Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide an integrated syringe pump in a microfluidic system, which can solve the problems in the prior art.
According to a broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a syringe pump comprising:
the syringe pump barrel comprises a pump barrel outer shell, a cavity is defined in the outer shell, the outer shell is provided with an outlet so that the cavity is communicated with the liquid flow passage, and one end of the pump barrel outer shell, which is different from the outlet, is provided with an opening defined by a stopping part;
a plunger disposed within the cavity of the syringe barrel and movable along the barrel axis, the stopper limiting movement of the plunger within the cavity; the end part of the plunger corresponding to the opening of the outer shell is provided with a retaining part, and the retaining part defines a structure matched with at least one part of the control rod;
the control rod comprises a control rod main shaft and a head part at the end part of the main shaft, and can enter the cavity through the opening of the syringe pump barrel, wherein the head part of the control rod is matched with the shape of the retaining part of the plunger, so that when the control rod applies acting force to the plunger part along the axial direction, the head part of the control rod can be clamped with the retaining part of the plunger; under the holding state, the axial movement of the rod part of the control rod controls the reciprocating movement of the plunger piston along the axial direction in the range of the cavity of the pump cylinder of the syringe; when the control rod exerts acting force in the opposite direction, the stop part of the pump cylinder outer shell limits the plunger, so that the head part of the control rod and the holding part are released from the clamping state.
According to another aspect of the invention, the head of the control rod is in a configuration of dimensions greater than the main axis of the control rod, such as a tongue, a block flange or a conical or circular expansion block; the retaining portion of the plunger has an insert portion and a flexible bayonet having a width at least less than the maximum inner diameter of the control rod head. Wherein, the plunger is made of elastic material, and the control rod is made of hard material.
According to one aspect of the invention, the diameter of the main shaft of the control rod is substantially the same as, or smaller than, the opening of the syringe pump barrel.
According to one aspect of the invention, the syringe pump is an integrated microfluidic device syringe pump, one face of the outer housing of the syringe pump barrel is fixed with the microfluidic cartridge substrate;
according to another aspect of the invention, the syringe pump is detachably connected and fixed to the substrate of the microfluidic device.
In one aspect of the invention, the syringe pump barrel is axially disposed parallel to the microfluidic device substrate;
in another aspect of the present invention, the syringe pump barrel is axially disposed perpendicular to the base plate, and the plunger moves up and down in a cavity defined by the syringe pump barrel in a state where the control rod is engaged with the plunger.
In one aspect of the invention, the control rod may be connected to a power control device that drives the control rod to apply a desired force to the plunger to create a positive or negative pressure to drive a desired volume of fluid from the microchannel into the syringe cavity or vice versa.
In another aspect of the invention, a fluid level sensor is included to detect fluid flow conditions in the syringe pump, prevent air from being pushed into the micro fluid channel, and determine the volume of fluid pushed or drawn by the syringe pump.
The invention has the following advantages: the integrated syringe pump has shorter length, the clamping and releasing states between the control rod and the pump are switched simply, the clamping between the control rod and the plunger can be realized by pushing the control rod and the plunger to the substrate in the axial direction, and the movement of the plunger in the syringe barrel is completely controlled by moving the control rod; after the use, when the control rod and the plunger move to the top end of the cavity, because the stopping part limits the plunger, the plunger part and the control rod are subjected to opposite-direction force to deform the flexible bayonet of the plunger holding part, the control rod is separated from the plunger, and the control rod can be taken out from the card box at the moment.
In the above whole process, the method of engagement between the control rod and the pump is very simple, does not require complex mechanisms to engage and remove the plunger, while the syringe pump remains sealed at all times, liquid contact is always sealed within the cavity defined by the plunger and the syringe pump barrel, and no part of the instrument contacts the liquid in the cartridge, thus eliminating the risk of leakage and cross-contamination.
Meanwhile, at the end of the operation, the liquid is stored in the sealed card box, the liquid in the pump can not be contacted with the plunger piston which is actually operated, the waste of the liquid is reduced, and the safety of the treatment is ensured.
Detailed Description
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints. When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Moreover, "top," "bottom," "upper," "lower," and variations thereof are used for convenience and do not require that the components be in a particular orientation.
As shown in fig. 1, the microfluidic syringe pump of the present invention comprises a syringe pump barrel 100, which includes a pump barrel housing 101, wherein the pump barrel housing 101 defines a cavity 102 inside, and in this embodiment, the pump barrel is cylindrical, the bottom of the housing is fixed to the base plate of the microfluidic cartridge, and the bottom is provided with a fluid outlet 103, and the upper end of the pump barrel housing is provided with an opening 104, the opening is provided with a stopper 105, and the stopper 105 makes the diameter of the opening 104 smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity 103.
A plunger 200, formed of an elastomeric material, is defined within the cavity 102 defined by the barrel housing 101 and is movable up and down the axial direction of the syringe barrel 100, with further outward movement of the plunger 200 being limited by a stop 105 as it moves to the opening at the upper end of the barrel. The top of the plunger 200 has a specially shaped retaining portion 201. The shape of the plunger 200, the face in contact with the outlet of the microchannel, is configured to fit the housing or the outlet of the microchannel, for example, in a conical shape, or in a trapezoidal or rectangular shape in cross section.
The control rod 300, in this embodiment a control rod comprising a main shaft 301 with a proximal end being a control rod head 302, wherein the distal end of the main shaft 301 may be connected to a power control system 400 for applying pressure to drive the control rod 300 to reciprocate in the axial direction of the syringe pump barrel.
The head 302 of the control rod 300 has a configuration that matches the plunger retaining portion 201. In this embodiment, the head 302 of the control rod is configured to have a tongue-like or block-like flange, while the plunger retaining portion 201 has an insert portion 202 and a flexible bayonet 203, the insert portion 202 and the flexible bayonet 203 together defining a portion adapted to receive the head 302 of the control rod. Wherein the width of the flexible bayonet 203 is at least less than the maximum inner diameter of the control rod head 302, the insert 202 substantially conforms to the shape of the control rod head 302.
The plunger 200 is made of elastic materials, the control rod 300 is made of hard materials, and the shape of the head 302 of the control rod and the shape of the plunger holding part 201 are set, so that when the control rod 300 exerts pressure on the plunger 200 along the axial direction, the head 302 of the control rod can deform the flexible bayonet 203 of the plunger under the action of force, so as to be clamped with the holding part 201 of the plunger and keep a clamping state, and at the moment, the control system acts on the straight line of the rod part of the control rod, so that the control rod 300 drives the plunger to move in the axial direction in the range of the cavity 102 of the syringe pump cylinder, and the suction effect on liquid in the cavity 102 is achieved; when the control rod 300 moves in the opposite direction along the axial direction until the plunger 200 reaches a position close to the upper end opening 104 of the pump barrel, the stop part 104 of the syringe pump barrel blocks the plunger 200, in this embodiment, the plunger 200 is subjected to a force downward from the stop part, and the control rod 300 is subjected to a force in the opposite direction from the power train control system, so that the flange structure of the control rod head part 302 deforms the flexible bayonet 203 of the plunger holding part 201, the control rod head part 302 is separated from the plunger holding part 201, and the control rod and the plunger are changed from the clamping state to the releasing state.
Wherein the diameter of the main shaft of the control rod 200 is substantially the same as, or smaller than, the opening 104 of the syringe pump barrel to facilitate insertion of the control rod into the cavity of the syringe pump barrel.
In one embodiment, the plunger 200 may be made of rubber, while the lever 300 is made of a hard material such as metal or plastic. The control rod 300 may be connected to the power control device 400 such that it exerts a desired force on the plunger 200 to create a positive or negative pressure to drive a desired volume of fluid from the microchannel into the syringe cavity or vice versa.
The exemplary power control device 400 may include a motor, a transmission mechanism, a linear driver, etc., the motor may be a stepping motor, the transmission mechanism may be a reduction transmission mechanism, and the main shaft of the control lever 300 may be permanently or detachably connected to the power control device through a mounting portion, and may also be connected to various types of power control devices.
The following describes a typical method of use of the microfluidic syringe pump of the present invention:
entering a clamping state: as shown in fig. 2, the control rod is first connected to the power control device, the power control device drives the control rod under the action of, for example, a micro-motor, the drive rod passes through the opening of the syringe cylinder into the cavity and continues to move downward, and the head of the control rod deforms the flexible bayonet under the action of a certain pressure, so as to push the flexible bayonet into the embedded part of the plunger holding part. The control rod head can adopt a conical, circular or slope shape besides a tongue-shaped or block-shaped flange, so that resistance is reduced when the control rod head enters the plunger retaining part conveniently.
In the use state: as shown in fig. 3, at this time, the plunger and the control lever are engaged with each other, and the power control device moves the control lever to control the upward and downward movement of the plunger in the syringe pump cylinder. In conjunction with microfluidic valves, fluid may be drawn from a fluid reservoir into the pump cartridge, or the fluid in the pump cartridge may be pushed through the microchannel into other desired fluid outlets.
And (3) releasing state: as shown in fig. 4, after the syringe pump barrel is used, the control rod drives the plunger to move above the syringe pump barrel until the plunger is limited by the stop part, and the head of the control rod is separated from the plunger holding part by the action force, so that the control rod and the plunger are changed from the clamping state to the releasing state, and the control rod can be taken out of the cartridge of the microfluidic device.
In the above embodiment, the syringe pump barrel is axially perpendicular to the base plate, and the plunger is axially movable in a cavity defined by the syringe pump barrel in a state where the control rod is engaged with the plunger. In this arrangement, the syringe pump barrel can also serve as a chamber for mixing liquids. Combining with a micro-fluidic valve, pumping the fluid to be mixed into a cavity of a pump barrel through an outlet channel at the bottom of the cavity, and promoting the mixing of the fluid by combining a control rod with the repeated reciprocating movement of a plunger, wherein the vertically arranged pump barrel structure is convenient for the bubbles to rise to the top end close to the plunger under the condition that the mixed liquid is mixed with the bubbles; when the mixed liquid is driven into the micro-channel of the base again, for example, under the monitoring of a liquid level sensor or a fluid sensor, bubbles mixed in the liquid will remain at the top end of the plunger and will not be transferred to the subsequent step.
In another embodiment not shown in the drawings, the axial direction of the syringe pump cylinder is parallel to the microfluidic device substrate, i.e. the control rod drives the plunger to move along the horizontal direction, and the parallel arrangement with the substrate can save the volume of the microfluidic device or increase the moving range of the control rod in some integrated microfluidic structures.
A liquid level sensor can be arranged in a cavity of the syringe pump cylinder and used for detecting the liquid flowing condition in the syringe pump, preventing air from being pushed into the micro liquid channel and determining the volume of liquid pushed out or pumped into the syringe pump; a liquid sensor can be arranged in a micro-fluidic channel connected with an outlet of the syringe pump to detect the liquid flow, perform feedback control on a power control system, and detect air in a micro-channel. In the embodiment, the moving speed of the control rod can be accurately adjusted through parameter setting of the power equipment, and therefore the flow rate of the fluid can be controlled.
The syringe pump barrel of the invention is suitable for microfluidic devices, is integrated on a substrate of a microfluidic cartridge in a permanent or detachable manner, and can also be suitable for other devices or systems of other syringe pumps with certain volume and precision requirements.
The above embodiments are only suitable for illustrating the present disclosure, and not limiting the present disclosure, and those skilled in the relevant art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, so that all equivalent technical solutions also belong to the scope of the present disclosure, and the protection scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the claims.