Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the defects of the prior art, the invention provides a disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip and an emulsion generation method. The chip is characterized in that the chip is designed to be composed of a plurality of microfluidic channels and can also be designed to be composed of a plurality of clamps. A single fluidic channel structure chip was placed on each fixture. The chip can realize high flux and low flux, and is convenient to use according to requirements.
The chip has the other characteristic that the preparation of the emulsion of a single micro-fluidic channel can be realized, and the preparation of the emulsion of a plurality of micro-fluidic channels which are continuously and sequentially generated can also be realized through the rotation of a disc. The third characteristic of the chip is that each micro-fluidic channel structure is composed of an emulsion generating structure and an emulsion spreading structure. The preparation of the emulsion, the PCR function and the detection are integrated.
The purpose of the invention is realized by the following technical scheme: a disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip with a plurality of channels and integrating the functions of emulsion preparation, PCR and detection, and an automatic emulsion generating device. The chip emulsion generation adopts disc rotation to generate a plurality of micro-fluidic channel emulsions one by one, and the generation of each micro-fluidic channel emulsion is realized by adopting a pressurization mode.
For example: the driving motor rotates the oil filling hole part by a certain angle, and when the oil storage hole in the oil filling hole part is communicated with the oil inlet hole of the emulsion generating structure, the linear motor is driven to move downwards, so that the pressure supply device is added to the oil filling hole and the sample adding hole, and pressure is provided for the oil filling hole and the sample adding hole. And an automatic emulsion generating device is designed according to the emulsion generating method.
Specifically, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a disc-type high-throughput microfluidic biochip, comprising:
the oil filling hole part is arranged at the center of the disc and comprises a cavity for storing oil and an oil outlet hole connected with the cavity through a flow channel; and
one or more microfluidic channels having an emulsion generating structure and an emulsion tiling structure,
the oil filling hole part and the micro-fluidic channel are arranged to be capable of rotating relatively, so that the oil outlet of the oil filling hole part can be in butt joint with one of the oil inlet holes of the emulsion generating structure of the micro-fluidic channel successively to be directly communicated in a sealing mode.
As used herein, "oil" refers to the oil used in microdroplet digital PCR to create water-in-oil emulsion microdroplets with the sample aqueous phase.
More specifically, the emulsion generating structure is used to generate emulsion microdroplets from an oil phase and a sample water phase, and the emulsion tiling structure is used to receive and tile the generated emulsion microdroplets and then perform emulsion microdroplet digital PCR in a closed enclosure. For example, the emulsion generating structure includes an oil inlet capable of communicating with the oil outlet of the oil filler hole portion, a sample application hole for receiving a sample, and an emulsion droplet generator communicating with the oil inlet and the sample application hole and for generating emulsion droplets, and an emulsion outlet of the emulsion droplet generator is directly communicated with the emulsion inlet of the emulsion tiling structure so that the generated emulsion droplets directly flow into the emulsion tiling structure.
It should be pointed out that, after the oil outlet of the oil filling hole is in butt joint communication with the oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure, when pressure is applied to the oil filling hole and the sample adding hole arranged on the emulsion generating structure to generate emulsion microdroplets in the oil phase and the sample water phase, the preparation, the receiving, the tiling and the emulsion microdroplet digital PCR are carried out in a totally-enclosed mode, namely, a liquid passage is closed and is not contacted with the external environment, the processes of taking out and injecting the emulsion microdroplets do not exist, the damage of the emulsion microdroplets, the movement loss of the emulsion microdroplets, the aerosol pollution and the like are avoided, so that false positives are reduced, and the accuracy of the digital PCR detection is improved.
In one embodiment, the microfluidic channel is integrally provided or detachably provided as a microfluidic channel chip through a card slot.
In one embodiment, the filler hole portion is fixable to the fixing means of the filler hole portion, and the microfluidic channel is rotatable around the filler hole portion so that the oil outlet of the filler hole portion is in communication with the oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure of the plurality of microfluidic channels in series; or the oil filling hole part can rotate, so that the oil outlet of the oil filling hole part is sequentially communicated with the oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure of the microfluidic channels.
That is, in order to set the filler hole portion and the microfluidic channel to be rotatable relative to each other, a method of fixing the filler hole portion and rotating the microfluidic channel may be employed, or a method of fixing the microfluidic channel and rotating the filler hole portion may be employed.
The number of the microfluidic channels is preferably 1 to 12, more preferably 2 to 10, and more preferably 8. The microfluidic channels may be arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically, preferably symmetrically, on the disc. It is also preferable that angles in the circumferential direction of the adjacent microfluidic channels may be the same or different, and more preferably, the same, so that the oil outlet hole of the oil filling hole portion or the microfluidic channel may be sequentially butted against one of the oil inlet holes of the emulsion generating structure of the microfluidic channel by rotating the same angle.
In one embodiment, the oil outlet of the oil filling hole part is of a downward protruding inverted-truncated-cone structure, and an oil inlet hole of the emulsion generating structure can be embedded to form a seal; and the emulsion outlet of the emulsion generating structure is an inverted circular truncated cone structure protruding downwards and can be embedded into the emulsion inlet of the emulsion tiling structure to form a seal.
In one embodiment, the height of the emulsion tiling structure is greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.5 emulsion droplet diameters, preferably greater than or equal to 0.8 and less than or equal to 1 emulsion droplet diameter, such that the emulsion droplets are tiled therein and capable of digital PCR amplification and detection, preferably the emulsion droplets have a diameter of 40-140um, more preferably the cavity volume of the emulsion tiling structure is 10-60 µ L, preferably 40 µ L. For example, the volume of the cavity of the tiling structure is about 40uL, the height is about 80% of the radius of the emulsion, 2 to 4 ten thousand emulsion droplets can be tiled, and the specific size of the emulsion droplets can be designed according to the sample requirements.
In one embodiment, the generation of the emulsion microdroplets in the microfluidic channel is achieved by pressurization.
In one embodiment, the emulsion tiling structure has a pressure discharge opening with a tower-shaped structure and/or an identification point for locating the emulsion position.
In one embodiment, the disc type high-throughput microfluidic biochip is prepared by injection molding or the like by using an oleophobic material such as COP (coefficient of performance).
In another aspect, the present invention provides an automated emulsion generating device, which is mainly composed of a disc-type microfluidic chip loading platform, an oil storage structure, a pressure supply device, a control circuit, a compression pump or an air pump.
Specifically, the automated emulsion generating device of the present invention comprises:
the disc type micro-fluidic chip loading platform is used for loading the disc type micro-fluidic chip;
the center of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip and the center of the disc type microfluidic chip loading platform are connected with the oil storage structure;
a pressure supply device for supplying pressure, wherein the pressure supply device can vertically move downwards to form a seal with the oil filling hole and a sample adding hole arranged on the emulsion generating structure of the disc type micro-fluidic chip and can vertically move upwards to be separated from the oil filling hole and the sample adding hole, and the pressure is supplied to the oil filling hole and the sample adding hole through a compression pump or an air pump;
and the control circuit module is used for controlling the disc type micro-fluidic chip loading platform to rotate, the pressure supply device to move and/or the power switch.
In one embodiment, the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip loading table is mounted on a fixing device of a refueling hole part of the disc type microfluidic biochip through a gear adapter.
In still another aspect, the present invention provides a method for generating an emulsion using the above-mentioned automatic emulsion generating apparatus, when using the above-mentioned automatic emulsion generating apparatus, the disc-type high-throughput microfluidic biochip loading platform is mounted on a fixing device in an oil filling hole portion through a gear adapter, the driving stepping motor drives the microfluidic biochip to rotate through a gear, the driving linear motor feeds back information from a limit switch structure every specific angle of rotation, the driving linear motor moves vertically downward to insert the oil filling hole pressure supply pipe and the sample filling hole pressure supply pipe into the oil filling hole and the sample filling hole to form a seal, the air pump simultaneously applies pressure to the oil filling hole and the sample filling hole to prepare the emulsion, when the emulsion preparation is completed, the driving linear motor moves vertically upward to separate the oil filling hole pressure supply pipe and the sample filling hole pressure supply pipe from the oil filling hole and the sample filling hole, the stepping motor drives again to rotate the emulsion generating structure again by a specific angle, and the oil outlet of the next oil filling hole part is communicated with the oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure to prepare emulsion for the next channel, and when the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip rotates for one circle, the emulsion preparation of all independent channels is completed.
By adopting the automatic emulsion generating device, the emulsion is generated in an automatic pressurizing mode, a microfluidic channel emulsion is generated firstly, and 1-multiple channels of emulsion are sequentially and continuously generated through automatic rotation of the disc. The disc type micro-fluidic chip loading platform rotates to sequentially generate emulsion for each independent channel, and the generation size of emulsion droplets can be adjusted by adjusting the pressure, so that 40-140um can be realized.
Effects of the invention
The disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip structure comprises an emulsion (namely droplet) generating structure and a flat laying structure, and integrates droplet generating, PCR amplification and detection functions into one chip, the droplet generating structure realizes droplet generating and then is directly laid on the flat laying structure, and the flat laying structure can realize subsequent PCR function and detection. The operator only needs to add the sample to the sample adding port of the chip, and after the sample is added, the whole processes of emulsion microdroplet generation, PCR and detection are completed under the condition that one chip is closed. The accuracy of the test result is ensured. And the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip can bear a plurality of channels to generate emulsion successively, so that high flux is realized.
In addition, the microfluidic biochip adopts a disc-shaped design, 1-a plurality of microfluidic channels are designed on the disc, and each microfluidic channel structure can be divided into two parts, namely an emulsion generating structure and an emulsion tiling structure. The microfluidic channel on the disc can adopt an integrated design to form a plurality of channels; and clamping grooves can also be adopted, and each clamping groove is used for placing a chip with one channel, so that the chip can be conveniently and freely taken and placed. The disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip can be used for generating emulsion and performing subsequent PCR and imaging detection functions. The emulsion generating method adopts an automatic emulsion generating device, firstly generates a microfluidic channel emulsion, and sequentially and continuously generates 1-multiple channels of emulsion through the rotation of a disc. The emulsion is generated by an automatic pressurization mode. The disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip has the advantages that the consistency among all the channels is strong, the accuracy is high, the difference of the number of emulsion droplets generated by each channel is not more than 0.01% under the condition that the sample volume is the same, the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip integrates the functions of emulsion generation, subsequent PCR and imaging detection, and manual operation is not needed, so that the generation time is short, each channel only needs 5-6 s, each channel can generate 2-4 ten thousand droplets, and the 1-multichannel design is adopted, so that the flux is large. The disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip also avoids system errors and pollution caused by split processes of taking out the emulsion, injecting the emulsion into a PCR tube for PCR, taking out the emulsion after PCR for detection and the like after the traditional microfluidic biochip is generated.
In addition, the generation of the emulsion in the microfluidic channel is realized by adopting a pressurizing mode, and only one microfluidic channel is pressurized each time, so that the uniform distribution of pressure is easy to control.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The invention discloses a disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip, which is further described by combining the accompanying drawings, and an 8-channel microfluidic biochip is taken as an example below, but the number of channels of the invention can be any number:
the top view of the disc type high flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 1, the oil filling hole 1 can be driven to rotate by a specific angle to enable the oil outlet to be embedded into the oil inlet of the sample hole 2. An emulsion outlet of the emulsion generating structure is embedded into an emulsion inlet of the emulsion tiling structure 3, and the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip fixing structure 4.
The oil filling hole part of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 2, the oil filling hole 1 can store enough oil for generating emulsion in a channel, and the oil filling hole is pressurized to enable the oil to flow out along the channel. The oil outlet 5 protrudes downwards to form an inverted round platform structure which can be embedded into the oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure. The bottom of the oil filling hole part is connected with the rotating shaft and can rotate for a certain angle, so that the oil outlet hole turns to the next oil inlet hole, the emulsion is sequentially produced, and the preparation of a plurality of samples can be continuously completed.
The side view of the oil filling hole part of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in FIG. 3, and oil in the oil filling hole 1 flows to the oil outlet hole 5 through the flow channel due to the pressure. The oil outlet is of an inverted circular truncated cone shape, can be embedded into an oil inlet of the emulsion generating structure and forms sealing, and the inverted circular truncated cone shape is also beneficial to separating the oil filling hole part from the emulsion generating structure.
The emulsion generating structure of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 4, the same sample can be added into each sample adding hole of the chip of the sample adding hole 6, and different samples can be added into each sample adding hole of the chip, so that the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip can be used according to detection requirements. The oil inlet hole 7 is connected with the oil outlet hole, and the emulsion generating hole 8 protrudes downwards to form an inverted circular truncated cone shape and is embedded into an emulsion inlet of an emulsion tiling structure. When the oil inlet hole is connected with the oil outlet hole, pressure is applied to the oil inlet hole and the sample hole, and emulsion is generated through the microfluidic channel 9 with a specific pattern. The diameter of the generated emulsion can be controlled by matching the microfluidic channels with different patterns with different pressures.
The side view of the emulsion generating structure of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 5, an emulsion outlet 10 is in an inverted frustum shape and can be embedded into an emulsion inlet of an emulsion tiling area to form sealing, and emulsion is guaranteed to smoothly flow into an emulsion chamber.
The microfluidic channel of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 6, a sample is cut with oil phase through the microfluidic channel under the action of pressure to form emulsion, and the microfluidic channel with a special pattern is matched with specific pressure to generate emulsion microdroplets with different diameters so as to meet the requirements of different sample tests.
The emulsion tiling structure of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 7, an emulsion inlet 12 is connected with an emulsion outlet of an emulsion generating structure, an emulsion tiling area 13 can be used for carrying out PCR and detection, an emulsion tiling cavity needs to be sealed before carrying out PCR, a sample inlet and a pressure discharge port of the emulsion tiling structure are provided with gel particles, the gel particles are connected in a mode of sealing the emulsion tiling cavity by adopting an ultraviolet scanning mode and the like, and an aluminum foil paper can be reserved, and the emulsion tiling cavity is sealed by utilizing a heat sealing mode and the like. The pressure discharge port tower-shaped structure 14 has an anti-siphon function, can protect emulsion from being separated out in a large amount under the condition that the emulsion overflows, and only the part contacting with the filter paper is sucked out, so that the inspection can be carried out smoothly. The mark point position 15 can position the emulsion position during emulsion injection and PCR detection, so that the emulsion is prevented from overflowing, an imaging area is determined during PCR detection, and edge liquid drop treatment is optimized.
The tray type chip chuck of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip is shown in fig. 8, and a chip assembling groove 16 can accurately fix the position of a single chip and is convenient to be connected with an emulsion generating structure.
The whole structure of the emulsion generator is shown in fig. 9, and the emulsion generator mainly comprises a disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip loading table 17 and a pressure supply structure 18, and can be composed of a circuit module 19 for controlling movement and power switch, a compression pump or vacuum pump 20 for supplying pressure, a gas bottle 21 for storing gas and the like.
The chip loading platform of the emulsion generator is shown in fig. 10, the oil filling hole part fixing device 22 of the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip, the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip loading platform 23 and the disc type high-flux microfluidic biochip emulsion spreading structure fixing structure 24 are driven to rotate by a motor 25 through a gear 26, and the rotation angle is fed back by a limit switch and other structures to complete the butt joint of the oil outlet hole and the oil inlet hole.
The pressure supply structure of the emulsion generator is shown in fig. 11, the pressure supply structure is fixedly connected with a linear motor 28 through a fixing structure 27, the upper end of a pressure supply pipe 29 of the oil filling hole part is connected with an air bottle, the lower end of the pressure supply pipe can form a seal with an oil filling hole, a sample adding hole pressure supply pipe 30 is connected with the air bottle, and the lower end of the pressure supply pipe can form a seal with the sample adding hole.
There are, of course, many other specific embodiments of the invention and these are not to be considered as limiting. All technical solutions formed by using equivalent substitutions or equivalent transformations fall within the scope of the claimed invention.