Cascaded design microfluidic structure with step difference

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12017221-B2
Application number	US-202117412524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2021
Priority date	Aug 26, 2020
Publication date	Jun 25, 2024
Grant date	Jun 25, 2024

Abstract

The present invention provides a microfluidic structure for sorting targeted substances. The microfluidic structure includes: an inlet portion having at least one fluid input port; an outlet portion having a plurality of fluid output ports; a first annular flow channel communicated with the inlet portion at the upstream end and rotatably extended; and a second annular flow channel communicated with the downstream end of the first annular flow channel at the upstream end, communicated with the outlet portion at the downstream end and rotatably extended. The first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel are connected in series according to an S-shaped track, so that the outer side wall of the first annular flow channel is continuously connected to the inner side wall of the second annular flow channel. The cross-sections of the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel have a height difference.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A microfluidic structure for sorting targeted substances, comprising:
an inlet portion having at least one fluid input port;
an outlet portion having a plurality of fluid output ports;
a first annular flow channel communicated with the inlet portion at an upstream end and extending rotatably; and
a second annular flow channel communicated with a downstream end of the first annular flow channel at the upstream end, communicated with the outlet portion at a downstream end and extending rotatably,
wherein the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel are connected in series according to an S-shaped track, so that an outer side wall of the first annular flow channel is continuously connected to an inner side wall of the second annular flow channel, and
wherein a height of cross-section of the first annular flow channel is lower than a height of cross-section of the second annular flow channel.

2. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , wherein the height difference between the cross-sections of the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel ranges from 2 to 200 um.

3. The microfluidic structure according to claim 2 , wherein the height difference between the cross-sections of the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel ranges from 5 to 50 um.

4. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a third annular flow channel, the third annular flow channel communicated with the downstream end of the second annular flow channel at an upstream end, communicated with the outlet portion at a downstream end, and extending rotatably,
wherein the second annular flow channel and the third annular flow channel are connected in series according to an S-shaped track, so that an outer side wall of the second annular flow channel is continuously connected to an inner side wall of the third annular flow channel.

5. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluid input port is configured to input a specimen having a subject matter.

6. The microfluidic structure according to claim 5 , wherein the specimen is whole blood.

7. The microfluidic structure according to claim 5 , wherein a diameter of the subject matter is larger than 10 um.

8. The microfluidic structure according to claim 5 , wherein the subject matter is a cancer cell.

9. The microfluidic structure according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one fluid input port includes a specimen input port for inputting the specimen, and a buffer solution input port for inputting a buffer solution, and
wherein the specimen input port is closer to an inner side wall of the first annular flow channel compared to the buffer solution input port, and the buffer solution input port is closer to an outer side wall of the first annular flow channel compared to the specimen input port.

10. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fluid output ports include a subject matter output port, and at least one distal waste effluent output port, and
wherein the subject matter output port is leaned to an inner side wall of the second annular flow channel with respect to the at least one distal waste effluent output port.

11. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a first waste effluent output flow through, the first waste effluent output flow through is communicated with the first annular flow channel at an outer side wall of a second half of the first annular flow channel at upstream end.

12. The microfluidic structure according to claim 11 , wherein when a portion of the first annular flow channel connected to the first waste effluent output flow through is defined as a bifurcation point, a rate of a length of the first waste effluent output flow through to a length extending from the bifurcation point to the outlet portion ranges from 0.7 to 1.3.

13. The microfluidic structure according to claim 11 , wherein at least a portion of the first waste effluent output flow through extends rotatably.

14. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , further comprising an intermedium buffer solution input portion, wherein the intermedium buffer solution input portion is communicated with the second annular flow channel at an outer side wall of a first half of the second annular flow channel.

15. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , wherein maximum radius of curvatures of the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel extending rotatably range from 0.5 to 2 cm.

16. The microfluidic structure according to claim 1 , wherein widths of cross-sections of the first annular flow channel and the second annular flow channel range from 100 to 1000 um, and
wherein a height of a cross-section of the first annular flow channel ranges from 20 to 300 um, and a height of a cross-section of the second annular flow channel ranges from 30 to 500 um.

Assignees

• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung Univ

Inventors

• LI Bor-Ran
• Lin Tzu-Ting
• Lee Chia-Jen

Classifications

• B01L2300/0883

  Serpentine channels · CPC title

• G01N33/491

  by separating the blood components (G01N15/05 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N33/4915

  using flow cells (flow cytometry G01N15/14) · CPC title

• B01L3/502769

  characterised by multiphase flow arrangements · CPC title

• B01L3/502761

  specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads or physically stretching molecules · CPC title