Microfluidic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12303889-B2
Application number	US-202418665277-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2024
Priority date	Mar 29, 2019
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

A microfluidic device for thermocycling of a reaction mixture is provided. The device comprises an inlet opening, an outlet opening, a flow channel connecting the inlet opening and the outlet opening and defining a flow direction from the inlet opening through the flow channel to the outlet opening, wherein the flow channel comprises a first flow channel surface and a second flow channel surface opposite to the first flow channel surface, and an array of wells provided in the first flow channel surface for fluidic communication with the inlet opening and the outlet opening. Further, the first flow channel surface provides a first hydrophilicity and at least a part of the second flow channel surface provides a second hydrophilicity, wherein the first hydrophilicity is greater than the second hydrophilicity.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A microfluidic device for thermocycling a reaction mixture of a digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) assay, the device comprising:
a first side;
an inlet opening disposed on the first side;
an outlet opening;
a flow channel connecting said inlet opening and said outlet opening and defining a flow direction from the inlet opening through the flow channel to the outlet opening, wherein the flow channel comprises:
a first flow channel surface; and
a second flow channel surface opposite to the first flow channel surface; wherein the microfluidic device further comprises:

a honeycomb-structured array comprising hexagonal-shaped wells disposed on said first flow channel surface in fluidic communication with the inlet opening and with the outlet opening, wherein each hexagonal-shaped well of the hexagonal-shaped wells comprises a well length, a well width and a first vertex wherein the first vertex is oriented facing the first side wherein each hexagonal-shaped well is elongated in the flow direction such that the well length of each hexagonal-shaped well is elongated relative to the well width of each hexagonal-shaped well; and wherein
the first flow channel surface has a first hydrophilicity and at least a portion of the second flow channel surface has a second hydrophilicity, wherein said second hydrophilicity is less than said first hydrophilicity.

2. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein each hexagonal-shaped well comprises a second vertex arranged opposite to the first vertex oriented in parallel to the flow direction.

3. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the well length is between 50 μm and 300 μm, the well width is between 25 μm and 150 μm, and the well depth is between 525 μm and 200 μm.

4. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein each hexagonal-shaped well includes a rounded edge.

5. The microfluidic device of claim 4 , wherein the rounded edge has a radius of less than 10 μm.

6. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the flow channel has a flow channel height such that an aspect ratio between the flow channel height and the well length is between 0.3 and 0.7.

7. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the flow channel has a flow channel height between 25 μm and 200 μm.

8. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the microfluidic device consists of a first part and a second part, wherein the first part is detachably attached to the second part, along a longitudinal axis through the microfluidic device.

9. The microfluidic device according to claim 8 , wherein the flow channel, the honeycomb-structured array, the first flow channel surface, the inlet opening and the outlet opening are disposed within the first part, and wherein the second part is a cover and wherein the second flow channel surface is disposed on the cover.

10. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the microfluidic device is a consumable device and is of a transparent material comprising at least one of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer COC and Cyclic Olephin Polymer COP.

11. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the honeycomb-structured array comprises more than 16,000 hexagonal-shaped wells.

12. The microfluidic device of claim 1 , wherein the first flow channel surface has a first surface contact angle between 30° and 50° and the at least a portion of the second flow channel surface has a second surface contact angle between 80° and 90°.

Assignees

• Roche Molecular Systems Inc

Inventors

• Meier Alexander
• Steinert Chris
• Zeder Michael

Classifications

• B01L2300/18

  Means for temperature control · CPC title

• B01L2300/168

  Specific optical properties, e.g. reflective coatings · CPC title

• B01L2300/161

  Control and use of surface tension forces, e.g. hydrophobic, hydrophilic · CPC title

• B01L2300/12

  Specific details about materials · CPC title

• B01L2300/0816

  Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions · CPC title