Continuous flow microfluidic system
AssigneeThe University of British Columbia
InventorsEuan Ramsay, Robert James Taylor, Timothy Leaver, Andre Wild, Kevin Ou, Colin Walsh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed towards improved systems and methods for large-scale production of nanoparticles used for delivery of therapeutic material. The apparatus can be used to manufacture a wide array of nanoparticles containing therapeutic material including, but not limited to, lipid nanoparticles and polymer nanoparticles. In certain embodiments, continuous flow operation and parallelization of microfluidic mixers contribute to increased nanoparticle production volume.
Claims16
A system for continuous flow operation of a microfluidic chip, the system comprising:
- (1) a microfluidic chip, comprising:
- (a) a first inlet configured to receive a first solution;
- (b) a second inlet configured to receive a second solution;
- and
- (c) a first mixer, comprising:
- (i) a first inlet microchannel in fluid communication with and configured to receive the first solution from the first inlet;
- (ii) a second inlet microchannel in fluid communication with and configured to receive the second solution from the second inlet;
- and
- (iii) a mixing microchannel in fluid communication with the first and second inlet microchannels and configured to mix the first solution and the second solution to provide a nanoparticle solution;
- and
- (iv) a mixer outlet in fluid communication with the mixing microchannel and configured to receive the nanoparticle solution from the mixing microchannel;
- wherein:
- the mixing microchannel is a Dean vortex bifurcating mixer (DVBM) comprising an inlet channel leading into a plurality of toroidal mixing elements arranged in series and including a first toroidal mixing element downstream of the inlet channel, a second toroidal mixing element in fluid communication with the first toroidal mixing element via a first neck region, and a third toroidal mixing element in fluid communication with the second toroidal mixing element via a second neck region;
- the first and second neck regions are elongated channels;
- the second neck region is disposed at a neck angle of 90 to 150 degrees relative to the first neck region;
- the first toroidal mixing element has a first leg channel having a first fluidic impedance and a second leg channel having a second fluidic impedance, and the first fluidic impedance is greater than the second fluidic impedance;
- and
- the second toroidal mixing element has a first leg channel having a third fluidic impedance and a second leg channel having a fourth fluidic impedance, and the third fluidic impedance is greater than the fourth fluidic impedance;
- and
- (d) a chip outlet in fluid communication with the mixer outlet through a nanoparticle solution microchannel;
- (2) a first continuous flow fluid driver configured to continuously drive the first solution from a first solution reservoir into the first inlet of the microfluidic chip;
- (3) a second continuous flow fluid driver configured to continuously drive the second solution from a second solution reservoir into the second inlet of the microfluidic chip;
- and
- (4) a system outlet in fluid communication with the chip outlet, wherein the system outlet is configured to output the nanoparticle solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.