KR101670826B1 - A microfluidic floating block and manufacturing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block, and more particularly, to a method for easily manufacturing a microfluidic flow block and a technique for easily connecting and configuring the microfluidic flow block such as a LEGO block. The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block for a lab-on-a-chip system, comprising a first housing (110) having a joint groove (111) for bonding between microfluidic flow blocks, and; A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment; A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough and an inlet port And a microfluidic channel film (130) having a discharge port (132) and a discharge port (133) formed therein.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block and a manufacturing method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block, and more particularly, to a method for easily manufacturing a microfluidic flow block and a technique for easily connecting and configuring the microfluidic flow block such as a LEGO block.

Conventional laboratory apparatuses are fragile glass-based products, and not only the risk of breakage, but also the safety in the experimental procedure, the experiment education is not easy. In addition, there are not enough devices to safely handle various chemicals and it is very expensive. Therefore, there is a limit to chemical / bio experiment training in the field of frontline education, and practically specialized education is hardly achieved. Conventional experimental tools are open-ended and there is a risk that the experimenter can easily be exposed to chemicals in liquid / vapor phase.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop experimental equipments that can safely perform various chemical experiments or bio experiments using liquid chemicals at elementary, middle, high school and university. Therefore, there is a desperate need for a new concept of sealed chemical / bio-laboratory equipments with unbreakable and chemically stable characteristics.

In this context, in the field of bio-microelectromechanical systems, particularly in the field of micro-systems used for chemical analysis and / or early diagnosis of diseases, for example in the field of bio lab on a chip, miniaturization, Research is being conducted in the direction of automation and real-time diagnosis.

In general, in the field of Bio-Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Bio-MEMS), in order to perform processes such as early diagnosis of disease or / and chemical analysis on a small chip, There is a need for a technique for microfluid control capable of transferring, stopping, mixing, and reacting the microfluidic fluid.

Recently, nano-bio and nanomaterial synthesis fields have been rapidly developed due to the development of lab-on-a-chip technology based on microfluidic devices. In the field of elementary / middle / high / university education, It is necessary to establish a curriculum and respond positively.

 A new concept of microfluidic laboratory materials has been developed to utilize plastic-based microfluidic devices to perform various chemical / bio experiments in a safer environment.

In general, in the field of Bio-Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Bio-MEMS), in order to perform processes such as early diagnosis of disease or / and chemical analysis on a small chip, It is required to integrate sensors for detecting microbial fluid control capable of transferring, stopping, mixing and reacting biomarkers related to diseases (for example, proteins, DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA), etc.) with high sensitivity .

In the field of bio-microelectromechanical systems, particularly in the field of micro-systems used for chemical analysis and / or early diagnosis of diseases, for example bio lab on a chip, miniaturization, cost reduction, integration, Research is being conducted in the direction of diagnosis. This is because the price of a general-purpose reagent is often expensive, so that a chemical analysis without pollution from the external environment can be reproducibly performed while using a necessary minimum amount of biological sample.

Accordingly, an inexpensive microfluidic control system is attracting much attention

Generally, patients diagnosed with such diseases as AIDS, leukemia or anemia are required to diagnose such diseases, monitor the progress of the disease, and determine the therapeutic effect, in order to identify the specific leukocyte It is necessary to observe somatic cells such as red blood cells, to count the number of the somatic cells and to grasp the distribution thereof. A lab-on-a-chip used for observing and counting fine particles present in a sample, for example, somatic cells or the like, is an anisotropic material for filling a sample containing fine particles A sample inlet is formed at one side of the flow path, and a sample outlet is formed at the other side of the flow path. The fine particles existing in the flow path having an appropriate width and height Can be counted by using an optical microscope, a somatic cell equipped with a CCD camera or the like, and a fine particle counting apparatus. That is, after the somatic cells in the sample are dyed with a fluorescent dye or the like, light of a specific wavelength band is irradiated, and the number of cells emitting fluorescence can be counted by photographing the image of the sample. On the other hand, such a lab-on-a-chip mainly consists of a small-sized plastic molding product manufactured by using precision plastic injection molding technology and microlithography process. Particularly, in the case of a biochip field, a biochip for cell counting using a structure capable of controlling and chemically reacting a fluid sample injected into a chamber made of plastic in the case of Cytometer (WO02 / 082057) of Micronics of the United States For example, in the case of an i-chip manufactured by Hitachi Chemical of Japan, an upper substrate composed of a single plastic substrate on which micromachined microchannel patterns are etched, and a space in which a fluid sample can flow There is a biochip product for DNA analysis in a form in which a lower substrate composed of a single film having a cover function as a cover is bonded.

WO02 / 082057

The present invention intends to propose a microfluidic flow block which can be manufactured more easily and which has versatility of connection like a lego block, in place of the method of manufacturing a microfluidic chip which requires a complicated and expensive manufacturing cost.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a microfluidic flow block for a lab-on-a-chip system, comprising: a first housing having a joint groove (111) for bonding between microfluidic flow blocks 110); A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment; A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough and an electrode unit for detecting the channel 131, And a microfluidic channel film 130 having an injection port 132 and an ejection port 133 formed at both ends of the microfluidic channel 130.

According to the present invention, there is provided a microfluidic flow block, which can be manufactured more easily, and which has versatility of connection like a lego block, in place of a conventional method of manufacturing a microfluidic chip requiring a complex and expensive production cost.

That is, the lab-on-a-chip system using the microfluidic flow block of the present invention can perform various chemical experiments or bio-experiments using chemicals in liquid form at the elementary, middle, high and university level more safely It is effective to implement the closed chemical / bio laboratory exercise equipments as the experimental exercise equipments which can not be broken and chemically stable.

In addition, by providing a microfluidic flow block that provides versatility of connection like a LEGO block, a non-expert such as a student who is not trained can easily construct a lab-on-a-chip system according to an experimental purpose.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a microfluidic flow block of the present invention.
2 is an explanatory view showing a method of fastening between microfluidic flow blocks of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the microfluidic flow blocks of the present invention are fastened.
Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating one embodiment of the film of the present invention. Fig.
5 is a configuration diagram illustrating a lab-on-a-chip system of the present invention.
6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the microfluidic film of the present invention.
7 is an explanatory view showing a different embodiment of the fastening method of microfluidic flow blocks of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block, and more particularly, to a method for easily manufacturing a microfluidic flow block and a technique for easily connecting and configuring the microfluidic flow block such as a LEGO block. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a microfluidic flow block of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a microfluidic flow block for a lab-on-a-chip system, comprising a first housing (110) having a joint groove (111) for bonding between microfluidic flow blocks, and; A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment; A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough and an inlet port And a microfluidic channel film (130) having a discharge port (132) and an outlet port (133). The film 130 may include electrode portions for detection as needed.

The joint grooves 111 of the first housing 110 are formed to engage with the joint grooves 111 of the other microfluidic flow blocks and the joint grooves 111 are engaged with each other using bolts and nuts It is preferable that a bolt hole 112 is formed.

In addition, the channel film 130 may have an adhesive layer on both sides or an end face so that the channel film 130 can adhere and bond the first and second housings 110 and 120 as a double-sided adhesive film .

The connection groove 111 of the first housing 110 may include a connection hole at a position where the injection port 132 and the discharge port 133 of the microfluidic channel film 130 are in contact with each other, O-rings may be provided for the O-rings.

As described above, the channel film 130 is configured to have an adhesive layer on both sides or on an end face so that the channel film 130 is adhered to the first and second housings 110 and 120 as a double- The channel film 130 having the adhesive layer itself can provide a function of packing to prevent water leakage.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of fastening the microfluidic flow blocks of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the microfluidic flow blocks of the present invention are fastened. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the joint grooves 111 of the first housing 110 of the respective microfluidic flow blocks are engaged with each other and engaged with each other. In other words, the microfluidic flow block of the present invention can be easily assembled by users who have not been trained in the laboratory because the microfluidic flow block can be simply screwed together and tightened with bolts.

7, an alignment protrusion 121 is provided on the surface of the second housing 120 in place of the bolt-nut fastening method, and the alignment protrusions 121 are formed on the surface of the second housing 120, The first housing 110 and the second housing 120 to align the second housing, the first housing, and the channel film, and then the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 are aligned with each other, The alignment protrusion 121 may be inserted into the coupling hole formed in the microfluidic flow block so as to be easily fastened.

In this case, as described above, the channel film 130 may be configured to have an adhesive layer on both sides or on an end face so that the channel film 130 is bonded to the first and second housings 110 and 120 It is preferable to bond and fasten.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 can be lifted up to any one of the housings or the upper portion of the first housing 110 or the second housing 120, And the second housing 120 may be made of a transparent synthetic resin so as to confirm whether the sample is moved in the channel 131 of the film 130 or the progress of the experiment.

The channel 130 and the microfluidic channel film 130 having the injection port 132 and the discharge port 133 formed at both ends of the channel 131 allow the microfluid to pass therethrough, A first film 134 having grooves 136 formed therein for forming the first films 134; It is preferable that a film is formed by bonding a second film 135 formed with an injection port 132 and a discharge port 133 through which the microfluid will be injected and discharged into the channel 131.

Also, the second film 135 may have a channel forming groove 136 corresponding to the groove of the first film 134. That is, the film 130 on which the channel is formed can be formed by superposing the two films. Of course, the groove 136, the injection port 132 and the discharge port 133 may be formed on any one of the first film 134 and the second film 135. The groove forming method as described above can be selected as needed.

6, the film 130 may include a structure such as an electrode portion 137 for detection. In this case, either the first film 134 or the second film 135 A structure such as the electrode part 137 for detection can be provided on one film.

In another embodiment, the channel 131 and the injection port 132 are formed at both ends of the channel 131 so that the microfluid can pass through the film having the two layers as described above, The microfluidic channel film 130 having the discharge port 133 may be formed of a single layer film having grooves 136 for forming the channels 131 in the film. In this case, one side of the channel is clogged with one side of the first housing 110 or the second housing 120, and the film and the housing can be sealed by epoxy bonding or the like.

A channel 131 formed through the microfluidic channel film 130 to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough is coated with a hydrophilic material such as silicon oxide (SiOx), titanium oxide (TiOx), aluminum oxide And an oxide-based material of aluminum oxide (AlOx). This is to allow the hydrophilic sample to smoothly pass through the channel. For the same reason, hydrophobic coating is possible if necessary.

When the single-layer film as described above is applied, one side of the first housing 110 or the second housing 120, to which the microfluid comes into contact, may be coated with a hydrophilic material as necessary.

As shown in FIG. 5, the present invention further includes an injection unit 1100 for injecting a sample, a pre-treatment unit 1200 for pretreating the sample, a reaction unit for reacting the pretreated sample, A channel unit 1300 for connecting the input unit 1100, the pre-processing unit 1200, the reaction unit 1300, and the discharge unit 1300, And a data analysis unit for analyzing the sample, the lab-on-a-chip system comprising: an input unit 1100 for inputting the sample; and a pre- A pre-treatment unit 1200, a reaction unit 1300 for reacting the pretreated sample, a discharge unit 1400 for discharging the reacted sample, On-chip system (lab-on-a-chip) system comprising the above-described microfluidic flow block of the present invention is connected to the channel part 1500 connecting the part 1300 and the discharge part 1400. [ a chip system. That is, a non-specialist such as a student who has not received the specialized training can easily construct the lab-on-a-chip system according to the experimental purpose by assembling the microfluidic flow block of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention further provides a microfluidic device comprising: a first housing (110) having a joint groove (111) for bonding between microfluidic flow blocks; A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment; A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough, And a microfluidic channel film (130) having injection ports (132) and discharge ports (133) formed at both ends of the first housing (110) and the second housing (120) (S100) of designing and manufacturing the display device; Preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 in which a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 are formed at both ends of the channel 131 so that a microfluid can pass therethrough ); Positioning and aligning the microfluidic channel film (130) between the first housing (110) and the second housing (120) (s300); (S400) tightening the first housing (110), the second housing (120), and the film (130) by fastening means, and a channel (S200) in which the injection port 132 and the discharge port 133 are formed at both ends of the channel 131 and the channel 131. The step (s200) A groove forming step (s210) of forming a groove for forming a groove by at least one of a laser scribing process and an optical photolithography process using a photo resist; (S220) forming an injection port (132) and an ejection port (133) through which the microfluid will be injected and discharged into the second film (135); A surface modification step (s230) of modifying the surface of the first film (134) and the second film (135); And adhering the first film to the second film (S240).

The step (s200) of preparing the microfluidic channel film 130 may include a step (s201) of installing an electrode part 137 for detection on one of the first film 134 and the second film 135, . ≪ / RTI > When another structure such as an electrode is included, an electrode-like structure may be formed on one side of the film, and a groove may be formed on the other side of the film including the epoxy adhesive layer.

The above method is an example in which a film composed of two layers is applied, and a film composed of a single layer may be applied as described above.

That is, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a microfluidic flow block, comprising the steps of: designing and fabricating a structure of a first housing 110 and a second housing 120; Preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 in which a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 are formed at both ends of the channel 131 so that a microfluid can pass therethrough ); Positioning and aligning the microfluidic channel film (130) between the first housing (110) and the second housing (120) (s300); (S400) fastening the first housing (110), the second housing (120), and the film (130) by fastening means, wherein the first and second housings (110, 120) The step s100 of designing and fabricating the structure includes the step (s110) of modifying the surface of the housing of the first housing 110 or the second housing 120 having a surface in contact with the microfluid, The step (s200) of preparing the microfluidic channel film 130 in which the channel 131 and the injection port 132 and the discharge port 133 are formed at both ends of the channel 131 to allow the fluid to pass therethrough, The groove for forming the channel 131 in the film is cut by a cutting process using a plate cutter, a laser scribing process, a photolithography process using a photo resist, A groove forming step (s210 ') formed by at least one or more methods; And a surface modification step (s220 ') of modifying the surface of the film.

In the case of applying a single layer film, microfluidic contact is made on one side of one of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120, so that a step (S110) of modifying the surface of the housing is added.

The surface modification may be performed by coating a channel 131 formed through the microfluidic channel film 130 with a hydrophilic material so that the microfluidic channel film 130 can pass therethrough and the hydrophilic material may be a silicon oxide , Titanium oxide (TiOx), and aluminum oxide (AlOx).

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Obviously, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas which fall within the scope of equivalence by alteration, substitution, substitution, Range. In addition, it should be clarified that some configurations of the drawings are intended to explain the configuration more clearly and are provided in an exaggerated or reduced size than the actual configuration.

110. First housing
111. Joint groove
120. Second housing
121. Turning the alignment
130. Film
131. Channel
132. Inlet
133. Outlet
134. A film
135. Second film
136. Home
1100. Input section
1200. Line processor
1300. Reaction part
1400. Discharge section
1500. Channel section

Claims (22)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete A first housing (110) having a joint groove (111) for bonding between the microfluidic flow blocks;
A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment;
A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough and an inlet port 132 and an outlet 133 formed in the microfluidic channel film 130,
i) designing and fabricating the structure of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 (SlOO);
ii) preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 having a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 formed at both ends of the channel 131 to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough; (s200);
iii) positioning and aligning the microfluidic channel film 130 between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120;
iv) tightening the first housing 110, the second housing 120, and the film 130 by fastening means (s400);
/ RTI >
Preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 having a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 at both ends of the channel 131 to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough s200)
i) A groove for forming the channel 131 in any one of the first film 134 and the second film 135 is cut by a cutting process using a plate cutter, laser scribing, (S210) formed by at least one of the following processes: a photolithography process using a photoresist, and a photolithography process using a photoresist;
ii) forming an inlet (132) and an outlet (133) through which microfluidic fluid is injected and discharged into any one of the first film (134) or the second film (135) (s220);
iii) a surface modification step (s230) of modifying the surface of the first film (134) and the second film (135);
iv) bonding the first film and the second film (s 240);
Wherein the microfluidic flow block comprises a plurality of microfluidic channels. 19. The method of claim 18,
The step (s200) of preparing the microfluidic channel film (130)
And a step (s201) of installing an electrode part (137) for detection in any one of the first film (134) and the second film (135). 19. The method of claim 18,
The surface modification of the first film 134 and the second film 135 may be carried out by using a channel formed through the microfluidic channel film 130 131 is coated with a hydrophilic material,
Wherein the hydrophilic material comprises at least one selected from oxide-based materials of silicon oxide (SiOx), titanium oxide (TiOx), and aluminum oxide (AlOx) A first housing (110) having a joint groove (111) for bonding between the microfluidic flow blocks;
A second housing 120 installed at a bottom of the first housing 110 and having at least one selected from a sensor, a material or an experiment tool required for the experiment;
A channel 131 inserted between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 so as to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough and an inlet port 132 and an outlet 133 formed in the microfluidic channel film 130,
i) designing and fabricating the structure of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 (SlOO);
ii) preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 having a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 formed at both ends of the channel 131 to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough; (s200);
iii) positioning and aligning the microfluidic channel film 130 between the first housing 110 and the second housing 120;
iv) tightening the first housing 110, the second housing 120, and the film 130 by fastening means (s400);
/ RTI >
The step (s100) of designing and manufacturing the structure of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120
Modifying the surface of the housing of the first housing (110) or the second housing (120) having a surface in contact with the microfluid; s110;
Lt; / RTI >
Preparing a microfluidic channel film 130 having a channel 131 and an inlet 132 and an outlet 133 at both ends of the channel 131 to allow the microfluid to pass therethrough s200)
i) The groove for forming the channel 131 in the film is cut by a cutting process using a plate cutter, a laser scribing process, a photolithography process using a photo resist, (S210 ') formed by at least one of the following processes:
ii) a surface modification step (s220 ') of modifying the surface of the film;
Wherein the microfluidic flow block comprises a plurality of microfluidic channels. 22. The method of claim 21,
(S110) of the surface of the first housing (110) or the second housing (120) having a surface in contact with the microfluid, and the surface modification of the surface modification step (s220 ') of modifying the surface of the film A channel 131 formed to allow the microfluid of the microfluidic channel film 130 to pass therethrough is coated with a hydrophilic material,
Wherein the hydrophilic material comprises at least one selected from oxide-based materials of silicon oxide (SiOx), titanium oxide (TiOx), and aluminum oxide (AlOx).

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