The main application field of this invention is that of <<lab-on-chips>>, or integrated analysis devices or IAD (a microelectronic component in which one or several chemical and/or biological reactions are conducted), or biochips (a microelectronic support provided with biological probes) notably used for detecting and characterizing DNA or proteins. In particular it allows an integrated read-out of such devices.
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,653,939 and 6,325,977 describe the use of CCD (or CMOS) optical sensors as a substrate for making the detection portion of the biochip. The molecules to be analyzed may be marked by a fluorescent or chemiluminescent label.
For other IADs, detection is no longer optical but electrical, from electrons generated by the marker associated with the molecules to be analyzed and which are directly read out by the read-out circuit. For example, reference may be made to the article of Robin H. Liu et al., <<Integrated Microfluidics Biochips for Electrochemical Detection of Multiple Bioagents>>, 8th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, Sep. 26-30, 2004, Malmö, Sweden.
The areas 4 grouping the whole of the contact pads 42 take up consequent space on the front face of this component. According to the types of components and their applications, the contact areas may be found again on the four edges of the component, or on three or two of them or even on a side of the component. These reserved areas may be of a width ranging up to 500 μm according to the manufacturing technologies or according to the technologies for resuming electrical contacts.
The positioning of these contacts on the same face of the component as the one bearing the optical detection means 54 and close to the latter poses a certain number of problems:
It is therefore difficult, or even impossible to depassivate the contact pads before functionalization. Now, depassivation before functionalization allows the functionality of the electronic read-out circuit to be tested, a major step for ensuring the quality of an industrial process. Conversely if depassivation is performed after functionalization, it may degrade biological probes because it requires aggressive technological steps, for example etching.
In another configuration, illustrated in
For all these devices, the problems already mentioned above are posed.
The problem of integrating the fluidic functions required for preparing the biological sample with the detection functions is also posed.
One object of the present invention is to provide a new type of biological analysis device, with optical and/or electrical detection means, with which the fluidic flow of a sample to be analyzed may not be limited or perturbed.
Another object of the present invention is to make a device, the electronic functionality of which may be tested before and/or after functionalization.
The invention relates to a biological analysis device including:
According to the invention, detector(s) are therefore used, for which the electric contact pads are transferred onto the rear face of the chip.
This allows on the front face, only having the detection portion, possibly covered with a passivation layer, for example a silicon nitride or silicon oxide layer.
It is also possible to have on the front face, electronic processing devices at one or more pixels. The outer contact with its components is provided via the contact pads located on the rear face.
Such a use facilitates the steps for manufacturing biological probes on the surface of the component including detection means and improves the possibilities of integration of a detection technology in a IAD, in particular in its microfluidic portion.
According to the invention, technologies of detectors for example of the CMOS or CCD or NMOS or biCMOS type may therefore be used; these detectors may possibly be arranged in an array, with resumption of electric contact on the rear face.
The front face may be functionalized by biological and/or chemical probes.
The detection means may be of the optical type, for example fluorescence detection means, which may possibly include a wavelength filter.
The detection means further are for example, means for detecting bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, which may include biological probes marked with an enzyme capable of emitting a photon, upon contacting a specific molecule contained in the fluid to be analyzed.
According to one alternative, the detection means are electric detection means, for example electrochemical means.
Preferably, the detection means are flush with the fluidic chamber at a flow surface of a fluid.
Sealing means may be provided around the detection means, or in an area in proximity to these detection means, or in an area for inserting detection means into the chamber.
The perimeter of the component and/or the fluidic chamber may advantageously include supporting planes.
A device according to the invention may further include heating means on the rear face side of the detection means, i.e., in contact with, or facing, or integrated to the detection means.
Read-out means, positioned in contact with the pads on the rear face of the detection component, allow the signals to be read out during the use of the device.
Additionally, a memory film may be positioned in contact with the pads on the rear face of the component.
The contact pads are provided and compatible with direct interconnection of the detection means and of an outer reader, for example of the chip card type.
The invention also relates to a use of a device according to the invention for carrying out biological analyses.
An exemplary component which may be applied within the scope of the invention is illustrated in
This is an APS (active pixel sensor) chip, i.e. including at the pixels 54, integrated electronic functions for reading and processing pixel information, with depassivated metal pads 51 for resuming contact on the rear face 52 (
The front face 50 of the component groups together the functions of an optical and/or electrical detection component, for example in CMOS technology or any other technology based on a semiconductor (NMOS, BiCMOS . . . ). This may also be a component of a CCD detection array.
Examples of CMOS or MEMS or CCD technologies with resumption of contact on the rear face are given in the article of J. F. Kuhmann, entitled “Through Wafer Interconnects and Flip-Chip Bonding: A Toolbox for Advanced Hybrid Technologies for MEMS”, EUROSENSORS XIII, 13th European conference on Solid-State Transducers, pp. 265-72 (The Hague 1999). ISBN: 90-76699-01-1.
The front face 50 may be passivated by a silicon oxide or silicon nitride layer. On the rear face 52 (
An associated electronic processing circuit may also itself be made on the front face 50 and it fulfils various functions, such as for example: addressing and/or amplification, and/or analog or digital conversion . . . . Such a circuit is passivated.
An integrated analysis device according to the invention is illustrated in
Advantageously and as illustrated in
Still advantageously, the component is flush with the surface of the fluidic portion, as this is moreover apparent in
Fluidic flow does not thereby encounter any irregularity. No space is reserved for electric surface contacts.
The electric contacts 51 are directly accessible on the rear face (
The electrical connections are made through the component 40, without any accessible connections on the front face 50 as in
Two exemplary embodiments of such a device are given in
On these figures, reference 40 always designates the detection component used.
It is connected to contact pads 70-73, through contacts 80-83 which either completely cross the whole substrate 66 (
In the embodiment of
With the embodiment of
The interconnection material may be in gold or in a titanium-gold alloy, or in nickel . . . etc.
With such a device, it is no longer necessary to take into account the metal nature of the pads 54 since, on the front face 50 of the component, one only has access to the passivation layer, for example in silicon nitride or in silicon dioxide, of the array of pixels and of the associated electronic processing circuit.
All the functionalization chemistries operating on a microscope slide may be contemplated on the passivation layer.
From a fluidic point of view, the surface 50 of the component, when it is flush with the fluidic portion, does not have any irregularity caused by resuming electrical contact and its associated passivation. This does not require any complementary study or development with regard to fluidic flows. The component may nevertheless, if desired, jut out into the fluidic chamber.
From the point of view of the assemblies, in the direction perpendicular to the main plane of the component (direction i of
By means of this technology, methods for assembling a detection component in a biochip may be obtained much more simply than in the prior art.
In particular, as illustrated in
Taking into account the one-way use which is contemplated for this type of IAD, it is moreover possible to achieve resumption of the electric contacts by an external <<reader>>, of the chip card reader type, directly in contact with the pads 54, on the rear face of the chip, and not via a memory film with which the contacts may be transferred. The dimension of these pads may be adapted in order to facilitate resumption of the contacts with standard tools.
The entire surface of the rear face 52 of the component is available for this purpose.
As a general rule, the active surface of the component is larger than the surface required for resuming the electric contacts, there is therefore a sufficient surface area on the rear face 52 of the component for making the whole of the electric contacts and even larger electric contact pads, compatible with the final reader, such as those conventionally used for resuming contact on a chip card.
By suppressing the memory film, it is possible to suppress the stresses related to the use of this film (alignment, mechanical strength, heat strength). It facilitates the assembling of the biological analysis device.
A heating resistor may be provided on the rear face of the component in order to control the temperature at the fluidic chamber. Advantageously, it may be made with the same technology as the one used for making the contact pads. Alternatively, an external heating resistor may be used (integral with the reader, for example); by suppressing the memory film, a direct thermal contact with the component will be possible in this case, providing better control of the temperature at the fluidic chamber.
According to another aspect, it is possible to considerably increase the surface of the connection pads, considering the available surface on the rear face 52 of the component. With this, the connector technology stresses (alignment, mechanical strength, temperature strength . . . ).
The front face of a component according to the invention may be functionalized by biological probes (DNA, or protein, or sugar), and then used as an integrated biological analysis device. The electrical functionalities of the component may be tested at any moment before or after functionalization via rear face contact pads.
Thus, a DNA, protein or other ligand biochip may be read in an integrated way, as described in document <<Opto-electronic DNA chip: high performance chip reading with an all-electric interface, F. Mallard et al>>.
Any detection of molecules and notably of organic molecules, may also be applied, as described in documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,939 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,977, and this thanks to optical detection means, for example by fluorescence or bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, or to electrical means.
Six examples will now be given. In these examples, the term <<component>> means a component according to the present invention:
The surface of the APS component used is covered with a silicon nitride passivation layer. Captured oligonucleotides are grafted on the surface of the APS via a silane bearing reactive groups.
1-1: Creation of SiOH Groups on the Surface of the APS:
The components are subject to an O2 plasma of 500 W for 1 minute. Alternatively, the components are incubated for two hours in an NaOH, H2O, ethanol mixture in mass proportions 1:3:4 (<<Brown>> treatment) and then thoroughly washed with water and dried under nitrogen flow.
1-2: Silanization:
The components are incubated for 24 hours at room temperature in an absolute ethanol+10% 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane mixture. They are then rinsed several times with ethanol, including once with sonication for 5 minutes, and then dried under nitrogen flow and incubated for 3 hours 110° C. (annealing).
1-3: Pre-Activation:
The components are immersed in a solution of KOH (7.5% by mass in water) and then thoroughly rinsed with water. This step provides regeneration of the NH2 groups of the silanes, which may have been protonated (NH3+, less reactive in the following step).
1-4: Activation:
The components are immersed for 90 minutes at room temperature in an aqueous 20% glutaraldehyde solution. Next, they are thoroughly rinsed with water and dried under nitrogen flow.
1-5: Binding the Captured Oligonucleotides:
A capture probe bearing an amine group is then diluted to finally 10 μM in the deposit buffer (300 mM Na2HPO3, pH 7.8, 10% glycerol), and then deposited on the surface of the component by means of a Karl Züss stopper robot provided with a piezoelectric needle. The deposit volume of the order of 300 pl and the diameter of the drop is about 140 μm.
In Example 2, the capture probe used is the 20mer, (5′) AATAGTACTTTCCTGATTCC(3′)-NH2.
The deposits remain in contact with the surface of the components overnight, and then the components are washed three times with the deposit buffer before post-immobilization treatment.
1-6: Post-Immobilisation Treatment:
The components are incubated for 1 hour at room temperature and without stirring, in an aqueous 90 mM NaBH4 solution, rinsed with water for 5 minutes, in a 0.2% SDS solution for 5 minutes, again rinsed with water for 5 minutes, and then dried under nitrogen flow.
On a component functionalized according to the procedure described in Example 1, 10 nM of HRP-coupled detection oligonucleotide complementary to the detection probe, is hybridized as a drop at 37° C. for 30 minutes (here: (5′)GGAATCAGGAAAGTACTATT(3′)-HRP) in a hybridization buffer (100 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 1 mM EDTA, 1M NaCl, 0.05% Triton X-100).
The surface of the component is then washed three times with a hybridization buffer, and then the components are mounted on their read-out device (test kit for VV5501 chips of STMicroelectronics). The Pierce ELISA Femto Maximum Sensitivity chemiluminescence substrate is deposited as a drop on the surface, the component is placed in darkness, and then 64 non-saturated images of the luminescent spots are acquired.
After acquisition of the signal, the luminescence is quenched by adding Javel water (fast oxidation of all the present luminols), and then 64 images are acquired with the same camera adjustment (acquisition of black images).
The final image of the spots is the difference between the averages of the 64 signal images and of the 64 black images.
The detail of the reaction mechanism of the HRP/luminol pair demonstrates that the photon-emitting species, like the species from which they originate, freely diffuse in solution (only the first step of the reaction chain depends on HRP). The size of a spot observed in chemiluminescence should therefore be larger than its actual size. This has an influence on the maximum density of biological sites which may be put on the array of photodetectors.
An attempt was made to quantify the diffusion distance of the photon-emitting species: on an image similar to the one shown in
The difference between the average diameter of the spot (estimated by its peak's width at half maximum) and the diffusion diameter of the spot (the area on the spot, where light intensity is larger than one thousandth of the maximum intensity) was thus able to be measured.
In the case illustrated in
This example relates to the general course of the treatment of a sample and hybridization.
A component is obtained according to any of the methods described in Example 1.
A biological sample is treated in order to extract and purify the nucleic acids of interest, and then to amplify them according to state-of-the-art techniques, for example the method described in Troesch et al., Journal of Clinical Biology, 1999, 37, 49-55.
The amplified nucleic acids are then marked with biotin on the phosphate groups of DNA and cleaved into small fragments according to the method described in <<Procédé de marquage et de fragmentation d'ADN>>, (method for marking and fragmenting DNA), Patent Application FR-2 824 335. These marked and cleaved nucleic acids are then purified according to standard state-of-the-art techniques, in order to remove the excess of marker (see for example Monnot et al., Nucleos. Nucleot. & Nucleic acids, 2001, 20(4-7), 1177-1179).
The amplified, marked, cleaved nucleic acids are then hybridized on the component for 30 minutes according to the aforementioned techniques of the art (Troesch et al. 1999). The hybridized component is then washed in order to remove the nucleic acids which are not specifically coupled to the component, always according to the methods of the art.
A streptavidin/HRP conjugate is then deposited on the component at a concentration from 10 to 20 nM for 5 to 15 minutes, and then the component is washed again in order to remove the conjugates which are not specifically complexed to nucleic acids marked with biotin.
The Pierce ELISA Femto Maximum Sensitivity chemiluminescence substrate is then introduced there onto the chip, and the treatment described in Example 2 above is then followed.
Example 1 above shows a functionalization of the component by spotting.
However, it is possible to use other functionalization methods presently in effect in the field of biochip type components.
In particular, a preferential method for making the component is to use a functionalization method addressed by light, as practised by Affymetrix (cf. Fodor et al. Science, 1991, 251, 767-773, or further Pease et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 1994, 91, 5022-5026). This method derived from methods of microelectronics, uses a succession of insolations (UVA) and of chemical reactions on a glass or silica wafer in order to make a component of peptides or oligonucleotides.
The methods for making arrays of photodetectors also themselves use techniques of microelectronics, in particular thin layer deposition, insolation (UVA) end etching steps, on a silicon substrate.
Thus, an industrial manufacturing method may be the following:
The functionalized detection face is excited by a beam with a suitable wavelength. A fluorescence beam with a different wavelength is re-emitted and read at the detection face.
Advantageously in this case, provision is made for adding on the optical detection face, a wavelength filter which is reflective at the excitation wavelength and transparent at the fluorescence wavelength.
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05 50306 | Feb 2005 | FR | national |
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PCT/FR2006/050080 | 1/31/2006 | WO | 00 | 7/31/2007 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2006/082336 | 8/10/2006 | WO | A |
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