Microfluidic device and manufacture thereof

#This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/163215 filed on Jun. 4, 2002, the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, which claims the benefit of French Patent Application No. 01 12500, filed on Sep. 28, 2001, in the names of Guillermo Guzman and Jean-Pierre Themont, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference, and the benefits of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 and § 120 are hereby claimed.

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates generally to:the field of microreactors and more particularly to a microfluidic device and a method of manufacturing such microfluidic devices.

#The invention will now be described in a non-limiting manner in its two aspects of a method and a device, with reference to the accompanying figures.

#FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the various steps of a preferred method of the present invention and depicts, likewise diagrammatically, the various intermediate products that are precursors for devices of the present invention, and also the end products, namely devices of the present invention. Three exemplary embodiments of the method, enabling three different exemplary embodiments of single-element devices made by the method are also shown.

#FIGS. 2A and 2B depict exemplary devices of the invention built up from a plurality of elements.

#As will be described in greater detail below, microfluidic devices of the present invention are original by their particular structure (of the sandwich type) by the materials constituting them, and by the particular method used to manufacture them, which is preferably based on a vacuum-forming technique. The method of the present invention, moreover, is original and particularly advantageous in that it implements first, vacuum-forming (e.g. micromolding in a vacuum), and second, presintering. Unlike other methods, it also makes use of substrates or supports.

#Referring now to the first aspect of the present invention, i.e. original microfluidic devices, such microfluidic devices are preferably closed (with a “cover plate”), and depending on the embodiment concerned may exist singly (n=1) or in combinations of a plurality of devices (n>1).

#A microfluidic device of the invention includes at least one element (n≧1) (in particular it can consist of a single element or of a set of such elements assembled together (where each element of the assembly can be referred to as a module or a stage), or indeed a composite assembly comprising at least one such element and at least one element of another type) which includes those, heat-sealed between two substrates, a one-piece microstructure (hence a “sandwich” type structure) in which at least one recess is formed (of the channel, distribution chamber, or (chemical, biological, electrochemical) reaction chamber type); each recess of a microstructure of an element communicating with at least one other recess of the microstructure of the element or of another microstructure of another element of the device (which then includes n>1 elements), and/or with the outside of the device so that within the device of the invention there is to be found at least one (liquid or gaseous) fluid circulation circuit communicating with the outside via at least one inlet and one outlet.