Variable volume mixing and automatic fluid management for programmable microfluids

摘要

A microfluidic arrangement including a fluid channel configured to receive a first fluid from a first inlet and a second fluid from a second inlet, and a mixer connected to the fluid channel, the mixer including a mixer channel configured to receive a volume of the first fluid and a volume of the second fluid from the fluid channel, the mixer channel defining a mixer capacity, wherein the mixer is (i) configured to mix the volume of the first fluid and the volume of the second fluid in order to provide a mixture of the first fluid and the second fluid when the combined volume of the first fluid and the second fluid is less than the mixer capacity, and (ii) further configured to mix the volume of the first fluid and the volume of the second fluid in order to provide a mixture of the first fluid and the second fluid when the combined volume of the first fluid and the second fluid is equal to the mixer capacity.

主权项

1. A programmable lab-on-a-chip (PLoC) arrangement, comprising:
a fluid channel configured to receive a first fluid from a first inlet and a second fluid from a second inlet; a mixer connected to the fluid channel, the mixer including a mixer channel configured to receive a volume of the first fluid and a volume of the second fluid from the fluid channel, the mixer channel defining a mixer capacity, wherein the mixer is (i) configured to mix the volume of the first fluid and the volume of the second fluid in order to provide a mixture of the first fluid and the second fluid when the combined volume of the first fluid and the second fluid is less than the mixer capacity, and (ii) further configured to mix the volume of the first fluid and the volume of the second fluid in order to provide a mixture of the first fluid and the second fluid when the combined volume of the first fluid and the second fluid is equal to the mixer capacity; and an air purging arrangement disposed in the mixer channel and configured to purge a volume of air from the mixer channel when the volume of air is positioned between the volume of the first fluid and the volume of the second fluid in the mixer channel, the air purging arrangement including a vent orthogonally oriented to a direction of flow of the fluids in the PLoC and including a membrane configured to allow passage of gas and block passage of liquids.