Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve at least one of the above technical problems, the present application provides a microfluidic chip, which can overcome the problem of delay or hysteresis of valve structure closing caused by pressure in a flow channel, and adopts the following technical scheme.
The microfluidic chip provided by the application comprises a flow channel body, a pressure relief opening, a movable diaphragm and a valve structure. Wherein the flow channel body is formed with an inlet and an outlet; the valve structure is arranged between the inlet and the outlet of the runner body and used for controlling the circulation or cutoff of liquid in the runner body, the pressure relief opening is arranged at the upstream of the valve structure along the liquid flow direction in the runner body and is arranged at the top wall of the runner body and communicated with the runner body, the movable diaphragm is arranged at the top wall of the runner body and used for sealing the pressure relief opening when the runner body passes through the liquid, and the movable diaphragm is also used for opening the pressure relief opening when the liquid in the runner body stops flowing.
In some embodiments of the present application, a first end of the movable membrane is connected to a top wall of the flow channel body, and a second end opposite to the first end of the movable membrane is movable relative to the top wall of the flow channel body, wherein the second end of the movable membrane is attached to the top wall of the flow channel body when the flow channel body passes through the liquid, so that the movable membrane seals the pressure relief opening, and the second end of the movable membrane is separated from the top surface of the flow channel body when the liquid in the flow channel body stops flowing, so that the movable membrane opens the pressure relief opening.
In some embodiments of the present application, when the movable membrane covers the pressure relief opening, the direction from the first end to the second end is the same as the flow direction of the liquid in the flow channel body.
In some embodiments of the present application, the first end of the movable membrane is connected to the flow channel body by plasma bonding, or the first end of the movable membrane is connected to the flow channel body by thermal compression bonding.
In some embodiments of the present application, the material of the movable membrane is one of polydimethylsiloxane, silica gel, cyclic olefin copolymer, cyclic olefin polymer, polystyrene or resin.
In certain embodiments of the present application, the pressure relief opening is vented to atmosphere.
In some embodiments of the application, the pressure relief opening is in communication with a waste conduit.
In certain embodiments of the present application, the valve structure includes a gas chamber, a membrane separating the gas chamber and a control chamber disposed in the flow channel body, the membrane adapted to bulge toward the control chamber and block the control chamber when the gas chamber is inflated.
In some embodiments of the present application, the top wall of the flow channel body is configured as a cambered surface.
In some embodiments of the present application, the microfluidic chip includes a first structural layer and a second structural layer, the flow channel body is at least disposed on the first structural layer or the second structural layer, the pressure relief opening is disposed on the first structural layer, the valve structure includes an air chamber, a film and a control chamber, the film separates the air chamber and the control chamber, the control chamber and the flow channel body are disposed on the same structural layer, the air chamber is disposed on the second structural layer, and the first structural layer and the second structural layer are connected in a packaged manner.
The embodiment of the application has the advantages that the pressure relief opening is arranged on the top wall of the flow channel body and is arranged at the upstream of the valve structure, and the pressure relief opening is opened when liquid in the flow channel body is intercepted by arranging the movable diaphragm, so that when the liquid is intercepted by the valve structure, the rising air pressure in the flow channel body caused by the closing action of the valve structure can be discharged through the pressure relief opening, thereby being beneficial to reducing the pressure in the flow channel body, enabling the valve structure to be quickly closed in a short time, solving the problem of larger resistance when the valve structure is closed due to the increase of the air pressure in the flow channel body, overcoming the problem of delay or lag of the closing of the valve structure caused by the resistance, enabling the valve structure to have quick response effect, realizing the interception of the liquid and improving the operation efficiency. On the basis of setting the pressure relief opening, a movable diaphragm is arranged on the top wall of the runner body, so that the movable diaphragm can cover the pressure relief opening when the runner body passes through liquid, the pressure relief opening can be prevented from affecting the normal flow of the liquid, and the normal use of the microfluidic chip is ensured.
Detailed Description
Embodiments of the present application will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals denote like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting the application.
In the description of the present application, it should be understood that, if the terms "center", "middle", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. are used as directions or positional relationships based on the directions shown in the drawings, the directions are merely for convenience of description and for simplification of description, and do not indicate or imply that the apparatus or element to be referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application.
In the description of the present application, the meaning of a number is one or more, the meaning of a number is two or more, and greater than, less than, exceeding, etc. are understood to exclude the present number, and the meaning of a number is understood to include the present number. The description of the first and second is for the purpose of distinguishing between technical features only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated or implicitly indicating the precedence of the technical features indicated.
In the description of the present application, unless explicitly stated and limited otherwise, the terms "disposed," "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, mechanically connected, electrically connected, directly connected, indirectly connected via an intermediate medium, or communicate between the interior of two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application will be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the description of the present application, if the description appears with reference to the term "as an implementation," "one embodiment," "some examples," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," "some examples," etc., it is intended that the particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example be included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
Referring to fig. 1 to 2, the present application provides a microfluidic chip 100, which includes a flow channel body 10, a pressure relief opening 13, a movable membrane 30, and a valve structure 20. The flow channel body 10 is provided with an inlet 11 and an outlet 12, the valve structure 20 is arranged between the inlet 11 and the outlet 12 of the flow channel body 10, the valve structure 20 is used for controlling the circulation or interception of liquid in the flow channel body 10, the pressure relief opening 13 is positioned at the upstream of the valve structure 20 along the liquid flow direction in the flow channel body 10, the pressure relief opening 13 is arranged at the top wall of the flow channel body 10, the pressure relief opening 13 is communicated with the flow channel body 10, the movable diaphragm 30 is arranged at the top wall of the flow channel body 10, the movable diaphragm 30 is used for sealing the pressure relief opening 13 when the flow channel body 10 passes through the liquid, and the movable diaphragm 30 is also used for opening the pressure relief opening 13 when the liquid in the flow channel body 10 is blocked. Through set up pressure release opening 13 at the roof of runner body 10 to set up pressure release opening 13 in the upper reaches of valve structure 20, open pressure release opening 13 when the liquid in runner body 10 is cut through setting up movable diaphragm 30, so, when utilizing valve structure 20 to cut off liquid, because the ascending atmospheric pressure in runner body 10 that valve structure 20 closed the action and lead to, can discharge through pressure release opening 13, thereby help reducing the pressure in the runner body 10, make valve structure 20 can close fast in the short time, the problem that the internal atmospheric pressure of solution runner increases and leads to valve structure 20 to close the time resistance great when, overcome the valve structure 20 that causes because the resistance closes the time delay or hysteresis problem, make valve structure 20 have the effect of quick response, realize cutting off liquid, thereby promote operating efficiency. On the basis of setting the pressure relief opening 13, a movable diaphragm 30 is arranged on the top wall of the runner body 10, so that the movable diaphragm 30 can cover the pressure relief opening 13 when the runner body 10 passes through liquid, the pressure relief opening 13 can be prevented from influencing the normal flow of the liquid, and the normal use of the microfluidic chip 100 is ensured.
The pressure relief opening 13 is in a hole structure with a diameter of tens micrometers to hundreds micrometers, and the size of the pressure relief opening 13 can be adjusted according to the actual pressure relief requirement, and correspondingly, the size of the movable membrane 30 can be adaptively adjusted according to the size of the pressure relief opening 13, so that the movable membrane 30 can cover the pressure relief opening 13.
In some embodiments, the first end 31 of the movable membrane 30 is connected to the top wall of the flow channel body 10, the second end 32 opposite to the first end 31 of the movable membrane 30 is movable relative to the top wall of the flow channel body 10, the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 is attached to the top wall of the flow channel body 10 when the flow channel body 10 passes through the liquid, so that the movable membrane 30 seals the pressure relief opening 13, and the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 is separated from the top surface of the flow channel body 10 when the liquid in the flow channel body 10 stops flowing, so that the movable membrane 30 opens the pressure relief opening 13. The first end 31 of the movable diaphragm 30 is connected with the top wall of the runner body 10, and the second end 32 is movably arranged relative to the top wall of the runner body 10, so that the movable diaphragm 30 can be positioned in the runner body 10 and the pressure relief opening 13 can be sealed and opened. Specifically, the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 can perform lifting or falling motion relative to the first end 31, when the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 is lifted, the movable membrane 30 is attached to the top wall of the flow channel body 10, so as to achieve the sealing effect on the pressure relief opening 13, and when the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 falls, the movable membrane 30 is separated from the top wall of the flow channel body 10, so that the pressure relief opening 13 is opened. When the valve structure 20 controls the liquid in the flow channel body 10 to circulate, the liquid flows into the inlet 11 of the flow channel body 10 and fills the whole flow channel body 10, at this time, the liquid can lift the second end 32 of the movable diaphragm 30 to enable the movable diaphragm 30 to be attached to the top wall of the flow channel body 10, so that the movable diaphragm 30 seals the pressure relief opening 13, when the valve structure 20 controls the liquid in the flow channel body 10 to intercept, the liquid in the flow channel body 10 stops flowing, the lifting effect of the liquid on the diaphragm disappears, at this time, the second end 32 of the movable diaphragm 30 falls under the action of self gravity, so that the pressure relief opening 13 is opened, and the pressure in the flow channel body 10 is released. When the pressure in the flow channel body 10 is reduced, the valve can quickly respond to the closing command and cut off the liquid.
In some embodiments, when the movable membrane 30 covers the pressure relief opening 13, the direction from the first end 31 to the second end 32 is the same as the flow direction of the liquid in the flow channel body 10. That is, by disposing the first end 31 of the movable membrane 30 at the side of the pressure relief opening 13 near the inlet 11 of the flow channel body 10, and disposing the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 at the side of the pressure relief opening 13 near the outlet 12 of the flow channel body 10, the moving direction of the second end 32 of the movable membrane 30 can be conformed to the flowing direction of the liquid in the flow channel body 10 during the process from opening to closing the pressure relief opening 13 by the movable membrane 30, so as to avoid the influence of the flowing resistance of the liquid on the movable membrane 30.
In some embodiments, the first end 31 of the movable membrane 30 is connected to the flow channel body 10 by plasma bonding. For example, the material of the flow channel body 10 may be PDMS (Po LYD IMETHY L S I loxane ), silicone, COC (Copo lymers of Cyc loo lefin, cyclic olefin copolymer), COP (Cyc lo Olefin Po lymer, cyclic olefin polymer), PS (Po lystyrene ), or PC (Po lycarbonate, polycarbonate). For example, when the material of the flow channel body 10 is PDMS, one side of the movable membrane 30 may be connected to the flow channel body 10 by a plasma bonding method;
In some embodiments, the first end 31 of the movable membrane 30 is connected to the runner body 10 by a hot press fit. For example, when the material of the runner body 10 is plastic, one side of the movable membrane 30 may be connected to the runner body 10 by hot pressing. The connection between the movable diaphragm 30 and the flow path body 10 can be easily accomplished by the plasma bonding method and the hot press bonding method, and the operability is high. According to the different materials of the runner body 10, the connection mode of the movable membrane 30 and the runner body 10 can be flexibly selected.
In some embodiments, the material of the movable membrane 30 is one of PDMS, silicone, COC, COP, PS, or resin. PDMS, silica gel, COC, COP, PS or resin are common membrane materials, which can reduce the manufacturing cost and difficulty of the movable membrane 30.
The material of the movable membrane 30 may also be PC, for example.
In some embodiments, the pressure relief opening 13 is vented to atmosphere. By communicating the pressure release opening 13 with the atmosphere, when the movable diaphragm 30 opens the pressure release opening 13, the pressure in the flow channel body 10 can be released rapidly, so that the valve structure 20 can cut off the liquid in the flow channel body 10 rapidly.
In some embodiments, the pressure relief opening 13 communicates to a waste tube. Through with pressure release opening 13 and waste liquid pipe intercommunication, can utilize the waste liquid pipe to collect the liquid that probably overflows when valve structure 20 cuts off the liquid in the runner body 10, avoid the liquid to lead to the fact the pollution to pressure release opening 13 department.
Referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, the valve structure 20 includes a gas chamber 21, a membrane 22 and a control chamber 23, the membrane 22 separates the gas chamber 21 and the control chamber 23, the control chamber 23 is disposed in the flow channel body 10, and the membrane 22 is configured to bulge toward the control chamber 23 and block the control chamber 23 when the gas chamber 21 is inflated. It will be appreciated that the control chamber 23 may be in communication with the flow channel body 10, and by providing the valve structure 20 with the air chamber 21, the membrane 22 and the control chamber 23, the driving of the membrane 22 may be achieved by utilizing the air pressure variation of the air chamber 21, and by pressurizing the air chamber 21, the membrane 22 bulges towards the control chamber 23 and seals the control chamber 23, thereby achieving the interception of the liquid in the flow channel body 10.
Optionally, the membrane 22 has elasticity (deformable property) and can deform and bulge towards the flow channel body 10 under the pressurization of the air chamber 21, and when the air chamber 21 is depressurized, the membrane 22 can retract to recover the liquid passing capacity in the flow channel body 10, and the valve structure 20 can be provided with a pneumatic structure (such as an air pump, etc.), wherein the pneumatic structure is communicated with the air chamber 21 and is used for adjusting the air pressure in the air chamber 21, for example, introducing air into the air chamber 21 to increase the pressure of the air chamber 21 so as to realize the bulge effect of the membrane 22. Of course, in other examples, the air chamber 21 may be connected to other microfluidic structures, and the air pressure in the air chamber 21 is regulated by the microfluidic structures, which is not limited herein.
In some embodiments, the top wall of the runner body 10 is provided as a cambered surface. By setting the top wall of the flow channel body 10 to be an arc surface, when the valve structure 20 is utilized to intercept the liquid in the flow channel body 10, the shape of the bulged film 22 can be attached to the top wall of the flow channel body 10, so that the interception effect of the valve structure 20 is improved.
Alternatively, the valve structure 20 may be any form of active micro-valve structure, and the specific configuration of the valve structure 20 is not limited in this embodiment. The microfluidic chip 100 provided by the application can be connected into a microfluidic channel with an active micro-valve structure, and is arranged at the upstream of the micro-valve structure along the flowing direction of liquid, so that the pressure in the flow channel can be discharged by using the microfluidic chip 100 in the closing process of the micro-valve structure, and the response efficiency of the micro-valve structure is improved.
In some embodiments, the microfluidic chip 100 includes a first structural layer 110 and a second structural layer 120, the flow channel body 10 is at least disposed on the first structural layer 110 or the second structural layer 120, the pressure release opening 13 is disposed on the first structural layer 110, the valve structure 20 includes an air chamber 21, a film 22 and a control chamber 23, the film 22 separates the air chamber 21 and the control chamber 23, the control chamber 23 and the flow channel body 10 are disposed on the same structural layer, the air chamber 21 is disposed on the second structural layer 120, and the first structural layer 110 and the second structural layer 120 are connected in a packaged manner. Through setting up runner body 10, pressure release opening 13 and valve structure 20 in different structural layers respectively, not only the mutual encapsulation of usable first structural layer 110 and second structural layer 120 is connected, realizes runner body 10, pressure release opening 13 and valve structure 20's quick connect and equipment, can also make the structure of micro-fluidic chip 100 easily realize, improves micro-fluidic chip 100's manufacturing efficiency.
Referring to fig. 2 and 4, alternatively, the flow channel body 10 is disposed on a side of the first structural layer 110 near the second structural layer 120, the pressure relief opening 13 is disposed on a top wall of the flow channel body 10, the control cavity 23 is disposed on the first structural layer 110 corresponding to the flow channel body 10, or the flow channel body 10 may be disposed on a side of the second structural layer 120 near the first structural layer 110, the first structural layer 110 is provided with channels corresponding to the inlet 11 and the outlet 12 of the flow channel body 10, the pressure relief opening 13 is disposed on a side of the first structural layer 110 near the second structural layer 120, and the control cavity 23 is disposed on the second structural layer 120 corresponding to the flow channel body 10.
The embodiments of the present application have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application. Furthermore, embodiments of the application and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.