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US 11,110,456 B2Granted
Bead packing in microfluidic channels
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsPavel Kornilovich, Alexander Govyadinov, David P. Markel, Erik D. Torniainen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A microfluidic bead-packing method includes activating a first micropump to transfer active microbeads through an inlet microchannel from a bead suspension reservoir to an adsorbing channel; packing the microbeads in the adsorbing channel; and activating a second micropump to reverse flow through at least a portion of the inlet microchannel and to transfer a sample fluid through the inlet microchannel from a sample reservoir to the adsorbing channel such that the sample fluid interacts with the packed microbeads.
Claims14
A method comprising:
- for each of a plurality of parallel microfluidic bead-packing devices:
- activating a first micropump to transfer active microbeads through an inlet microchannel from a bead suspension reservoir to an adsorbing channel;
- packing the microbeads in the adsorbing channel;
- and
- activating a second micropump to reverse flow through at least a portion of the inlet microchannel and to transfer a sample fluid through the inlet microchannel from a sample reservoir to the adsorbing channel such that the sample fluid interacts with the packed microbeads, the first micropump and the second micropump being integrated within the inlet microchannel;
- wherein the bead suspension reservoir and the sample reservoir are shared among and connected to each of the plurality of parallel microfluidic bead-packing devices.
3 more elements
A microfluidic bead-packing system comprising:
- a plurality of microbead packing devices, each of the plurality of microbead packing devices including:
- an adsorbing chamber to pack together a plurality of microbeads;
- an inlet microchannel fluidly coupled to a bead suspension reservoir associated with a first micropump, a sample reservoir associated with a second micropump, and the adsorbing channel;
- a bead clogging filter;
- an outlet nozzle;
- and
- the first micropump and the second micropump integrated within the inlet microchannel;
- and
- the bead suspension reservoir associated with the first micropump, the bead suspension reservoir fluidly coupled to each of the plurality of the microbead packing devices;
- the sample reservoir associated with the second micropump, the sample reservoir fluidly coupled to each of the plurality of the microbead packing devices;
- and
- a control device electrically coupled to each of the first micropump and the second micropump to sequentially provide fluids from the bead suspension reservoir and the sample reservoir to the adsorbing chamber and activate each of the first and second micropumps and outlet nozzle;
- wherein each of the plurality of microbead packing devices are connected in a parallel arrangement between the bead suspension reservoir and the sample reservoir, the bead suspension reservoir and the sample reservoir being shared among each of the plurality of microbead packing devices.
10 more elements
A microfluidic bead-packing system comprising:
- a plurality of parallel microfluidic bead-packing devices, wherein each of the plurality of microfluidic bead-packing devices include:
- an adsorbing channel to pack a plurality of active-surface microbeads;
- an inlet microchannel fluidly coupled to a bead suspension reservoir associated with a first micropump, a sample reservoir associated with a second micropump, and the adsorbing channel;
- the first micropump and the second micropump integrated within the inlet microchannel;
- an outlet microchannel fluidly coupled to the adsorbing channel and including an outlet nozzle;
- and
- a bead clogging structure between the adsorbing channel and the outlet microchannel;
- wherein the first micropump, the second micropump, and the outlet nozzle each have electrical control connections and are activated in sequence to introduce the plurality of active-surface microbeads into the adsorbing channel, introduce sample fluid into the adsorbing channel, and drain sample fluid from the adsorbing channel through the outlet microchannel via the outlet nozzle, in that order;
- wherein the bead suspension reservoir and the sample reservoir are shared among and connected to each of the plurality of parallel microfluidic bead-packing devices.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.