Actuation of parallel microfluidic arrays
First Claim
1. A particle processing cartridge assembly for sorting individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from a stream of particles, the particle processing cartridge assembly comprising:
- a microfluidic chip having;
at least one microsorter having fluid contact surfaces including a microfluidic channel having a sample input, a switching region, a keep output and a waste output; and
at least one switch element operatively interfaced with the switching region and configured to selectively sort individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from the stream of particles flowing within the microfluidic channel; and
a cartridge having fluid contact surfaces including a sample chamber, a keep chamber and a waste chamber, wherein the sample chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the sample input of the microfluidic channel, wherein the keep chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the keep output of the microfluidic channel, wherein the waste chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the waste output of the microfluidic channel; and
wherein the at least one switch element is configured to operatively and removably interface with at least one actuator located external to the particle processing cartridge assembly and configured to actuate the at least one switch element to deflect a selected particle from the stream of particles, andwherein all the fluid contact surfaces of the particle processing cartridge assembly are enclosed and configured to be sealed against liquid transfer to an exterior environment during a sorting operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved actuator for use in a microfluidic particle sorting system utilizes a staggered packing scheme for a plurality of actuators used to selectively deflect a particle in an associated sorting channel from a stream of channels. An actuator block may be provided for housing a two-dimensional array of actuators, each configured to align with an actuation port in an associated sorting chip containing a plurality of sorting channels. The actuator block may include a built-in stressing means to pre-stress each actuator housed by the block. An actuator comprising a piezo-electric stack may employ contact-based electrical connection rather than soldered wires to improve packing density. The actuator may be an external actuator. That is, the external actuator is external to the substrate in which the sorting channels are formed.
123 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A particle processing cartridge assembly for sorting individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from a stream of particles, the particle processing cartridge assembly comprising:
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a microfluidic chip having; at least one microsorter having fluid contact surfaces including a microfluidic channel having a sample input, a switching region, a keep output and a waste output; and at least one switch element operatively interfaced with the switching region and configured to selectively sort individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from the stream of particles flowing within the microfluidic channel; and a cartridge having fluid contact surfaces including a sample chamber, a keep chamber and a waste chamber, wherein the sample chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the sample input of the microfluidic channel, wherein the keep chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the keep output of the microfluidic channel, wherein the waste chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the waste output of the microfluidic channel; and wherein the at least one switch element is configured to operatively and removably interface with at least one actuator located external to the particle processing cartridge assembly and configured to actuate the at least one switch element to deflect a selected particle from the stream of particles, and wherein all the fluid contact surfaces of the particle processing cartridge assembly are enclosed and configured to be sealed against liquid transfer to an exterior environment during a sorting operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for sorting individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from a stream of particles, the system comprising:
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a particle processing cartridge assembly including a microfluidic chip and a cartridge, the microfluidic chip having; at least one microsorter having fluid contact surfaces including a microfluidic channel having a sample input, a switching region, a keep output and a waste output; and at least one switch element operatively interfaced with the switching region and configured to selectively sort individual particles on a particle-by-particle basis from the stream of particles flowing within the microfluidic channel; and the cartridge having fluid contact surfaces including a sample chamber, a keep chamber and a waste chamber, wherein the sample chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the sample input of the microfluidic channel, wherein the keep chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the keep output of the microfluidic channel, wherein the waste chamber of the cartridge is in fluid communication with the waste output of the microfluidic channel; and at least one actuator configured to actuate the at least one switch element and to deflect a selected particle from the stream of particles, wherein the at least one switch element of the microfluidic chip is operatively and removably interfaced with the at least one actuator, and wherein all the fluid contact surfaces of the particle processing cartridge assembly are enclosed and configured to be sealed against liquid transfer to an exterior environment during a sorting operation. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for sorting particles comprising:
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obtaining a cartridge having internal fluid contact surfaces, the internal fluid contact surfaces including a sample fluid input reservoir, a selected particle fluid output reservoir and a microfluidic particle sorting component operationally positioned therebetween, the microfluidic particle sorting component including a switch element; loading a sample containing particles into the sample fluid input reservoir of the cartridge via a sealable sample input port; sealing the cartridge against liquid transfer into and out of the cartridge; operatively interfacing the sealed cartridge with an operating machine, including aligning the switch element of the microfluidic particle sorting component with a switch actuation element external to the sealed cartridge and provided by the operating machine; operating the operating machine to process the sample, including the steps of; flowing the sample containing particles through the microfluidic particle sorting component; detecting whether individual particles flowing within the microfluidic particle sorting component have a predetermined characteristic; causing the switch actuation element provided on the operating machine to actuate the switch element included in the microfluidic particle sorting component in response to the predetermined characteristic of an individual particle being detected; deflecting the individual particle from the particles flowing within the microfluidic particle sorting component into the selected particle fluid output reservoir, and removing the sealed cartridge from the operating machine. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification