Patent Application
20200391208
The present invention relates to a microfluidic analysis chip and a method using the same, and more specifically, to a microfluidic analysis chip and a method using the same, which can adjust movement of a sample through a negative pressure generation unit.
A biochip refers to a chip integrating biomolecules such as DNA and protein on a small substrate made of a material such as glass, silicon, nylon or the like. At this point, when DNA molecules are integrated, it is referred to as a DNA chip, and when protein molecules are integrated, it is referred to as a protein chip. In addition, biochips may be largely divided into microarray chips and microfluidics chips.
The microarray chip refers to a biochip capable of attaching thousands or tens of thousands of DNA or protein molecules to be arranged at regular intervals and analyzing the binding pattern by processing an analysis target material. In addition, the microfluidics chip is a biochip capable of analyzing a pattern of reacting to various biomolecules or sensors integrated in a chip while flowing a small amount of analysis target material, and it is also called as a lab-on-a-chip, which is a cutting-edge technique that combines sensor techniques with the functions of pumps, valves, reactors, extractors, separation systems and the like, which are essential for sample preprocessing of an automatic analysis device used in analysis of biochemicals.
Describing the lab-on-a-chip in more detail, the lab-on-a-chip is a micro analysis device manufactured to perform the process of sample injection, pre-processing, chemical reaction, separation and analysis and the like, which is carried out by the laboratory unit to analyze chemical and biochemical substances, within a chip of a few cm2.
The lab-on-a-chip technique combines a micro flow control technique, which accurately transfers, distributes and mixes samples of an amount from several pico-liters (pl) to tens of micro-liters (μl), with a MEMS micro-processing technique, and it is a core technique of a micro total analysis system.
The lab-on-a-chip, which uses an extremely small amount of samples and quickly and easily analyzes chemical components, is frequently used to select useful new drugs among a large number of new drug candidate materials in a speedy way, and several kinds of lab-on-a-chips are under research and development recently for the purpose of detecting environmental pollutants and diagnosing diseases and so on.
Unlike the microarray chip such as a DNA chip or a protein chip, the lab-on-a-chip still stays in the research and development stage globally, and commercialization is limited and carried out on a small scale, and in the case of lab-on-a-chips commercialized currently, the network of micro-channels is simple, and the reaction process is also implemented in an uncomplicated stage.
An object of the present specification is to provide a microfluidic analysis chip capable of adjusting movement of a sample or a reagent through a negative pressure generation unit.
The present specification is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
A microfluidic analysis chip according to the present specification for accomplishing the above object may include: a main channel microtube for providing a space in which a sample injected from a sample inlet hole formed at one end reacts to a reagent while moving toward the other end; a chip housing enclosing the main channel microtube; and a negative pressure generation unit located inside the chip housing and connected to affect internal pressure of the main channel microtube.
According to an embodiment of the present specification, the negative pressure generation unit may include: a pressed unit located on any one side among the top surface and the bottom surface of the main channel microtube, and pressed toward the inner space of the main channel microtube by an external force; and a pushed unit located on the other one side among the top surface and the bottom surface of the main channel microtube, and irreversibly shape-transformed together toward the outside of the main channel microtube by the external force.
Meanwhile, the pressed unit may be made of a material that stores the external force as elastic energy when the pressed unit is pressed toward the inside of the main channel microtube by the external force.
The microfluidic analysis chip according to the present specification may further include: a main exhaust hole formed on any one side of the main channel microtube to move internal air of the main channel microtube and external air of the chip housing to each other; and a main exhaust stopper for opening the main exhaust hole when the negative pressure generation unit moves in a direction increasing the internal pressure of the main channel microtube, and closing the main exhaust hole when the negative pressure generation unit moves in a direction decreasing the internal pressure of the main channel microtube.
In this case, the negative pressure generation unit may have a bellows structure or an injector structure.
The microfluidic analysis chip according to the present specification may further include a sealing film formed between the sample inlet hole and the main channel microtube. In this case, the microfluidic analysis chip may further include a fine needle for piercing the sealing film by external pressure. In addition, the fine needle may seal the sample inlet hole by external pressure.
A microfluidic analysis chip according to the present specification for accomplishing the above object may include: a main channel microtube for providing a space in which a sample injected from a sample inlet hole formed at one end reacts to a reagent while moving toward the other end; a chip housing enclosing the main channel microtube; at least one or more subchannel microtubes, one end of which is connected to a side surface of the main channel microtube, into which a reagent is injected; a negative pressure generation unit located inside the chip housing and connected to affect internal pressure of the main channel microtube; a sample inlet stopper for opening and closing the sample inlet hole; a sub-exhaust hole formed at one end of the subchannel microtube to move internal air of the subchannel microtube and external air of the chip housing to each other; and a sub-exhaust stopper for opening and closing the sub-exhaust hole. In addition, the negative pressure generation unit may have a bellows structure.
A method of using a microfluidic analysis chip having a negative pressure generation unit according to the present specification for accomplishing the above object may include the steps of: (a) injecting a sample into the sample inlet hole; (b) generating negative pressure inside the main channel microtube by handling the negative pressure generation unit.
According to an embodiment of the present specification, the negative pressure generation unit may have a pushed unit and a pressed unit of an elastic material, and step (b) may be a step of pressing a pressure adjustment unit toward the inside of the main channel microtube, and pushing the pushed unit toward the outside of the main channel microtube together, by applying a force to the pressed unit.
According to another embodiment of the present specification, the negative pressure generation unit may have a pressed unit and a pushed unit, and step (b) may be a step of pressing the pressed unit toward the inside of the main channel microtube, and pushing the pushed unit toward the outside of the main channel microtube together, by applying a force to the pressed unit, and the method of using a microfluidic analysis chip may further include a step of (c) restoring the shape in a direction of decreasing the internal pressure of the main channel microtube by contacting the pressed unit.
A method of using a microfluidic analysis chip having a sealing film according to the present specification for accomplishing the above object may include the steps of: (a) injecting a sample into the sample inlet hole; (b) piercing the sealing film; and (c) generating negative pressure inside the main channel microtube by handling the negative pressure generation unit.
According to an embodiment of the present specification, the microfluidic analysis chip may further include a fine needle, and step (b) may be a step of piercing the sealing film by applying a force to the fine needle.
A method of using a microfluidic analysis chip having a sample inlet stopper, a main exhaust stopper, a sub-exhaust stopper, and a negative pressure generation unit according to the present specification for accomplishing the above object may include the steps of: (a) injecting a sample into the sample inlet hole; (b) selectively opening and closing the sample inlet stopper, the main exhaust stopper or the sub-exhaust stopper; and (c) moving a sample or a reagent by handling the negative pressure generation unit.
Other specific matters of the present invention are included in the detailed description and the drawings.
The microfluidic analysis chip according to the present specification may adjust movement of a sample or a reagent through a negative pressure adjustment unit, and may control selective movement and a sequence of movement as needed.
The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
Advantages and features of the present specification disclosed in the present specification and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present specification is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various forms different from each other, and these embodiments are provided only to make the disclosure of the present specification complete and to completely convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art to which the present specification belongs (hereinafter, ‘those skilled in the art’), and the scope of the present specification is defined only by the scope of the claims.
The terms used in the present specification are for describing the embodiments and not intended to limit the scope of the present specification. In the present specification, a singular form also includes a plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. “Comprises” and/or “comprising” used in the present specification does not exclude presence or addition of one or more other components than the mentioned components. Throughout the specification, like reference numerals refer to like components, and “and/or” includes each of the mentioned components and all combinations of one or more of the components. Although “first”, “second” and the like are used to describe various components, it goes without saying that these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from the other components. Therefore, it goes without saying that a first component mentioned below may be a second component within the spirit of the present invention.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present specification belongs. In addition, the terms defined in a generally used dictionary are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly and specially defined.
The spatially relative terms such as “below”, “beneath”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like are, as shown in the drawings, may be used to easily describe the correlation between a component and other components. The spatially relative terms should be understood as terms including different directions of components when the components are used or in operation, in addition to the directions shown in the drawings. For example, when a component shown in the drawings is turned over, the component described as “below” or “beneath” another component will be placed “above” another component. Accordingly, an exemplary term “below” may include both the below and above directions. A component may also be oriented in a different direction, so that the spatially relative terms may be interpreted according to the orientation. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The chip housing 110 encloses the main channel microtube 120. The chip housing 110 may be made of a polymer material such as plastic. The chip housing 110 may be manufactured by separately manufacturing and combining a chip top plate and a chip bottom plate, or may be manufactured in a single process such as a plastic injection method.
The main channel microtube 120 provides a space in which a sample injected from a sample inlet hole 121 formed at one end reacts to a reagent while moving toward the other end. The main channel microtube 120 performs a function of a passage of the sample and provides a space to react to the reagent, and a reaction chamber, which is a space in which the sample and the reagent react as the diameter is relatively large compared to other spaces in the main channel microtube, may be formed.
The negative pressure generation unit 130 may be located inside the chip housing 110 and connected to affect the internal pressure of the main channel microtube 120.
According to an embodiment of the present specification, the negative pressure generation unit 130 may include a pressed unit 131 and a pushed unit 132.
The pressed unit 131 is located on any one side among the top surface and the bottom surface of the main channel microtube 120, and may be pressed toward the inner space of the main channel microtube 120 by an external force. In
The pushed unit 132 is located on the other one side among the top surface and the bottom surface of the main channel microtube 120, and may be irreversibly shape-transformed together toward the outside of the main channel microtube 120 by the external force. In
Referring to (a) of
In the pressed unit 131, a pull handle may be formed at the center on the surface of the pressed unit 131 to restore the shape of the pressed unit 131.
Meanwhile, the pressed unit 131 may be made of a material that stores the external force as elastic energy when the pressed unit 131 is pressed toward the inside of the main channel microtube 120 by the external force.
In this case, the method of using the microfluidic analysis chip 100 may be slightly different from the method of using the microfluidic analysis chip 100 described above. The processes of (a) and (b) of
Referring to
The main exhaust hole 141 is formed on any one side of the main channel microtube 120 to move the internal air of the main channel microtube 120 and the external air of the chip housing 110 to each other.
The main exhaust stopper 142 opens the main exhaust hole 141 when the negative pressure generation unit 130 moves in a direction increasing the internal pressure of the main channel microtube 120, and closes the main exhaust hole 141 when the negative pressure generation unit 130 moves in a direction decreasing the internal pressure of the main channel microtube 120.
Meanwhile, the negative pressure generation unit 130 may have a bellows structure or an injector structure (syringe structure). The bellows according to an embodiment may have a wrinkled shape and mean a structure having flexibility in the longitudinal direction. For example, a part of an accordion, among musical instruments, that expands or shrinks, or a wrinkled part of a bent straw may be the bellows structure. The negative pressure generation unit 130 of a bellows structure according to an embodiment needs a process of expanding again after being pressed by an external force to generate a negative pressure as it does not have elasticity of the material itself, or may be expanded without a separate process, after being pressed by an external force, with the help of the material itself or an external elastic material.
According to the present specification, a method of using a microfluidic analysis chip having a negative pressure generation unit injects a sample into the sample inlet hole as shown in (a) of
Referring to (a) of
According to the present specification, the microfluidic analysis chip 100 including the sealing film in the sample inlet hole 121 may further include a fine needle 144 that pierces the sealing film 143 by external pressure. Referring to (b) of
Furthermore, the fine needle 144 may perform a function of sealing the sample inlet hole 121 by external pressure. Referring to (b) of
Meanwhile, although (a), (b) and (c) of
Meanwhile, the sealing film 143 may be a photodegradable material. In this case, the microfluidic analysis chip 100 according to the present specification may further include an irradiation window (not shown) to allow light radiated from the outside of the chip housing 110 to reach the sealing film 143.
A method of using a microfluidic analysis chip including a sealing film will be described with reference to
An example of moving the sample using the negative pressure generation unit in the microfluidic analysis chip 100 has been described above. However, it is also possible to expand the negative pressure generation unit to be used as a tool for moving a reagent, as well as moving the sample.
Referring to
The sample inlet stopper 122 may open and close the sample inlet hole to arbitrarily control inflow of the external air of the chip housing 110.
The main exhaust hole 141 is connected to the main channel microtube 120 to move the internal air of the main channel microtube 120 and the external air of the chip housing 110 to each other.
The main exhaust stopper 142 may open and close the main exhaust hole to arbitrarily control inflow of the external air of the chip housing 110.
One end of the subchannel microtube 150 is connected to the side surface of the main channel microtube 120, and a reagent is injected therein. Although one subchannel microtube 150 is shown in
The sub-exhaust hole 151 is formed at the other end of the subchannel microtube 150 to move the internal air of the subchannel microtube 150 and the external air of the chip housing 110 to each other.
The sub-exhaust stopper 152 may open and close the sub-exhaust hole to arbitrarily control inflow of the external air of the chip housing 110.
The negative pressure generation unit 130 may have a bellows or injector structure. The negative pressure generation unit 130 may repeatedly generate negative pressure through the structure. The sample and the reagent may move more diversely using the characteristic that the negative pressure generation unit 130 may operate repetitively.
Hereinafter, a method of using a microfluidic analysis chip 100 according to still another embodiment of the present specification will be described.
Referring to
A sample is injected into the sample inlet hole 121. Next, the sample inlet stopper 122, the main exhaust stopper 142 or the sub-exhaust stopper 152 is selectively opened and closed. Then, the sample or the reagent is moved by handling the negative pressure generation unit 130. In the embodiment shown in
First, as shown in (a) of
Next, the sample inlet stopper 122 is opened, and the main exhaust stopper 142, the first sub-exhaust stopper 152-1 and the second sub-exhaust stopper 152-2 are closed as shown in (b) of
For the bellows initial state, the main exhaust stopper 142 is opened, and the sample inlet stopper 122, the first sub-exhaust stopper 152-1, and the second sub-exhaust stopper 152-2 are closed. Then, the negative pressure generation unit 130 of a bellows structure is pressed to make a folded state (‘return to the bellows initial state’). At this point, as the negative pressure generation unit 130 of a bellows structure is folded, the air pressure is exhausted through the main exhaust stopper 142.
Next, the first sub-exhaust stopper 152-1 is opened, and the main exhaust stopper 142, the sample inlet stopper 122 and the second sub-exhaust stopper 152-2 are closed as shown in (c) of
For the bellows initial state again, the main exhaust stopper 142 is opened, and the sample inlet stopper 122, the first sub-exhaust stopper 152-1, and the second sub-exhaust stopper 152-2 are closed. Then, the negative pressure generation unit 130 of a bellows structure is pressed to make a folded state (‘return to the bellows initial state’). At this point, as the negative pressure generation unit 130 of a bellows structure is folded, the air pressure is exhausted through the main exhaust stopper 142.
Next, the second sub-exhaust stopper 152-2 is opened, and the main exhaust stopper 142, the sample inlet stopper 122 and the first sub-exhaust stopper 152-1 are closed as shown in (d) of
Although the embodiments of the present specification have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it can be understood that those skilled in the art may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2017-0152742 | Nov 2017 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2017/015348 | 12/22/2017 | WO | 00 |
