MICROSCALE LIQUID HANDLING SYSTEM

• Main Authors: ZAVRACKY, PAUL, M, KARGER, BARRY, L, DUNAYEVSKIY, YURIY, M, XUE, QIFENG, MCGRUER, E., NICOL, FORET, FRANTISEK
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 07.04.2010
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS; ELECTRICITY; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; TESTING; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

A microscale fluid handling system that permits the efficient transfer of nanoliter to picoliter quantities of a fluid sample from the spatially concentrated environment of a microfabricated chip to "off-chip" analytical or collection devices for further off-chip sample manipulation and analysis is disclosed. The fluid handling system is fabricated in the form of one or more channels, in any suitable format, provided in a microchip body or substrate of silica, polymer or other suitable non-conductive material, or of stainless steel, noble metal, silicon or other suitable conductive or semi-conductive material. The microchip fluid handling system includes one or more exit ports integral with the end of one or more of the channels for consecutive or simultaneous off-chip analysis or collection of the sample. The exit port or ports may be configured, for example, as an electrospray interface for transfer of a fluid sample to a mass spectrometer.