defining the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate.

22. The particle processing system of claim 1, wherein the portion or component of the sample is a portion or component of the suspension medium.

23. The particle processing system of claim 1 further comprising a temperature control element configured to manage or maintain a temperature in one or more regions of a fluidic network, wherein the fluidic network comprises the microfluidic network and the one or more fluid contact surfaces.

24. The particle processing system of claim 23, wherein the temperature control element is a temperature control pad operatively coupled to the substrate, wherein the pad is heated or cooled to control a temperature of the sample flowing through the microfluidic network, the substrate having a first thermal conductivity and the pad having a second thermal conductivity.

25. The particle processing system of claim 24 wherein the first thermal conductivity is different from the second thermal conductivity.

26. A particle processing system comprising:

a microfluidic network including one or more microchannels formed in a substrate;

a first particle processing mechanism associated with a first flow path of the microfluidic network and adapted for processing or analyzing a sample having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the first flow path of the microfluidic network; and

one or more fluid contact surfaces in fluid communication with a recirculation reservoir configured for receiving an outputted sample, including a portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample, via an output of the first processing mechanism and configured for introducing at least a portion of the outputted sample via an input of the microfluidic network.

27. A particle processing system comprising:

a microfluidic network including one or more microchannels formed in a substrate;

a first particle processing mechanism associated with a first flow path of the microfluidic network and adapted for processing or analyzing a sample having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the first flow path of the microfluidic network; and

a cartridge defining the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate include one or more chambers or fluid paths and wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces are configured to receive an output from the first processing mechanism including a portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample and introduce the portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample as an input to the microfluidic network.

28. A particle processing system comprising:

a microfluidic network including one or more microchannels formed in a substrate;

a first particle processing mechanism associated with a first flow path of the microfluidic network and adapted for processing or analyzing a sample having one or more particles suspended in a suspension medium flowing through the first flow path of the microfluidic network; and

a cartridge defining one or more fluid contact surfaces external to the substrate configured to receive an output from the first processing mechanism including a portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample and introduce the portion or component of the analyzed or processed sample as an input to the microfluidic network, wherein the one or more fluid contact surfaces include a first receptacle fluidically connected relative to the output of the particle processing mechanism.