Micro-sonicator for spore lysis
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsRobin R. Miles, Phillip Belgrader, Shanavaz L. Nasarabadi
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Abstract
A micro-sonicator for spore lysis. Using micromachining technology, the micro-sonicator uses ultrasonic excitation of spores to perform spore and cell lysis. The micro-sonicator comprises a container with a cavity therein for retaining the sample in an ultrasonic transmission medium, the cavity being closed by a silicon membrane to which an electrode and piezoelectric material are attached, with the electrode and piezoelectric material being electrically connected to an AC signal generator which causes the membrane to flex and vibrate at the frequency of the applied voltage.
Claims18
A micro-sonicator for spore or cell lysis, comprising:
- a container having a cavity therein adapted to contain spore or cell samples,
- a quantity of ultrasonic transmission media in said cavity,
- at least a membrane positioned to cover said cavity,
- piezoelectric material positioned on said membrane, and
- means for causing flexing of said piezoelectric material and vibration of said membrane thereby causing ultrasonic excitation of the transmission media adapted to cause lysis of spore or cell samples in said cavity.
In a micro-fluidic system, the improvement comprising:
- a micro-sonicator for spore and cell lysis using ultrasonic excitation of the spore or cell, said micro-sonicator including a container having a cavity therein and containing ultrasonic transmission media, a membrane positioned over said cavity, and means for causing vibration of said membrane producing ultrasonic excitation of spore or cell located in said cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.