JP2007190504A - Micro fluid device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a micro fluid device the sealing property of which can be enhanced by a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The micro fluid device is constituted so that a fluid flow passage 4 is arranged between flow passage forming members 2 and 3, which are fit to each other, within the fit area of one 2 of flow passage forming members to the other 3. The one flow passage forming member 2 has a columnar shape and the other flow passage forming member 3 has a cylindrical shape. A groove 21 constituting the flow passage 4 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface 20 of the member 2. The flow passage forming members 2, 3 are preferably fit to each other by shrinkage fit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a microfluidic device in which various processes such as a chemical reaction are performed in a flow path.

  In recent years, various proposals have been made regarding microprocess technology in which various processes such as chemical reactions are performed in a microfluidic device having a microchannel and applied to processes such as synthesis and analysis of substances. As a technique related to such a microprocess technique, for example, a technique related to a microreactor described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this technique, a core member having a thread groove on an outer peripheral surface is closely fitted to an outer cylinder member, and both ends of these members are closed with a lid member to form a flow path.

JP 2005-46652 A

  By the way, in this technique, since both ends of the core member and the outer cylinder member are closed with the lid member as described above, the formed flow path reaches the both ends of the core member and the outer cylinder member. In order to improve the sealing performance, high sealing performance is required between the surface of the lid member and the end surfaces of the core member and the outer cylinder member, and high precision is required for the surface processing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a microfluidic device that can obtain high sealing performance with a simple configuration.

  The present invention relates to a microfluidic device in which a fluid flow path is disposed between mutually fitting flow path forming members, and the flow path is disposed within a fitting range of the flow path forming members. The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing a microfluidic device.

  In the present invention, within the fitting range of the flow path forming members means the contact surface where the flow path forming members are in contact with each other by fitting.

  Here, in general, the term “fitting” refers to fitting in shape (patented technical terminology committee, “patented technical terminology”, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun). Also in this specification, it means that the flow path forming members having the same shape are fitted together, and when fitted, there may be a gap between the flow path forming members or no gap. This is because there is no problem even if there is a gap when the viscosity of the fluid flowing through the flow path is high and the pressure for flowing the fluid is low. Further, when there is no gap, there is a state of “tightening” between the flow path forming members, and the fitting is performed by baking or cold fastening described in the present embodiment. In such a case, even if a fluid is flowed at a high pressure, good sealing performance can be obtained. Note that the size of the gap and the tightening margin conforms to the contents defined in JIS B 0401.

  According to the microfluidic device of the present invention, high sealing performance can be obtained with a simple configuration.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment in which the microfluidic device of the present invention is applied to a device for two-fluid reaction processing. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a microfluidic device (hereinafter also simply referred to as a device).

  As shown in FIG. 1, a device 1 according to this embodiment includes a core (one flow path forming member) 2 having a cylindrical shape that fits with each other and a collar having a cylindrical shape (formation of the other flow path). The fluid flow paths 4 and 5 of the spiral fluid are disposed between the members 3, and the flow paths 4 and 5 are disposed within the fitting range of the core 2 and the collar 3. In the present embodiment, the fitting range of the core 2 and the collar 3 means the inside of the contact surface where the core 2 and the collar 3 are brought into contact with each other by fitting, and the length L3 of the collar 3 in FIG. The range represented. The flow paths 4 and 5 are provided so as not to contact each other.

  In this embodiment, the flow path forming members are fitted to each other by baking, and after inserting the core 2 into the heated collar 3, the collar 3 is cooled to obtain a high close fitting property. . The portion to be baked is set according to the range in which the grooves constituting the flow paths of the core 2 and the collar 3 are formed. In the present embodiment, a portion within a predetermined length range from both ends of the collar 3 is baked, and a close fitting property is obtained as compared with other portions.

  The core 2 and the collar 3 are preferably made of materials having the same linear expansion coefficient. Thereby, the high close fitting property of the core 2 and the collar 3 is maintained irrespective of a temperature change.

  The material of the core 2 and the collar 3 is selected according to usage conditions such as reaction to which the device is applied. Preferred materials include metal materials such as aluminum, iron (including steel), stainless steel, titanium, and various alloys, and non-metallic materials such as ceramics and glass.

  The surface properties of the core 2 and the collar 3 fitted to each other are evaluated by the centerline average roughness Ra defined by JIS B 0601. The center line average roughness Ra is preferably 6.3 μm or less (2 triangles with a finishing symbol), more preferably 1.6 μm or less (3 triangles with a finishing symbol), and 0.2 μm or less (finishing) More preferably, the number of symbols is four.

In the present embodiment, the spiral groove 21 constituting the flow path 4 is provided on the outer peripheral surface 20 of the core 2, and the spiral groove 31 constituting the flow path 5 is provided on the inner peripheral surface 30 of the collar 3. It has been. Each dimension of the grooves 21 and 31 is preferably 0.005 mm to 2 mm, and more preferably 0.1 mm to 1 mm in consideration of the size of the device 1. The depth is preferably 0.001 mm to 2 mm, more preferably 0.05 mm to 1 mm. Thus the cross-sectional area is preferably ^{0.000005mm 2 ~4mm 2, 0.005mm 2 ~1mm} 2 is more preferable. The lengths of the grooves 21 and 31 can be appropriately selected depending on the type of reaction fluid, the reaction time, and the like, but the ratio of the channel projection area to the surface area of the fitting range of the core 2 and the collar 3 Considering the size, it is preferably 1% or more and 90% or less, more preferably 5% or more and 60% or less.

  At both ends of the core 2, communication passages 22 to 24 are provided for communicating between the outside and the flow path 4. The collar 3 is provided with communication passages 32 and 33 that allow communication between the outside and the flow path 5.

  In the device 1 of the present embodiment, a fluid as a heat medium is supplied from the communication path 32 and discharged from the communication path 33. While this fluid passes through the flow path 5, the heat is transferred to the fluid in the flow path 4. On the other hand, two types of reaction fluids are supplied from the communication passages 22 and 23, these fluids react in the flow path 4, and the fluid that has finished the reaction is discharged from the communication passage 24. One end of the core 2 is provided with a rib 25 for positioning the collar 3 in contact with the end of the collar 3 as positioning means for the collar 3.

  As described above, the device 1 according to the present embodiment has a simple configuration of the fitted core 2 and collar 3 and thus has two functions of reaction by mixing and temperature adjustment. Nevertheless, downsizing is possible. In addition, since the flow paths 4 and 5 are all disposed within the fitting range of the core 2 and the collar 3 and are fitted by baking with the same material, high processing accuracy of 1 μm or less is required. In addition, a high sealing property can be obtained even under a high pressure of 1 MPa or more. Furthermore, when the technique of the present invention is used, if the surface properties of the core and collar described above are 0.2 μm or less in terms of the center line average roughness Ra, higher sealing properties can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment.
For example, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the length of the core 2 is shown to be longer than the length of the collar 3, but each length can be appropriately selected depending on the use conditions.
In the said embodiment, although the flow-path formation member was comprised with the column-shaped core and the color of a cylindrical form, the form of a flow-path formation member is not restrict | limited to this. For example, the flow path forming member may be configured to have a cylindrical shape that fits together. Moreover, although the flow path forming member is configured to fit two members, a flow path may be formed between them by fitting three or more members.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the flow-path formation member was fitted by baking, it can also be fitted by cold-tightening. For example, the core may be expanded after a precooled core is inserted into the collar.

  In the above embodiment, the flow path forming members to be fitted are configured with the same linear expansion coefficient. However, in order to facilitate disassembly of the device and facilitate maintenance, the flow path forming members have different linear expansion coefficients. It can also consist of materials.

  In the above embodiment, both flow paths of the reaction fluid and the temperature adjusting fluid are arranged between the core and the collar. For example, as in the device 1 ′ of the embodiment shown in FIG. The fluid flow path 4 is composed of the outer peripheral surface 20 of the core 2 and the groove 31 of the collar 3, and is disposed between the core 2 and the collar 3, and the fluid flow paths 26 and 27 for temperature adjustment are disposed in the core. 2 can also be arranged. Moreover, the flow path of the fluid for reaction can also be arrange | positioned between a core and a color | collar by several flow paths like a multiple spiral. Further, a sheet-like (or ribbon-like) heater may be arranged outside the collar without providing a temperature adjusting fluid flow path.

  Moreover, the arrangement | positioning form of the flow path arrange | positioned in a fitting range, a cross-sectional shape, a cross-sectional area, and length are arbitrarily set according to the process to apply. As the arrangement form of the flow path, in addition to the spiral shape as in the above-described embodiment, for example, a crank shape, a linear shape, or a combination thereof may be used. Moreover, as a cross-sectional shape of a flow path, forms, such as a triangle and a semicircle other than the rectangular cross section like the said embodiment, are mentioned, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the device is applied to a two-fluid reaction, but depending on the arrangement form of the flow path arranged in the fitting range, various other reactions, mixing, separation, adsorption, distribution, extraction, Various treatments such as dilution, concentration, heat exchange (heating / cooling), or a combination thereof can also be performed.

  In the embodiment, the rib is provided as the positioning means on the core side. However, the core positioning means may be provided on the collar side.

It is sectional drawing which shows typically one Embodiment of the microfluidic device of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically other embodiment of the microfluidic device of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 1 ′ Microfluidic device 2 Core (one channel forming member)
20 outer peripheral surface 21 groove 22, 23, 24 communication path 25 rib 26, 27 flow path 3 collar (other flow path forming member)
30 Inner peripheral surface 31 Groove 32, 33 Communication path 4, 5 Fluid flow path

Claims (4)

A microfluidic device in which a flow path of fluid is arranged between flow path forming members that fit together,
A microfluidic device in which the flow path is disposed within a fitting range between the flow path forming members.   The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein the flow path forming members are fitted together by baking or cooling. One of the flow path forming members has a columnar shape, and the other flow path forming member has a cylindrical shape,
The microfluidic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a groove constituting the flow path is provided on an outer peripheral surface of one of the flow path forming members and / or an inner peripheral surface of the other flow path forming member. The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the flow paths are arranged.

Images