Microfluidic device for simultaneously conducting multiple analyses
Inventors
Lee, Beom-Seok • Cho, Yoon-kyoung • Park, Jong-Myeon • Lee, Jeong-Gun
Assignees
Interested in licensing this patent?
MTEC can help explore whether this patent might be available for licensing for your application.
Publication Number
US-10252267-B2
Publication Date
2019-04-09
Expiration Date
Abstract
Provided is a rotatable microfluidic device for conducting simultaneously two or more assays. The device includes a platform which can be rotated, a first unit which is disposed at one portion of the platform and detects a target material from a sample using surface on which a capture probe selectively binds to the target material is attached, and a second unit which is disposed at another portion of the platform and detects a target material included in the sample by a different reaction from the reaction conducted in the first unit.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a rotatable, disc-shaped microfluidic device for conducting two or more assays, including an immunoassay and a biochemistry analysis, using centrifugal force generated by rotation of the device around a rotational center. A sample chamber supplies a sample to a centrifugal separation unit, which centrifugally separates the sample to give a supernatant and a precipitate. The supernatant is then distributed to assay portions through a distribution channel or distribution unit that supports distribution using the centrifugal force due to rotation.
The device includes an immunoassay unit disposed at one portion of the device and a biochemistry analysis unit disposed at another portion of the device, so that target detection is conducted for a first target material and a second target material from the sample. The immunoassay unit is configured to detect a first target material via a protein reaction, including regions arranged with a capture probe and detecting using a microparticle having a capture probe or a microarray chip comprising a capture probe configured to detect a target protein from a sample. Optical signal revelation is provided as part of detection based on the interaction between the detection probe and an optical signal revelation material.
In certain embodiments, the microfluidic device incorporates a centrifugal separation unit disposed radially inward of other units, and a distribution unit distributing the supernatant into a plurality of metering chambers in a predetermined amount before supplying to the immunoassay unit and the biochemistry analysis unit. The biochemistry analysis unit detects a second target material included in the sample by a biochemical reaction of the sample and a previously-loaded reagent. In the documented description, phase-transition valves actuated by electromagnetic-beam heating of heat-generating particles dispersed in a phase transition material are used to control microfluidic fluid movement in the assay workflow, including opening and closing valves for rapid valve actuation and routing among microfluidic chambers.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims cover four inventive features: a centrifugally driven microfluidic device architecture with constant fluid resistance distribution, a disc-shaped device performing simultaneous immunoassay and biochemistry analysis, a disc-shaped device adding a centrifugal separation and metering arrangement before supplying both assay units, and a method for simultaneously conducting immunoassay and biochemical analysis on such a disc-shaped microfluidic device.
Centrifugally driven two-assay microfluidic distribution with constant fluid resistance
A microfluidic device including a sample chamber for initially loading a sample, a first assay structure with a region where a capture probe is arranged to detect a first target material in a sample via a protein reaction, and a second assay structure with a region where a biochemical reagent is arranged to detect a second target material in the sample via a biochemical reaction; a distribution channel extending along a circumferential direction of the device having constant fluid resistance over all sections; and a centrifugal separation unit disposed radially inward between the sample chamber and the distribution channel, configured to centrifugally separate the sample into a supernatant and a precipitate and to distribute the supernatant to the first and second assay structures through the distribution channel using centrifugal force due to rotation.
Disc-shaped simultaneous immunoassay and biochemistry analysis with centrifugal sample supply
A disc-shaped microfluidic device including an immunoassay unit disposed at one portion comprising a plurality of chambers, a plurality of channels connecting the chambers, a plurality of valves for controlling flow through the channels, and a microarray chip with a capture probe configured to detect a target protein from a sample; a biochemistry analysis unit disposed at another portion comprising a previously-loaded reagent configured to detect a target material in the sample by a biochemical reaction of the sample and the previously-loaded reagent; and a sample chamber configured to supply the sample to both the immunoassay unit and the biochemistry analysis unit using centrifugal force generated by rotation of the device.
Radially inward centrifugal separation with metering distribution to immunoassay and biochemistry units
A disc-shaped microfluidic device including a centrifugal separation unit disposed radially inward of all other units to centrifugally separate a sample into a supernatant and a precipitate; a distribution unit distributing the supernatant into a plurality of metering chambers in a predetermined amount; an immunoassay unit disposed at one portion including chambers, channels, and valves, detecting a first target material from the sample using a microparticle having a capture probe supplied by the distribution unit; and a biochemistry analysis unit disposed at another portion detecting a second target material by a biochemical reaction of the sample and a previously-loaded reagent supplied by the distribution unit, with a sample chamber connected through the centrifugal separation unit and distribution unit and sample supplied to both assay units using centrifugal force due to rotation about a rotational center.
Method of simultaneous immunoassay and biochemical analysis using supernatant metering
A method for conducting an immunoassay and biochemical analysis simultaneously using a disc-shaped microfluidic device, including supplying a sample from a sample chamber to a centrifugal separation unit; separating the sample by centrifugal force generated by rotation to give a supernatant and a precipitate; distributing the supernatant to the immunoassay unit via a first metering chamber disposed between the immunoassay unit and the centrifugal separation unit and to the biochemistry analysis unit via a second metering chamber disposed between the biochemistry analysis unit and the centrifugal separation unit; and detecting a first target material using a capture probe arranged in the immunoassay unit and a second target material using a biochemical reagent accommodated in the biochemistry analysis unit, wherein the distributing uses centrifugal force due to rotation around a rotational center.
Across the independent claims, the core structure is a rotatable disc-shaped microfluidic platform that uses centrifugal separation to produce a supernatant and then meters and distributes the supernatant to an immunoassay unit and to a biochemistry analysis unit. The claims emphasize the centrifugal workflow and the internal distribution and supply architecture, including constant fluid resistance distribution in one claim and metering chambers in another claim.
Stated Advantages
Enables conducting immunoassay and biochemistry analysis simultaneously using a disc-shaped microfluidic device.
Centrifugal-force-based separation and distribution supports supplying the sample and supernatant to assay units using rotation of the device.
Documented Applications
Emergency diagnostics analyte panels are provided in the documented description.
Experimental valve actuation performance and optical detection modes are discussed in the documented description.
Interested in licensing this patent?