Cell sorting system using microfabricated components

摘要

A MEMS-based cell sorter is disclosed, which uses a novel combination of features to accomplish the cell sorting using a microfabricated cell sorting valve housed in a disposable cartridge. The features include an interposer that provides fluid communication between the microfluidic passages in the silicon substrate and a plurality of fluid reservoirs in the cartridge, including a sample, sort and waste reservoir The disposable cartridge may include other features that assist in the handling of small volumes of fluids, such as a siphon region in the sort reservoir and funnel-shaped regions in the sample and waste reservoirs. A mixing mechanism may be provided for stirring the contents of the sample reservoir.

主权项

1. A cell sorting system for sorting target particles from a fluid sample, comprising:
a cell sorting valve microfabricated on a surface of a silicon substrate, with microfabricated channels leading from the cell sorting valve, wherein the cell sorting valve separates the target particles from non-target material; a disposable cartridge containing a sample reservoir, a sort reservoir and a waste reservoir; and an interposer that provides fluid communication between the microfabricated channels in the silicon substrate and the reservoirs in the disposable cartridge and wherein the cell sorting valve moves in a plane parallel to the surface, and directs the target particles from the sample channel into the waste channel when the microfabricated cell sorting valve is in a first position, and which directs the non-target particles into the sort channel when in a second position, wherein the waste channel is substantially orthogonal to the plane of motion of the cell sorting valve.