Microfluidic system and method for the recovery of particles
AssigneeMenarini Silicon Biosystems S.p.A.
InventorsGianni Medoro, Alex Calanca
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A microfluidic system and method for the recovery of particles; the system comprises at least one standing chamber, at least one outlet, at least one inlet and a moving assembly, which is adapted to move the particles; a fluid is fed from the inlet to the outlet so as to generate a substantially continuous flow of the fluid; a given particle of a group of particles arranged in the collecting chamber is moved selectively with respect to the other particles of the assembly to a release area, in which a dragging force created by the fluid flow is such as to move the particle towards the outlet.
Claims25
A method for the recovery of particles by means of using a microfluidic system, which comprises at least one collecting chamber, at least one outlet, at least one inlet and a moving assembly, which is adapted to move at least one given particle at least at the collecting chamber;
- the collecting chamber, the outlet and the inlet are connected to one another in a fluidic manner;
- the method comprising:
- a feeding step, during which a fluid from the inlet to the outlet so as to generate a flow of the fluid;
- a moving step, which takes place during the feeding step and during which a force is exerted upon at least one given particle of a group of particles arranged in the collecting chamber so as to move at least the at least one given particle until it selectively reaches, relative to other particles of the group, a release area in which a dragging force created by the fluid flow is such as to move the at least one given particle towards the outlet,
- wherein the collecting chamber comprises a standing area, where the group of particles is arranged and the dragging force is not sufficient to substantially move the particles of the group of particles towards the outlet.
A microfluidic system for the recovery of particles, comprising:
- one collecting chamber;
- at least one outlet;
- at least one inlet;
- a moving assembly, which is configured to move at least one given particle of a group of particles at least at the collecting chamber, wherein the moving assembly is configured to exert a force upon the at least one given particle until it selectively reaches a release area with respect to other particles of the group of particles;
- at least one feeding device to feed a fluid from the inlet to the outlet so as to generate a flow of the fluid, wherein the feeding device is configured to feed the fluid so as to generate a fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet;
- wherein the release area is configured to create a dragging force wherein the dragging force created by the fluid flow in the release area moves the given particle towards the outlet;
- and
- a control device (CU) which is configured to control the feeding device and the moving assembly so that the moving assembly is configured to move the at least one given particle to the release area while the feeding device is configured to feed the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, wherein the collecting chamber comprises a standing area, which is configured to house the group of particles and where the dragging force is not sufficient to substantially move the particles of the group of particles towards the outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.