JP2005257282A - Removable tube for microchip - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a removable tube adapted to be reusable by separating a fluid feeding tube part after using a microchip. <P>SOLUTION: This removable tube for microchip comprises a hollow tube and a male nut, the male nut having a through-hole for storing and holding the tube. In using this removable tube, in a microchip comprising at least first substrate and a second substrate stuck to the first substrate, at least either the first substrate or the second substrate including a fine passage and a fluid sending and receiving port communicating with the fine passage and also communicating with the atmosphere, the side wall inside of the port being threaded, the male nut of the removable tube is screwed to the threaded part, and the male nut is screwed off therefrom, after using the microchip, to recover the removable tube. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for feeding a fluid into a microchip widely used for chemical / biochemical analysis such as gene analysis. More particularly, the present invention relates to a detachable tube for feeding a fluid (liquid and / or gas) into a micro flow channel (micro channel) formed in a microchip substrate or a reaction vessel.

  Microstructures such as microchannels, reaction vessels, and ports have been built into the substrate as is known recently under the name of Microscale Total Analysis Systems (μTAS) or Lab-on-Chip (Lab-on-Chip). A microdevice configured to perform various operations such as chemical reaction, synthesis, purification, extraction, generation and / or analysis of a substance within the microstructure has been proposed and partially put into practical use. Structures manufactured for this purpose and having a microstructure such as microchannels, ports and reaction vessels in the substrate are collectively referred to as “microchips” or “microfluidic devices”. Microchips can be used in a wide range of applications such as chemical industry and environmental measurement as well as chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, medical, and veterinary fields such as gene analysis, clinical diagnosis, and drug screening. Compared with the same type of equipment of the common size, the microchip is (1) significantly less sample and reagent usage, (2) shorter analysis time, (3) higher sensitivity, (4) carried on-site, It can be analyzed in the field and (5) can be disposable.

  In the conventional microchip 100, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, at least one microchannel 102 is formed on a synthetic resin substrate 101, and at least one end of the microchannel 102 is input / output. Ports 103 and 104 are formed, and a facing substrate 105 made of a transparent or opaque material is bonded to the lower surface side of the substrate 101. Due to the presence of the facing substrate 105, the ports 103 and 104 and the bottom of the microchannel 102 are sealed. The main uses of the input / output ports 103 and 104 are (a) injection of reagents and specimen samples (dispensing), (b) removal of waste liquid and products, and (c) supply of gas pressure (mainly for liquid feeding (D) Release to the atmosphere (dispersion of internal pressure generated during liquid delivery, release of gas generated by reaction) and (e) Sealing (preventing liquid evaporation and deliberately reducing internal pressure) For the purpose of generating). The material, structure, and manufacturing method of the microchip are described in detail in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the conventional microchip 100, when a fluid is fed into the microchannel 102 in the substrate 101, the tube 106 is directly connected to one port 103 or both ports 103 and 104 by an adhesive 107. A method for fixing is proposed in Non-Patent Document 1 and the like. According to this method, it is necessary to fix the tube 106 to the individual ports 103 and 104 of the microchip 100 with the adhesive 107. Therefore, when the microchip 100 is made disposable, not only the tube 106 fixed to the ports 103 and 104 is discarded, but the tube must be fixed again to the new microchip port with an adhesive. It was very uneconomical in terms of both workability and cost.
JP 2000-27813 A JP 2001-157855 A NJMourlas et al., "NOVEL INTERCONNECTION AND CHANNEL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MICROFLUIDICS", Proceedings of the μTAS '98 Workshop, BANFF, AB, CANADA, October 12-16 (1998), p.27-30

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a detachable tube unit that is configured to be reusable by separating the tube portion for feeding fluid after using the microchip.

A first means for solving the above-mentioned problems comprises a hollow tube and a mail nut, and the mail nut has a through hole for accommodating and holding the tube, and a detachable tube for a microchip, It is.
The second means for solving the above problem is the detachable tube for microchip in the first means further having a ferrule at the tip of the mail nut.
The third means for solving the above-described problem includes at least a first substrate and a second substrate bonded to the first substrate, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate. On the other hand, in a microchip having a fine channel and a fluid delivery port that communicates with the fine channel and also communicates with the atmosphere, the inside of the side wall of the port is threaded. 1. Use of a detachable tube for microchip, wherein the mail nut of the detachable tube for microchip 1 is screwed together, and the mail nut is screwed off after using the microchip to collect the detachable tube combination for microchip. Is the method.
According to a fourth means for solving the above-mentioned problem, the microchip has a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port, and is threaded inside the side wall of the through hole. A detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising: a support substrate, a mail nut screwed into a threaded portion inside a side wall of the through hole of the support substrate, and a tube accommodated and held in the through hole of the mail nut. is there.
A fifth means for solving the above-described problems includes a support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and permanently bonded to the support substrate. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate having a through hole at the same position as the through hole of the substrate and threaded inside the side wall of the through hole; and a threaded portion inside the side wall of the through hole of the PDMS substrate. It is a detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a screwed mail nut and a tube accommodated and held in a through hole of the mail nut.
A sixth means for solving the above-mentioned problem is the detachable tube unit for microchip in the fourth or fifth means further comprising a ferrule at the tip of the mail nut.
The seventh means for solving the above-mentioned problem is that the through-hole of the support substrate of the detachable tube unit for microchip in the fourth or fifth means is aligned and bonded to the port of the microchip, and the microchip is used. Thereafter, the microchip detachable tube unit is peeled off and collected from the microchip, and the microchip detachable tube unit is used.
An eighth means for solving the above-described problems includes a support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and an adhesive in the through hole of the support substrate. It is a detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a bonded tube.
A ninth means for solving the above problems includes a support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and the support substrate is permanently bonded to the support substrate. A detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate having a through hole at the same position as the through hole of the substrate, and a tube bonded to the through hole of the PDMS substrate with an adhesive.
The tenth means for solving the above problem is that the through-hole of the support substrate of the detachable tube unit for microchip in the eighth or ninth means is aligned and bonded to the port of the microchip, and the microchip is used. Thereafter, the microchip detachable tube unit is peeled off and collected from the microchip, and the microchip detachable tube unit is used.

  According to the detachable tube of the present invention, the tube is not directly fixed to the port of the microchip alone, but is stored and held in the mail nut, and this mail nut is screwed into the port. The tube can be recovered and reused by unscrewing the mail nut from the port of the tip. Further, the tube can be reused by screwing a mail nut into the through hole of the support substrate, attaching the support substrate to the microchip, and peeling off the support substrate after using the microchip. The same effect can be obtained by adhering the tube to the through hole of the support substrate with an adhesive instead of the mail nut. For this reason, compared with the past, it is very economical from the point of the joining workability | operativity of a tube, and cost.

  FIG. 1 is a partial schematic perspective view of an example of a detachable tube 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view thereof. The detachable tube 1 according to the present invention includes a tube 3 for conveying a fluid, a mail nut 5 and a ferrule 7. The tube 3 passes through the through-hole 9 of the mail nut 5 and is engaged with the ferrule 7. The ferrule 7 is rotatably engaged with the distal end portion of the through hollow cavity 9 of the mail nut 5. Since the ferrule 7 is rotatably engaged at the tip of the through-hole 9 of the mail nut 5, the tube 3 engaged with the ferrule 7 can also rotate with the ferrule 7. As a result, the tube 3 is not twisted even if the mail nut 5 is rotated. Further, since the tube 3 is engaged with the ferrule 7, the tube 3 can be effectively prevented from coming out of the mail nut 5. However, the ferrule 7 is not necessarily used if the tube 3 can be rotatably held in the mail nut 5 so as not to come out. The mail nut 5 includes an upper head 11 and a lower male screw 13.

The material of the tube 3 constituting the detachable tube 1 of the present invention is metal (for example, stainless steel, titanium, etc.), synthetic resin (for example, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), tefzel, polyetherketone (PEEK), etc.), Glass or the like can be appropriately selected and used. The tube 3 has an inner diameter of less than 1 mm and an outer diameter of several mm (for example, 1.6 mm). The pressure resistance is about 250 kg / cm ^{2 in} the case of a PEEK tube having an inner diameter of 0.5 mm. The material of the mail nut 5 and the ferrule 7 can be appropriately selected from metals (for example, stainless steel, titanium, etc.), synthetic resins (for example, PTFE, PEEK, other engineering plastics, etc.) and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a method of using the detachable tube 1 shown in FIG. The microchip 15 includes a PDMS substrate 17 and a facing substrate 19, and a fine channel 21 and an input / output port 23 are formed on the PDMS substrate 17 side. If desired, the fine channel 21 and the input / output port 23 can be formed on the facing substrate 19 side. A female screw 25 is formed on the side wall from the upper end of the opening of the port 23 of the PDMS substrate 17 to a predetermined depth. The male screw 13 is screwed into the female screw 25 of the port 23 by grasping and rotating the head 11 of the mail nut 5 of the detachable tube 1. Thereby, the tube 3 can be fixed to the port 23 of the PDMS substrate 17. A liquid or gas can be sent to and / or discharged from the input / output port 23 through the tube 3 into the fine flow path 21. After the microchip 15 is used, the detachable tube 1 is recovered by separating the male screw 13 and the female screw 25 of the port 23 by gripping and rotating the head 11 of the mail nut 5. Discard. Thus, the detachable tube 1 can be reused for a new microchip 15. The method of forming the female screw 25 on the side wall portion of the input / output port 23 is, for example, when forming the fine flow path 21 on a master equipped with a screw mold corresponding to the female screw 25 on the side wall portion of the port 23. It can be performed by casting a polymer mixture and solidifying by polymerization.

  4A and 4B are partial schematic cross-sectional views of another example of how to use the detachable tube 1 shown in FIG. In the method of use shown in FIG. 3, the detachable tube 1 must be screwed directly to the individual input / output ports of the microchip 15. If there are only a few input / output ports, the screwing work is not much trouble, but if there are several tens of input / output ports, the screwing and screwing work of the detachable tube 1 before and after using the microchip is difficult. It will be troublesome. On the other hand, in the usage method of FIG. 4, the mail nut 5 of the detachable tube 1 is screwed and fixed to the female screw hole 32 of the support substrate 30 and used as the detachable tube unit 40. The positions and the number of the female screw holes 32 of the support substrate 30 are arranged corresponding to the positions and the numbers of the input / output ports 23 of the microchip 15. Therefore, if the female screw hole 32 of the support substrate 30 and the input / output port 23 of the microchip 15 are aligned and the two members are bonded together, all of the plurality of input / output ports 23 of the microchip 15 are attached at once. The detachable tube 1 is connected. After the microchip 15 is used, the support substrate 30 is peeled off from the microchip 15 and collected, and the microchip 15 is discarded. The material of the support substrate 30 is appropriately selected from glass (eg, quartz glass), metal (eg, stainless steel, titanium), synthetic resin (eg, PTFE, PEEK, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, other engineering plastics). You can select and use. A method for forming the female screw on the support substrate 30 made of such a material is well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail.

  FIG. 5 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of another example of how to use the detachable tube unit 40 shown in FIG. In the case of the detachable tube unit 40 of FIG. 4, the thick support substrate 30 is used alone, but in FIG. 5, the PDMS layer 34 is permanently bonded to the upper surface of the thin support substrate 30 and the female screw hole 36 of the PDMS layer 34 is The mail nut 5 is screwed and used. The positions of the female screw hole 36 of the PDMS layer 34 and the through hole 32 of the thin support substrate 30 are completely coincident with each other. The advantage of using such a thin support substrate 30 is that not only the detachable tube unit 40A can be reduced in weight but also the female screw hole 36 can be easily formed. Since the support substrate 30 and the PDMS layer 34 are permanently bonded, even if the detachable tube unit 40A is peeled off from the microchip 15 after using the microchip 15, the support substrate 30 and the PDMS layer 34 are not peeled off. Formation of the female screw hole in the PDMS layer can be easily performed by, for example, casting a PDMS prepolymer mixture into a screw mold and polymerizing and solidifying the mixture.

  FIG. 6 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of another example of how to use the detachable tube unit. 1 to 5, the tube 30 is held by the mail nut 5 and the ferrule 7. However, in the detachable tube unit 40 </ b> B shown in FIG. 6A, the tube 3 is attached to the through hole 32 of the support substrate 30. Is fixed by adhesion. On the other hand, in the detachable tube unit 40 </ b> C shown in FIG. 6B, the tube 3 is bonded and fixed to the through hole 36 of the PDMS layer 34 that is permanently bonded to the thin support substrate 30 by the adhesive 42. The advantage of the usage method of FIG. 6 is that it is not necessary to use the mail nut 5 and the ferrule 7, so that a relatively thick tube 3 can be used according to the inner diameter of the port 23 of the microchip 15. Thereby, the sending and receiving of fluid can be speeded up.

  The detachable tube of the present invention is not limited to a microchip, and can be used for all members that need to send and receive a fluid into a fine channel or the like.

It is a general | schematic perspective view of an example of the detachable tube of this invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the detachable tube shown in FIG. 1. It is a partial outline sectional view of an example of the usage method of the detachable tube shown in FIG. It is a partial outline sectional view of another example of a detachable tube of the present invention. It is a partial outline sectional view of another example of a detachable tube of the present invention. It is a partial outline sectional view of other examples of a detachable tube of the present invention. It is a partial outline sectional view of another example of a detachable tube of the present invention. A is a schematic plan view of an example of a conventional microchip, and B is a sectional view taken along line BB in A. FIG. FIG. 8 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a method for connecting a tube to a port of the conventional microchip shown in FIG. 7.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Removable tube of this invention 3 Tube 5 Mail nut 7 Ferrule 9 Through-hole 11 Head 13 Threading 15 Microchip 17 PDMS substrate 19 Face-to-face substrate 23 Port 25 Port-side threading 30 Support substrate 32 Through-hole 34 PDMS substrate 36 Through-hole 40, 40A, 40B, 40C Detachable tube unit 42 Adhesive

Claims (10)

A detachable tube for a microchip, comprising a hollow tube and a mail nut, wherein the mail nut has a through hole for accommodating and holding the tube. The detachable tube for microchip according to claim 1, further comprising a ferrule at a tip of the mail nut. It comprises at least a first substrate and a second substrate bonded to the first substrate, and at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate communicates with the fine channel and the fine channel. A microchip having a fluid delivery port that communicates with the atmosphere and is threaded on the inside of the side wall of the port, and the male nut of the detachable tube for microchip according to claim 1 A method for using a detachable tube for a microchip, wherein the mail nut is unscrewed after the microchip is used, and the detachable tube combination for the microchip is recovered. A support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and a threaded inner side of the through hole; and a through hole of the support substrate. A detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a mail nut screwed to a threaded portion inside a side wall and a tube accommodated and held in a through hole of the mail nut. A support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and having a through hole at the same position as the through hole of the support substrate, permanently bonded to the support substrate And a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate threaded on the inside of the side wall of the through hole, a mail nut screwed to a threaded portion inside the side wall of the through hole of the PDMS substrate, and a penetration of the mail nut A detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a tube accommodated and held in a hole. The detachable tube unit for microchip according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a ferrule at a tip of the mail nut. The through-hole of the support substrate of the detachable tube unit for microchip according to claim 4 or 5 is aligned and bonded to the port of the microchip, and the microchip detachable tube unit is used after the microchip is used. A method of using a detachable tube unit for a microchip, wherein the tube is peeled off and collected. A microchip detachable tube comprising a support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and a tube bonded to the through hole of the support substrate with an adhesive. unit. A support substrate having a through hole at a position corresponding to the position of at least one fluid delivery port of the microchip, and a poly-crystal having a through hole at the same position as the through hole of the support substrate, which is permanently bonded to the support substrate. A detachable tube unit for a microchip comprising a dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate and a tube bonded with an adhesive to a through hole of the PDMS substrate. The through-hole of the support substrate of the detachable tube unit for microchip according to claim 8 or 9 is aligned and bonded to the port of the microchip, and the microchip detachable tube unit is used after the microchip is used. A method of using a detachable tube unit for a microchip, wherein the tube is peeled off and collected.

Images