Biological microfluidics chip and related methods

#This is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application PCT/EP2010/003579, filed Jun. 15, 2010, published in English as International Patent Publication WO 2010/149292 A1 on Dec. 29, 2010, which claims the benefit under Article 8 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty to Great Britain Patent Application Serial No. 0910330.0, filed Jun. 16, 2009.

#This disclosure relates to a biological microfluidics chip, and methods of using such a biological microfluidics chip. For convenience, a biological microfluidic chip may be referred to as a “biochip.”

#In biological and biomedical scientific research, it is commonplace to employ cultivation receptacles in which researchers cultivate cell cultures or embryos intended for study. One very common form of cultivation receptacle is a so-called microtiter plate that typically contains straight-sided cylindrical wells formed in a plate, the latter being of standardized shape and dimensions for locking retention in an analytical apparatus or robotic handler.

#There now follows a description of preferred embodiments of the disclosure described herein, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a biological microfluidics chip according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

#FIG. 2 illustrates a vertical cross-sectional view of a well of a biological microfluidics chip according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

#One or more embodiments described herein relate to a biological microfluidics chip having a plurality of wells/recesses, wherein each of the wells is in fluid communication with an inlet microfluidic channel and an outlet microfluidic channel. In this way, a fluid can be pumped through the wells in order to remove any bacteria or biological waste that may accumulate over time. Also, drugs or nutrients can be pumped into the wells via the microfluidic channels for use in the culture and study of embryos, larvae and adults of multi-cellular organisms, single/complex layered tissues/organs, cells or cell lines. Alternatively, or additionally, drugs or other compounds can be introduced into each well through an upper opening of the well.

#In some embodiments, the microfluidic inlet channel between a microfluidic inlet port and an opening into a well may be of substantially the same length for each well, or a subset of wells. This can equalize pressure and retain flow rates between wells, to each well, or a subset of wells. In some examples, this can provide advantages as there is a reduced likelihood of cross-contamination between the contents of the separate wells. Each of the wells can be provided with clean fluid.

#In other embodiments, the lengths of the microfluidic channels may be of varying lengths in order to equalize pressure and retain flow rates between an inlet port and one or more wells. It will be appreciated that the physical characteristics of the microfluidic inlet channel and microfluidic inlet port can be designed in any way that enables fluid to be provided to a plurality of wells at the same pressure with the same flow rate. Examples of the physical characteristics of the microfluidic inlet channel and/or microfluidic inlet port can include length, diameter, cross-sectional shape and surface characteristics that can affect fluid flow.