Cartridge for sample preparation and molecule analysis, cartridge control machine, sample preparation system and method using the cartridge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11278897-B2
Application number	US-201816224626-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2018
Priority date	Dec 28, 2017
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

A sample treatment and molecule analysis cartridge is configured to be mounted in a treatment machine vertically. The cartridge has a sample inlet opening, a fluidic inlet, and a fluidic outlet. The cartridge houses an extraction chamber extending vertically from the sample inlet opening and connected to the fluidic inlet; a waste chamber extending vertically, alongside the extraction chamber; and a collector extending along the extraction chamber and the waste chamber and having a smaller height than the extraction chamber and the waste chamber. A fluidic circuit connects together the extraction chamber, the waste chamber, the collector, the fluidic inlet, and the fluidic outlet, and is configured to connect the fluidic outlet to vent openings of the extraction chamber, the waste chamber, and the collector, and to connect the bottom end of the extraction chamber to the fluidic inlet, the waste chamber, and the collector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cartridge for sample preparation and molecule analysis, comprising:
a substrate having a first edge that is transverse to a second edge and a third edge that is opposite to the first edge, the first and third edges extending in a first direction, and the second edge extending in a second direction traverse the first direction;
a sample inlet opening on the first edge;
a fluidic outlet on the third edge;
a fluidic inlet on the third edge, the fluidic inlet being further from the second edge than the fluidic outlet;
an extraction chamber coupled to the sample inlet opening and extending between the first edge and the third edge, the extraction chamber being between the fluidic inlet and the fluidic outlet;
a waste chamber coupled to the extraction chamber, the waste chamber being between the second edge and the extraction chamber, a distance between the waste chamber and the second edge being less than a distance between the extraction chamber and the second edge, wherein the waste chamber is a non-convoluted channel including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion having different dimensions in the first direction; and
a collector that is spaced from the second edge by the waste chamber, a distance between the collector and the first edge being greater than a distance between the waste chamber and the first edge, the collector being closer to the third edge than the first edge.

2. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a first face and a second face opposite to the first face, a first layer and a second layer coupled to the second and first faces, respectively, of the substrate, wherein the substrate has a plurality of recesses including an extraction recess, a waste recess, and a collector recess defining, together with the first and second layers, the respective extraction chamber, waste chamber and collector, the substrate further comprising fluidic connection recesses extending between the extraction recess, the waste recess, and the collector recess.

3. The cartridge according to claim 2 , further comprising a chip integrating heating elements and temperature measuring elements, wherein the collector recess houses assay reagents and forms, together with the chip, an analysis chamber, and the second layer has an opening housing the chip.

4. The cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein the first layer is transparent.

5. The cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein the extraction recess and the collector recess are formed on the first face of the substrate and are covered by the second layer, and the waste chamber is formed by a through opening in the substrate covered by the first and second layers.

6. The cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein the fluidic connection recesses comprise:
an inlet fluidic recess extending on a first side of the extraction recess from the fluidic inlet towards an end of the extraction recess proximate to the third edge;
an output fluidic recess extending on a second side of the extraction recess, opposite to the first side, from the end of the extraction recess proximate to the third edge towards a waste inlet of the waste recess, arranged underneath a vent opening of the waste chamber located near one end of the waste chamber proximate to the first edge in the second direction; and
a product recess extending between the output fluidic recess and the collector recess.

7. The cartridge according to claim 6 , further comprising a waste valve, wherein:
the inlet fluidic recess is coil-shaped, with a first portion extending from the fluidic inlet towards the first edge of the substrate and a second portion extending from the first part of the fluidic recess towards the end of the extraction recess proximate to the third edge;
the output fluidic recess is coil-shaped, with a first portion extending from the end of the extraction recess proximate to the third edge towards the first edge of the substrate and a second portion extending from the first portion towards the waste valve; and
the product recess has a first portion extending towards the first edge of the substrate, and a second portion extending from the first portion of the product recess towards the collector recess.

8. The cartridge according to claim 7 , wherein the fluidic connection recesses further comprise:
a first pneumatic recess extending between a vent opening of the extraction chamber located near one end of the extraction chamber proximate to the first edge and the waste recess;
a second vent recess extending between the vent opening of the waste chamber and the fluidic outlet; and
a third vent recess extending between a vent opening of a collector located near one end of the collector chamber proximate to the first edge and the fluidic outlet.

9. The cartridge according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a vent valve extending along the first pneumatic recess and in fluidic connection with the vent opening of the waste chamber; and
a product valve extending along the third vent recess.

10. The cartridge according to claim 9 , wherein the extraction recess and the collector recess extend on the first face of the substrate, and the waste recess comprises a through opening in the substrate, the waste valve for closing a waste hole extending through the substrate and in fluidic connection with the waste inlet of the waste recess; the vent valve for closing a first vent hole extending through the substrate; and the product valve for closing a second vent hole extending through the substrate.

11. The cartridge according to claim 9 , wherein the waste valve, the vent valve, and the product valve are magnetic valves aligned in the second direction.

12. The cartridge according to claim 10 , wherein the waste valve, the vent valve, and the product valve each comprise a respective shutter of ferromagnetic material deformable by an external magnetic field from an undeformed position to a deformed position.

13. The cartridge according to claim 6 , wherein the extraction recess, the collector recess, and the inlet fluidic recess extend on the first face of the substrate, and the waste recess is formed in the second face of the substrate, the cartridge further comprising:
a plurality of preparation reagent tanks arranged on the second face of the substrate behind the extraction recess;
a plurality of reagent holes respectively coupling the preparation reagent tanks to the inlet fluidic recess, the reagent holes extending through the substrate and being in fluidic connection with the inlet fluidic recess; and
one-shot valves for closing the reagent holes.

14. The cartridge according to claim 13 , wherein the one-shot valves are made of wax.

15. The cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising a ferromagnetic anchor, in the extraction chamber, for stirring and mixing, wherein the ferromagnetic anchor is rotatably and translationally controlled by an external magnetic field within the extraction chamber.

16. The cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising an RFID tag for storing information on molecule analysis and exchange information with a sample preparation machine.

17. A sample preparation machine for operating with the cartridge according to claim 1 , the machine comprising:
a support having a guide for introducing the cartridge;
a first and a second needle connector coupled, respectively, with the fluidic inlet and the fluidic outlet of the cartridge; and
a suction pump coupled to the fluidic outlet.

18. The machine according to claim

Assignees

• St Microelectronics Srl

Inventors

• Cucchi Davide
• Bianchessi Marco Angelo
• Cocci Alessandro
• Raia Lillo
• Bruno Lorenzo
• Serina Nadia
• Cereda Marco
• Pirola Danilo
• Ferrari Pietro
• Ferrara Francesco
• Bramanti Alessandro Paolo

Classifications

• B01L2300/022

  Transponder chips · CPC title

• G01N1/34

  Purifying; Cleaning {(processes or apparatus for extracting or separating nucleic acids from biological samples C12N15/1003)} · CPC title

• B01L2400/0677

  phase change valves; Meltable, freezing, dissolvable plugs; Destructible barriers · CPC title

• B01L2300/087

  Multiple sequential chambers · CPC title

• B01L2300/0681

  Filter · CPC title