Fluid distributor unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11143636-B2
Application number	US-201013322930-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 24, 2010
Priority date	May 29, 2009
Publication date	Oct 12, 2021
Grant date	Oct 12, 2021

Abstract

A fluid distributor unit comprising a channel system where one or more inlet channels ( 2 ) starting on an inlet side ( 3 ) of the distributor unit branch out successively into several channels ( 6 ) ending on the other side of the distributor unit, called the outlet side ( 4 ), characterised in that said distributor unit is provided in one single body ( 1 ) by free form fabrication.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A chromatography column, comprising:
a first distributor unit disposed on a top side of a column bed, wherein the first distributor unit is a single body unit comprising: a curved internal channel system including an inlet channel branching out into a plurality of internal channels forming a first channel tree of an internal three-dimensional tortuous structure starting on an inlet side and ending on an outlet side of the first distributor unit and the first internal channel tree including the plurality of internal channels are disposed in a grid pattern on an inlet surface of a first side of the column bed, wherein the single body includes an integral pore filter, and the integral pore filter comprises a plurality of pores of an average pore diameter below 30 microns and being formed by high resolution free form fabrication technology, wherein surfaces of the curved internal channel system have a roughness average Ra of less than 5 microns;
a second distributor unit is an inversed distributor unit of the first distributor unit and is placed upside down relative to the first distributor unit and connected to the column bed on a bottom side of the column bed and comprising a second internal channel tree including a plurality of internal channels in communication with a column outlet of the chromatography column and having a same grid pattern at an outlet surface of the bottom side of the column bed;
wherein a feed enters the inlet channel placed centrally in the chromatography column and said curved internal channel system of the first distributor unit is configured to distribute a liquid phase plug over the entire inlet surface of the first side of the column bed, and the feed then migrates as a well-defined liquid phase plug through the column bed and to an entire bed outlet surface of the column bed;
wherein the second distributor unit is configured to collect the liquid phase plug from the entire bed outlet surface and concentrate the liquid phase plug via the second internal channel tree formed of the plurality of internal channels to the column outlet of the chromatography column;
wherein the plurality of internal channels of the first distributor unit and the plurality of internal channels of the second distributor unit each include tapered channel segments, wherein a diameter of at least one of the tapered channel segments increases at the outlet side of the channel segment to form a set of conical or pyramidal diffusors, wherein the first internal channel tree and the second internal channel tree are without joints and corners, such that part of internal channel volume is not accessible by a straight line of sight from any channel openings on either side of the first distributor unit and the second distributor unit, wherein a maximum angle of curvature of the internal channels of the plurality of internal channels being between 20 and 70 degrees.

2. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the internal curved channel system has two or more generations of branching.

3. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the internal curved channel system has a maximum angle of curvature of more than 20 degrees.

4. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the internal curved channel system has an average radius of curvature of less than 5 channel diameters and a minimum radius of curvature of above 0.25 channel diameters.

5. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the several channels extending from the inlet channel to the outlet side have the same flow resistance to a liquid flow.

6. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distributor units are each constructed from a material that generates less than 1 mg/l leachables in an extraction fluid.

7. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein a material of construction does not contain toxic leachables according to USP VI standard requirements.

8. The chromatography column of claim 1 , which is formed as a single body by layer-by-layer build-up of a solid one-piece unit.

9. The chromatography column of claim 1 , which is formed as a single body by a free form fabrication method selected from the group consisting of: electron beam melting, electron beam free from fabrication, fused deposition modelling, laminated object manufacturing, laser engineered net shaping, selective laser sintering, shape deposition manufacturing, solid ground curing, stereo lithography, three-dimensional printing, and robocasting.

10. The chromatography column of claim 1 , wherein a feed enters the second distributor unit, passes through the internal curved channel system, and exits from the first distributor unit.

11. A chromatography column, comprising: a first distributor unit having a single inlet at an inlet side, wherein the first distributor unit is disposed on a top side of a column bed and comprising:
a curved internal channel system with an inlet channel branching into a plurality of internal channels forming a first internal channel tree of an internal three-dimensional tortuous structure starting on an inlet side and terminating on an outlet side of the first distributor unit and the first internal channel tree including the plurality of internal channels are disposed in a grid pattern on an inlet surface of a first side of the column bed, wherein surfaces of the curved internal channel system have a roughness average Ra of less than 5 microns;
a second distributor unit being an inversed distributor unit of the first distributor unit and comprising a curved internal channel system corresponding to the curved internal channel system of the first distributor unit and placed upside down relative to the first distributor unit and connected to a second side of the column bed opposite the first side of the column bed and a second internal channel tree including a plurality of internal channels in communication with a column outlet of the chromatography column and having a same grid pattern at an outlet surface of the bottom side of the column bed;
wherein a feed enters the inlet channel placed centrally in the chromatography column and said curved internal channel system of the first distributor unit is configured to distribute a liquid phase plug over the entire inlet surface of the first side of the column bed and the feed then migrates as a well-defined liquid phase plug through the column bed and to an entire bed outlet surface of the column bed;
wherein the curved internal channel system of the second distributor unit is configured to collect the liquid phase plug from the entire bed outlet surface of the column bed and concentrate the liquid phase plug via the second internal channel tree formed of the plurality of internal channels thereof to the column outlet of the chromatography column;
wherein the plurality of internal channels of the first distributor unit and the plurality of internal channels of the second distributor unit each include tapered internal channel segments, wherein a diameter of at least one of the tapered internal channel segments increases at the outlet side of the internal channel segment to form a set of conical or pyramidal diffusors at an end of each of the plurality of internal channels of the first distributor unit and the plurality of internal channels of the second distributor unit, wherein the first internal channel tree and the second internal channel tree are without joints and corners, such that part of an internal channel volume is not accessible by a straight line of sight from any channel openings on either side of the first distributor unit and the second distributor unit, wherein a maximum angle of curvature of the channels of the plurality of channels being betwe

Assignees

• Gebauer Klaus
• Kranse Jan
• Lundkvist Mats
• Cytiva Sweden Ab

Inventors

• Gebauer Klaus
• Kranse Jan
• Lundkvist Mats

Classifications

• G01N30/6017 Primary

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