JP2009014342A - Electrophoretic chip, electrophoretic device and electrophoretic system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrophoretic chip more relaxed in the restriction of an observation condition than before. <P>SOLUTION: An electrophoretic panel 10 is constituted so as to subject a dielectric substance to electrophoresis by applying an electric field formed by AC voltage to a sample containing the dielectric substance and equipped with a migration lane 3 for subjecting the dielectric substance to electrophoresis and a migration electrode array 6 composed of a plurality of migration electrodes 6a crossing the migration lane 3 and applying AC voltage in order to apply the electric field to the sample injected in the migration lane 3 to subject the dielectric substance to electrophoresis. The migration lane 3 is characterized in that the opposed surface to the migration electrode array 6 of the migration lane 3 at least in a part of a region where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode array 6 are superposed one upon another is transparent. The migration electrode array 6 is characterized in that at least a part of the migration electrode 6a of the part superposed on the transparent region in the migration lane 3 is formed of a transparent electrode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dielectrophoresis chip, a dielectrophoresis apparatus, and a dielectrophoresis system that convey particles such as biomolecules and resin beads by dielectrophoretic force.

  In recent years, research and development of chemical analysis systems called Lab-on-a-Chip (Laboratory on a Chip) and μ-TAS (Micro Total Analysis System) have been actively conducted as chemical analysis systems. It has been broken. These chemical analysis systems use a microchip substrate of the size of a palm using semiconductor microfabrication technology. On this single microchip substrate (one chip), pumps, valves, reaction vessels, various sensors, etc. It is integrated and downsized. Examples of the microchip substrate include a glass substrate.

  In these chemical analysis systems, various analyzes are performed by transporting, separating, and collecting particles in a fluid flowing through a fine channel provided on the microchip substrate. These chemical analysis systems can measure with a small amount of sample, and also have advantages such as shortening of reaction time, automation of measurement including pretreatment, miniaturization of equipment, disposable equipment, low cost, and reduction of manpower. In particular, it is considered that the advantages can be maximized in the medical and environmental measurement fields. These chemical analysis systems can be widely applied in the field of food hygiene, environmental monitoring, etc., in the medical field.

  Analysis targets in these chemical analysis systems are blood cell components such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and lymphocytes obtained by separating blood; bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria; DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid; deoxyribose nucleic acid), proteins Wide range of biomolecules; The main applications include, for example, analysis (reaction / detection / separation / transport) of these DNAs, proteins, cells, etc .; chemical synthesis (microplant);

  For this reason, these chemical analysis systems are attracting attention not only as a large research institution such as a university hospital, but also as a means for performing examinations and health care in local clinics and general homes. For this reason, such analysis chips are required to be inexpensive, easy to handle and capable of rapid analysis in addition to high analysis accuracy. Research is underway.

  Up to now, as a method of manipulating a sample for analysis on a microchip substrate (for example, sample solution (containing particle solution)), pressure control by flow path processing and micropump, electrophoresis (electrophoresis), A method using electrical properties such as dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been proposed.

  In particular, the dielectrophoresis phenomenon uses a non-uniform AC electric field that can act on any particle regardless of its own charge as a driving force for transporting, separating, and collecting particles (including biomolecules) in a fluid. Suitable for separating and transporting particles. For this reason, since the dielectrophoresis phenomenon is suitable for the selection operation of an object (particulate matter), research on a chemical analysis system using the dielectrophoresis phenomenon is being advanced (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5, Non-patent documents 1 to 4).

  FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional particle transport device using a dielectrophoresis phenomenon, and FIG. 18 shows a schematic configuration of the particle transport device in which a plurality of non-parallel electrode pairs are arranged.

  As an application example of the chemical analysis system using the dielectrophoresis phenomenon, for example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 18, the lower surface of a flow channel 101 for flowing a sample liquid such as a blood sample is non-parallel. A particle conveying device 100 in which a plurality of electrode pairs 111 and 112 are arranged is disclosed. In the particle conveying apparatus 100, particles are conveyed by a dielectrophoretic force generated by a non-uniform electric field obtained by the non-parallel electrode pairs 111 and 112.

  Further, as an application example using the dielectrophoresis phenomenon, for example, a particle control method by dielectrophoresis using a comb-shaped electrode as an electrode (electrophoresis electrode array) is known (for example, Patent Documents 2 to 4, (See Patent Documents 1 to 4).

  FIG. 19A is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional dielectrophoresis apparatus that separates cells using comb-shaped electrodes, and FIG. 19B is a dielectrophoresis apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the principal part (electrode formation part) in FIG.

  For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, a high frequency is applied to an interdigital electrode 202 provided on a glass substrate 201 by an alternating current (AC) signal generator 203. Thus, a technique is disclosed in which living cells and dead cells in the electrode chamber 204 (flow channel) are separated using a dielectrophoretic force generated from a difference in dielectric constant between them.

  In Patent Document 2, a comb-shaped electrode is used to concentrate microorganisms (biological particles such as bacteria) in a sample solution in a gap portion of an electrode that is an electric field concentration portion by dielectrophoresis, and impedance between the electrodes. A technique for measuring the concentration of the microorganism by performing measurement is disclosed.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining a technique for transporting cells using comb-shaped electrodes.

  In Non-Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, as shown in FIG. 20, particles in the electrophoresis medium float and move above the surface of the electrode 301 depending on the phase condition of the signal applied to the adjacent electrodes 301. It is disclosed.

  As described above, an operation technique for separating, floating, and transporting particles by applying a high frequency of an appropriate frequency and voltage to an electrophoresis medium containing particles (including biological substances such as cells) is known. Yes.

  Dielectrophoresis is a phenomenon in which force acts on particles due to the interaction between an applied electric field and an electric dipole induced thereby, and more specifically, an electric force generated when a non-uniform AC electric field is applied. This is a phenomenon in which a substance receives a force (dielectrophoretic force) and moves due to the interaction between the linear field and the polarization of the substance. The dielectrophoretic force depends on the dielectric constant of the particles and the solvent, the frequency of the applied voltage, and the like. In the dielectrophoresis (DEP), “positive dielectrophoresis” (hereinafter referred to as “p-DEP”) in which force is applied in the direction of strong electric field depending on the dielectric constant of particles and solvent and the frequency of applied voltage, There is “negative dielectrophoresis” (hereinafter referred to as “n-DEP”) in which a force acts in a weak direction.

  Hereinafter, the principle of dielectrophoresis will be described.

  When an electric field is applied to a system consisting of particles suspended in a solvent, a dipole moment is induced. As described above, when the electric field is, for example, alternating current (AC), the dipole moment is defined as a vector having in-phase and out-of-phase components.

  The time average value of the dielectrophoretic force F (t) acting on the dielectric particles in the non-uniform electric field is expressed by the following formula (1) as described in Non-Patent Document 3, for example.

In addition, in Formula (1), each symbol represents the following components.
F: time average value [N] of dielectrophoretic force F (t) acting on dielectric particles in a non-uniform electric field, ε ₀ : dielectric constant [F / m] of vacuum, r: particle radius [m], E _rms : Root mean square of electric field [V / m], E _x0 , E _y0 , E _z0 : electric field components [V / m] along axes x, y, and z, φ _x , φ _y , φ _z : Phase [rad] of each electric field component, f _CM : Clausius-Mottott coefficient (representing frequency dependence of dielectric constant of particle), ε _p : relative dielectric constant of particle, ε _m : relative dielectric constant of solvent, ε ^* _p : complex dielectric constant [F / m] of particle, ε ^* _m : complex dielectric constant [F / m] of solvent, ω: angular frequency [rad / s], σ _p : conductivity of particle [Ω ⁻¹ · m ⁻¹ ], σ _m : conductivity of solvent [Ω ⁻¹ · m ⁻¹ ], j: imaginary unit, Re: real part of complex number, Im: imaginary part of complex number, ▽: gradient vector Le (gradient).

The unit of each component is as follows.
ε: [F / m] (relative permittivity is unitless), F: [N], r: [m], E: [V / m], ω: [rad / s], σ: [Ω ⁻¹ M ⁻¹ ], φ: [rad].

  As shown in Equation (1), the dielectrophoretic force has two components, a steady DEP (DEP) and a traveling wave DEP (Travering-Wave DEP: hereinafter referred to as “TWD”).

  DEP is a force (in-phase component of polarization induced by the electric field; real part of equation (1)) resulting from the non-uniform distribution of the electric field magnitude. On the other hand, TWD is a force (loss component of polarization induced by an electric field; an imaginary part of the equation (1)) generated due to a non-uniform distribution of the phase of the electric field component. Thus, the dielectrophoretic behavior is induced by the non-uniformity of the electric field magnitude and the non-uniformity of the electric field phase.

  If the electric field phase is constant, that is, the TWD component is zero, only DEP will act. As a result, equation (1) is simplified as shown in equation (2) below (steady DEP).

Here, Ｍ _MW is Maxwell Wagner's charge relaxation time, and is expressed as shown in the following equation (3).

When only DEP is considered, ε _p = ε ^* _p, ε _m = ε ^* _m , and the relative permittivity (ε _p ) of the particles is larger than the relative permittivity (ε _m ) of the solvent (ε _p > When ε _m ), that is, Re [f _CM ]> 0, the dielectrophoretic force acts in the direction in which the electric field strength is strong. That is, a positive dielectrophoretic (p-DEP) force acts. As a result, the particles move in the direction in which the electric field gradient is large.

On the other hand, when the relative dielectric constant (ε _p ) of the particles is smaller than the relative dielectric constant (ε _m ) of the solvent (ε _p <ε _m ), that is, when Re [f _CM ] <0, the dielectrophoretic force is Works in the direction of weakness. That is, a negative dielectrophoretic (n-DEP) force acts. As a result, the particles move in a direction where the electric field gradient is small.

As a specific behavior, when a comb electrode is used as an electrode as described above, particles having a relative dielectric constant (ε _p ) larger than the relative dielectric constant (ε _m ) of the solvent are more specifically detected on the electrode. It is trapped at the electrode edge. On the other hand, particles having a relative dielectric constant (ε _p ) smaller than the relative dielectric constant (ε _m ) of the solvent are levitated above the electrode. In addition, when the electric field phase is not constant, both DEP and TWD can act from the equation (1).

Therefore, when separating two types of particles, it is only necessary to select a frequency such that Re [f _CM ]> 0 for one type of particle and Re [f _CM ] <0 for the other type of particle. .

On the other hand, in the case of TWD, as in the case of the DEP, the dielectrophoretic force acts along the large direction, i.e. the electric field direction of movement of the I _m [f _CM]> 0 field of phase in the case of, I _m [ When f _CM ] <0, the dielectrophoretic force acts in the direction in which the phase of the electric field is small, that is, in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the electric field.

  When a comb electrode is used, TWD works in a direction perpendicular to the electrode wiring length direction. Here, the action of TWD varies depending on the height from the electrode plane. That is, the effect of TWD is more noticeable at a certain distance from the plane than near the electrode plane. Therefore, when the target particles are transported by TWD, the target particles are first floated only by DEP (DEP mode), and then the target particles are transported (TWD mode) by acting TWD. TWD can be made to act efficiently on the particles.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining a phase condition of an applied voltage in a conventional dielectrophoresis apparatus.

  For example, as shown in Non-Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the phase conditions of signals applied to adjacent electrodes 301 in an electrode array composed of a plurality of electrodes 301 as shown in FIG. When set to 0 °, 180 °, 0 °, 180 °,..., Equation (1) becomes only the real part (ie, Equation (4)). As a result, the particles in the electrophoresis medium float by receiving a force (DEP) that floats above the surface of the electrode 301. Therefore, after that, in the above electrode example, as described in Non-Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the phase condition of the signal applied to the adjacent electrodes 301 is set to 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, 270 °. ...,..., Equation (1) has both a real part and an imaginary part. As a result, the particles in the electrophoresis medium are transported by receiving a transport force (TWD).

Usually, when observing the behavior of particles in a sample solution (electrophoresis medium) by the above-described dielectrophoresis, it is necessary to detect (image) the fluorescence, light emission, reflected light, transmitted light, etc. of the particles with an imaging device. . Such observation (detection) is generally performed optically by installing an imaging device such as a CCD above or below a flow path provided on a semiconductor chip substrate (microarray). For this reason, at least the surface on the imaging device installation side in the flow path, that is, at least one substrate constituting the flow path needs to be optically transparent.
JP-A-6-174630 (Publication date: June 24, 1994) Special Table 2003-504196 (Publication Date: February 4, 2003) JP 2000-1225846 A (publication date: May 9, 2000) Special table 2003-504629 (publication date: February 4, 2003) Japanese Patent No. 3453136 (registration date: July 18, 2003, publication date: November 2, 1994) JP 2000-298109 A (publication date: October 24, 2000) Haibo Li et al., “Dielectrophoretic separation and manipulation of live and heat-treated cells Listeria on microfabricated devices with interdigitated electrodes”, Sensors and Actuators B 86, p.215-221, 2002. Ronald Pethig et al., “Enhancing Traveling-Wave Dielectrophoresis with Signal Superposition”, IEEE Engineering in medicine and biology magazine, p.43-50, Nov./Dec. 2003. Xiao-Bo Wang et al., “Dielectrophoretic Manipulation of Particles”, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., Vol.33, No.3, p.660-669, May./June 1997. R. Kruke et.al., "Separation of metallic form semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes" SCIENCE, vol.301, 18 July 2003, p.344

  However, a semiconductor chip substrate (dielectrophoresis chip) and a particle transfer device (dielectrophoresis apparatus) using the same in a chemical analysis system using a dielectrophoresis phenomenon that has been proposed and developed are as follows. Has a problem.

  Conventionally, a metal material such as gold (Au) is generally used for the dielectrophoresis electrode.

  For this reason, in the conventional dielectrophoresis device, an optically opaque electrode such as a gold electrode is formed on one side of the flow path in this way, so that an imaging device (imaging system) such as a CCD can be installed. The flow path is limited to one surface opposite to the electrode forming surface.

  Moreover, in the conventional dielectrophoresis device, an optically opaque electrode such as a gold electrode is formed on one surface of the flow path, so that imaging using transmitted light is impossible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dielectrophoresis chip, a dielectrophoresis apparatus, and a dielectrophoresis system in which the restrictions on the observation conditions are relaxed as compared with the prior art.

  In order to solve the above problems, a dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention is a dielectrophoresis chip that dielectrophoreses the dielectric substance by applying an electric field formed by an alternating voltage to a sample containing the dielectric substance. A dielectric lane for dielectrophoretic migration of the dielectric material and a plurality of electrodes intersecting the electrophoretic lane, and applying the alternating voltage to apply an electric field to the sample injected into the electrophoretic lane. An electrode array for dielectrophoresis of a substance, and the electrophoresis lane has a transparent surface facing the electrode array of the electrophoresis lane in at least a part of a region where the electrophoresis lane and the electrode array overlap, and The electrode array is characterized in that at least a part of the electrode overlapping the transparent region in the migration lane is formed of a transparent electrode.

  According to the above configuration, the migration lane has a transparent surface facing the electrode row of the migration lane in at least a part of a region where the migration lane and the electrode row overlap, and the electrode row , At least a portion of the electrode that overlaps the transparent region in the migration lane is formed of a transparent electrode, that is, at least a part of the electrode is transparent in the region where the migration lane and the electrode overlap. As a result, when observing the sample, the electrode region is not obstructed by the electrode, and the electrode region, that is, the region in which the dielectrophoretic force is applied to the dielectric substance, from any direction above or below the electrophoresis lane. Observation becomes possible. For this reason, according to said structure, selection of an observation direction is attained. In addition, according to the above configuration, observation with transmitted light and photographing (observation with a transmission mode, photographing) can be performed, so that an observation system by projection can be constructed. Therefore, according to the above configuration, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a dielectrophoresis chip in which the restriction of the observation condition is relaxed compared to the conventional case. Since the dielectrophoresis chip can be observed and photographed by transmitted light as described above, it is very effective for observation using a lot of fluorescence observation and filtering.

  In this invention, it is preferable that the said electrode row | line | column is equipped with the metal electrode in parts other than the part which overlaps with the transparent area | region in the said electrophoresis lane.

  When an electrode having the same shape is formed of a transparent conductive material and a metal material, the electrode formed of the transparent electrode material (transparent electrode) has a relatively high resistance compared to the electrode formed of the metal material (metal electrode). is there. For this reason, in order to keep the resistivity as low as possible, the electrode array preferably includes a metal electrode in the electrode array, for example, a two-layer structure of a transparent electrode and a metal electrode. Therefore, by providing the metal electrode in a portion that does not overlap with the transparent region in the electrophoresis lane in the electrode example, the upper direction of the electrophoresis lane is not obstructed by the electrode when observing the sample. In addition to being able to observe from any direction of the lower direction, the resistance of the entire electrode array can be kept low compared to the case where the electrode array is formed of only transparent electrodes, The parasitic capacitance between the electrodes can be reduced. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the observation conditions for optical observation are not limited, and it is easy to use and can suppress the attenuation / delay of the input voltage (electrophoresis control input voltage). There is an effect that a highly accurate dielectrophoresis chip can be provided.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the electrode of the part which overlaps with the transparent area | region in the said electrophoresis lane in the said electrode row | line has the part which consists of a transparent electrode, and the part in which the metal electrode is provided.

  As described above, in the electrode row, the portion of the electrode that overlaps the transparent region in the electrophoresis lane, that is, the portion in which the electrode in the observation region in the dielectrophoresis chip is made of a transparent electrode, and the portion in which the metal electrode is provided The resistance of the entire electrode array can be reduced as compared with the case where the electrode array is formed of only transparent electrodes, and the parasitic capacitance between the electrodes can be reduced. In addition to being able to do so, a dielectrophoresis chip that can be used in any mode of observation, imaging (transmission mode) through the transparent electrode and observation (reflection mode) reflected from the metal electrode, and imaging (emission mode) There is an effect that it can be provided.

  Preferably, a plurality of the electrophoresis lanes are provided on one substrate, and each electrode in the electrode row is provided across the plurality of migration lanes.

  According to the above configuration, a plurality of the electrophoresis lanes are provided on one substrate, and each electrode in the electrode array is provided across the plurality of migration lanes, that is, Since each electrode is provided in common for a plurality of electrophoresis lanes, an alternating voltage (electrophoresis control voltage) that applies a dielectrophoretic force to the dielectric substance is collectively applied to each electrode in each electrophoresis lane. Can be entered. That is, according to the above configuration, when one type of signal is input to the electrode array, an electric field can be simultaneously applied to a plurality of electrophoresis lanes. Therefore, according to the above configuration, migration control of a plurality of samples can be performed simultaneously in a lump.

  For this reason, according to the above configuration, multiple types of different samples (for example, samples having different relative dielectric constants and viscosities of solvents, or physical property values (ratio of the ratio) of the particles in the solvent can be used without complicated setting of the experimental environment. It is possible to provide samples having different dielectric constants, etc.) under electrophoretic conditions at the same time under the same conditions, providing a dielectrophoresis chip that has a wide range of application to test conditions and adapts to various test conditions. Is possible.

  In addition, according to the above configuration, as described above, by using a dielectrophoresis chip having a plurality of electrophoresis lanes on a single substrate, the type of sample (for example, a medium such as a solvent) is changed for each electrophoresis lane. It is also possible to sort a plurality of specific particles at the same time, or to select a plurality of specific particles at the same time by changing the electrode shape for each electrophoresis lane with the same medium such as a solvent. Sorting can be performed efficiently. Therefore, according to said structure, there exists an effect that the dielectrophoresis chip corresponding to a wide use can be provided.

  In particular, according to the present invention, since observation and photographing (transmission mode observation and photographing) can be performed with transmitted light, the observation is easy, and as described above, a transparent electrode is provided in the observation region. In the case where the portion to be provided and the portion provided with the metal electrode are provided, different analyzes can be performed at the same time by switching between the transmission mode using the transparent electrode and the epi-illumination mode using the metal electrode depending on the migration lane.

  In the case of the dielectrophoresis chip, a plurality of the electrophoresis lanes are provided on one substrate as described above, and each electrode in the electrode array is provided across the plurality of electrophoresis lanes. It is preferable that at least one condition among the shape of the electrode row, the electrode width, and the electrode interval is different between the adjacent lanes.

  Even when the same sample is used and driven with the same control voltage, the dielectrophoretic behavior varies depending on the state of the electric field in the sample depending on the shape of the electrode array (electrode).

  Therefore, according to the above-described configuration, a plurality of specific dielectrics can be obtained by changing at least one of the shape, the electrode width, and the electrode interval of the electrode rows between the adjacent electrophoresis lanes as described above. This makes it possible to simultaneously select and identify active substances, and to efficiently select a plurality of dielectric substances. Moreover, according to said structure, there also exists a merit that the difference in the electrophoresis behavior in several electrophoresis lanes can be observed collectively.

  Further, in the case of the dielectrophoresis chip, a plurality of the electrophoresis lanes are provided on one substrate as described above, and each electrode in the electrode array is provided across the plurality of electrophoresis lanes. The electrophoresis lanes are provided apart from each other, and at least one of the shape of the electrode array, the electrode width, and the electrode spacing is determined in each electrophoresis lane and in the region between the electrophoresis lanes. Preferably they are different.

  According to the above configuration, for example, only the electrode array in the electrophoresis lane necessary for observing the electrophoresis phenomenon is required to have a narrow pitch wiring, and other electrode arrays in the region unrelated to the electrophoresis phenomenon (each of the above-mentioned It is possible to suppress the attenuation and delay of the input AC voltage by reducing the resistance of the entire electrode array and reducing the parasitic capacitance by making the area between the electrophoresis lanes wide wiring. Become.

  Further, according to the above configuration, for example, when the electrode shape in the electrode row in the migration lane is not a stripe shape, the electrode shape of the electrode row in the region between the migration lanes is formed in a stripe structure, and the wiring length is increased. It is also possible to suppress an increase in wiring resistance by shortening or the like.

  Thus, according to the above configuration, at least one condition among the shape of the electrode row, the electrode width, and the electrode interval is made different in each electrophoresis lane and in a region between the electrophoresis lanes. As a result, the resistance of the electrode array can be reduced.

  Further, the migration lane is formed by a pair of substrates and a migration lane wall provided between the substrates, and the migration lane wall has a spacer for holding a gap between the pair of substrates inside. It is preferable to contain.

  According to the above configuration, when the migration lane is formed between a pair of substrates in this way, the migration lane wall contains a spacer that keeps an interval between the pair of substrates inside. As a result, the lane height of the electrophoresis lane can be kept uniform.

  In the dielectrophoresis chip, the migration lane is provided with a migration lane wall on the substrate along the migration lane, and at least a part of the region where the migration lane wall is formed on the substrate. It is preferable that a protective film covering the electrode array is provided in a region excluding.

  According to said structure, the protective film which covers the said electrode row | line | column is provided on the said board | substrate, and it prevents that the dielectric material which migrates adsorb | sucks to the said electrode row | line | column in the said migration lane. it can. And the said protective film is provided in the area | region except at least one part of the area | region in which the said migration lane wall is formed on the said board | substrate, and the adhesiveness of the said protective film and the material of the said migration lane wall Even if it is bad, there exists an effect that sufficient adhesiveness can be acquired.

  The electrophoresis lane is formed of a pair of substrates and a migration lane wall provided between the pair of substrates, and the sample is injected between the pair of substrates into the electrophoresis lane. It is preferable to have an injection port.

  According to the above configuration, when the migration lane is formed between a pair of substrates in this way, an injection port for injecting the sample into the migration lane is formed, and a hole is drilled in the substrate. Compared with the case of forming in this way, it is possible to prevent impurities from entering the electrophoresis lane and to relatively suppress the defect occurrence rate of the dielectrophoresis chip.

  Further, according to the above configuration, since the injection port is inevitably formed between the pair of substrates due to the pattern of the migration lane wall, additional materials and processes are required to form the injection port. do not do. Therefore, according to said structure, compared with the case where the said injection port is provided in the said dielectrophoresis chip with a drill etc., there exists an effect that the said dielectrophoresis chip can be formed more efficiently.

  In addition, the dielectrophoresis chip preferably has input terminal portions for inputting the same voltage from both ends of each electrode to both ends of each electrode in the electrode row.

  According to said structure, the same voltage, ie, the same alternating voltage, is simultaneously input into each electrode from the both ends of each electrode in the said electrode row | line | column at the time of a dielectrophoresis test.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the same voltage is input from both ends of each electrode, the wiring resistance and the resistance are compared with the case where the voltage is input to each electrode only from one side of each electrode. There is an effect that the influence of the attenuation and delay of the input voltage signal due to the parasitic capacitance can be suppressed.

  The dielectrophoresis apparatus according to the present invention includes the dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention in order to solve the above-described problems.

  The dielectrophoresis system according to the present invention includes the dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention in order to solve the above problems.

  According to each configuration described above, the dielectrophoresis apparatus and the dielectrophoresis system include the dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention, so that when the sample is observed, the dielectrophoresis device and the dielectrophoresis system are provided in the electrophoresis lane of the dielectrophoresis chip. Observation in the electrode region, that is, the region that applies the dielectrophoretic force to the dielectric substance, is possible from any direction above and below the migration lane without being interrupted by the electrode. Further, according to each of the above configurations, observation with transmitted light and imaging (observation and imaging with transmission mode) are possible, so that an observation system by projection can be constructed. Therefore, according to each said structure, there exists an effect that the dielectrophoresis apparatus and dielectrophoresis system by which the restriction | limiting of the observation conditions was eased compared with the former can be provided.

  A dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention is a dielectrophoresis chip that dielectrophoreses the dielectric substance by applying an electric field formed by an alternating voltage to a sample containing the dielectric substance. An electrophoretic lane for dielectrophoretic migration of the active substance and a plurality of electrodes intersecting the electrophoretic lane, and applying an alternating voltage to apply an electric field to the sample injected into the electrophoretic lane, The electrophoresis lane has a transparent surface facing the electrode row of the migration lane in at least a part of a region where the migration lane and the electrode row overlap, and the electrode row This is because at least part of the electrode that overlaps the transparent region in the electrophoresis lane is formed of a transparent electrode, so that the electrode is shielded when the sample is observed. Without being, from above and any direction of the lower of the electrophoresis lanes, the electrode area, i.e., it is possible to observe in the area to which the dielectrophoretic force on the dielectric material. In addition, according to the present invention, observation with a transmitted light and photographing (observation with a transmission mode, photographing) can be performed, so that an observation system by projection can be constructed. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a dielectrophoresis chip in which the restriction of the observation condition is relaxed compared to the conventional case.

  In addition, the dielectrophoresis apparatus and the dielectrophoresis system according to the present invention include the dielectrophoresis chip according to the present invention, so that the electrode provided in the electrophoresis lane of the dielectrophoresis chip when the sample is observed. Observation in the electrode region, that is, the region that applies the dielectrophoretic force to the dielectric substance, is possible from any direction above and below the migration lane without being blocked by the above. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a dielectrophoresis apparatus and a dielectrophoresis system in which the restriction of observation conditions is relaxed compared to the conventional case.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a dielectrophoresis chip (microchip substrate) having a plurality of electrophoresis lanes will be described as an example of the flow path, but this embodiment is limited to this. It is not a thing.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a dielectrophoresis panel according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the upper substrate side. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the dielectrophoresis system according to the present embodiment including the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a dielectrophoresis panel 10 (dielectrophoresis chip, electrophoretic array) according to the present embodiment as a so-called microchip substrate includes a lower substrate 1 (first substrate) and an upper side which are arranged to face each other. A plurality of migration lanes 3 (flow paths) having a migration space are provided between the substrate 2 (second substrate) and the substrate 2 (second substrate).

  The migration lane 3 is formed by patterning the migration lane wall 4 along the formation region of the migration lane 3 on one of the pair of substrates, in this embodiment, the lower substrate 1. It is formed with.

  Also, each migration lane 3 is formed with injection / discharge holes 5 (opening and injection ports) for injecting and discharging a sample (electrophoretic medium) containing an observation object (dielectric substance) such as a sample solution. Has been.

  At least one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 is preferably formed of a transparent substrate (transparent insulator substrate) such as glass, quartz, or plastic. In the present embodiment, as the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, for example, transparent substrates of about 10 cm × 10 cm are used.

  Of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, for example, on the surface of the lower substrate 1 facing the upper substrate 2, a plurality of migration electrodes 6a (for dielectrophoresis) are provided as a migration electrode array 6 (migration electrode wiring). An electrode array (comb-shaped electrodes) composed of electrodes) is provided in a direction perpendicular to the respective electrophoresis lanes 3 so as to straddle the respective electrophoresis lanes 3.

  The migration electrode 6a is made of, for example, a transparent conductive oxide film (transparent) such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), ZnO (Zinc Oxide), or IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide). Electrode). The electrode material used for the migration electrode 6a is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent conductive material. Among them, ITO is preferable. In the present embodiment, as the migration electrode array 6, for example, a migration electrode 6 a having a film thickness of about 2000 mm, an electrode length of about 10 cm, and an electrode width (L: line) of 30 μm and an electrode interval (S: space) of 30 μm (that is, , L / S are both formed to be 30 μm).

  However, the conditions such as the electrode width, the electrode interval, and the electrode length (wiring length) are not particularly limited, and the size and purpose of the particles to be analyzed (that is, particles in the electrophoresis medium) What is necessary is just to set suitably according to operation (separation, collection, conveyance, etc.) etc. to do. Moreover, the film thickness and electrode material of the migration electrode 6a can also be set as appropriate, and are not particularly limited.

  The migration electrode array 6 (that is, each migration electrode 6 a) extends over the plurality of migration lanes 3, and acts in common on each migration lane 3. The migration electrode array 6 has a mounting / connecting portion 6b (input terminal portion) at the end of the lower substrate 1. A flexible wiring board (hereinafter referred to as “FPC”) 17 is mounted on the mounting / connecting portion 6b, and the control board 50 (control portion; drive) shown in FIG. Control unit).

  A lower surface protective film 7 and an upper surface protective film 8 are formed on the opposing surfaces of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, respectively. The lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 constitute the bottom wall and the top wall of the inner wall of the migration lane 3, respectively.

  Examples of the material of the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 include fluorine resin; artificial cell film; organic film such as acrylic resin and polyimide resin; The material may be appropriately set depending on the type of particles to be migrated, and is not particularly limited. Further, the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 only need to protect (cover) the inner wall of the migration lane 3, in particular, the surface of each migration electrode 6a, and the film thickness is particularly limited. It is not something. Examples of the artificial cell membrane include “Lipidure” (registered trademark) manufactured by NOF Corporation and “PCmodifer” (registered trademark) manufactured by AI Biochip Co., Ltd. In addition, as the material of the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8, a material having photosensitivity can be used. By using a material having photosensitivity as the material of the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8, for example, a portion that does not require a protective film other than the migration lane 3, for example, a mounting terminal portion (mounting / connecting portion 6b). For example, it can be removed by photolithography and the like, and labor in a subsequent process can be saved.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, on the lower substrate 1 on which the lower surface protective film 7 is provided, as described above, the electrophoresis lanes 3 are separated on the surface facing the upper substrate 2. A lane wall 4 is provided.

  The migration lane wall 4 is a frame provided with a plurality of partition walls 4a that partition the inside into a plurality of lanes as partition walls (partitions). Each partition wall 4a is juxtaposed in the vertical direction with respect to the migration electrode array 6 so that the migration electrode array 6 (each migration electrode 6a) and the migration lanes 3 intersect (orthogonal in the present embodiment). ing.

  The migration lane wall 4 is formed by, for example, a sealing material (adhesive). The sealing material is not particularly limited. For example, a conventionally known resin is used as the sealing material. As such a sealing material, for example, an epoxy resin or an adhesive resin (adhesive) such as an epoxy adhesive made of a resin composition containing an epoxy resin as a main component is used. The sealing material preferably includes a so-called spacer (a spacing member) such as a spherical spacer or a fiber-like spacer, and the lower substrate contains the sealing material containing a spacer such as a spherical spacer or a fiber-like spacer. When the first substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are attached to face each other, the thickness of the migration lane wall 4, that is, the lane height of the migration lane 3 can be made uniform.

  As the spacer mixed in the sealing material, for example, a so-called Teflon (registered trademark) spacer made of polytetrafluoroethylene, glass, or the like, a glass spacer, or the like can be used.

  In the present embodiment, four rows of electrophoresis lanes 3 having a lane width (interval between partition walls 4a and 4a) of about 1 cm and a lane length of about 6 cm are formed in parallel. The width of the electrophoresis lane wall 4 was set to about 2 mm. Further, a glass spacer having a particle diameter of 40 μm was mixed in the sealing material so that the thickness of the electrophoresis lane 3 (height of the electrophoresis lane wall 4) was uniform.

  Further, any one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 has an injection / discharge hole 5 for injecting and discharging a sample (electrophoresis medium) to each electrophoresis lane 3. It is formed every time. In the present embodiment, as the injection / discharge holes 5, holes having a hole diameter of about 2 mm are provided at both ends of each electrophoresis lane 3 in the upper substrate 2.

  Each electrophoresis lane 3 is provided so that the extending direction (longitudinal direction) of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 and the straight line connecting the two injection / discharge holes 5 in each electrophoresis lane 3 are as vertical as possible. It is desirable that

  Next, a manufacturing method of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, for example, transparent substrates of 10 cm × 10 cm are used for the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, and first, the migration electrode array 6 is formed on the lower substrate 1.

  In the present embodiment, an ITO film is formed on the lower substrate 1 by sputtering deposition or the like, and then patterned into an electrode shape using photolithography, so that the film thickness is about 2000 mm, L / S is both 30 μm, electrode length An electrophoretic electrode array 6 consisting of 1000 electrode rows of about 10 cm was formed. At the same time, a mounting / connecting portion 6b (input terminal portion) was pattern-formed as a mounting terminal at the end of the migration electrode array 6.

  Next, when the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are bonded to each other, the portions overlapping the electrophoresis lanes 3 in the upper substrate 2 are drilled with, for example, a drill, so that both ends of each electrophoresis lane 3 are formed. The injection / discharge holes 5 each having a hole diameter of about 2 mm were provided. In addition, as a method for forming the injection / discharge holes 5, other methods such as blasting and etching can be used.

  Next, by applying, for example, the above-described protective film material onto the lower substrate 1 on which the migration electrode array 6 is formed and the upper substrate 2 on which the injection / discharge holes 5 are formed, the lower surface protection is performed. A film 7 and an upper surface protective film 8 were formed.

  Next, an epoxy adhesive (seal material) mixed with a glass spacer having a particle size of 40 μm is applied as a reactive adhesive (thermosetting adhesive) on the lower substrate 1 on which the lower surface protective film 7 is formed. As a result, an electrophoresis lane wall 4 having a width of about 2 mm and a height of about 40 μm was formed. For the application of the sealing material, for example, a printing method using a screen plate or a drawing method using a dispenser was used.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, since the migration lane wall 4 is formed of the sealing material containing the glass spacer, the gap (lane height) of each migration lane 3 is maintained uniformly. be able to. Further, as described above, the migration lane wall 4 including the plurality of partition walls 4a can be easily formed by patterning the sealing material using printing or a drawing method. Thereby, the plurality of migration lanes 3 can be easily formed.

  Thereafter, the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 were disposed to face each other and bonded together. Thus, the migration lane 3 surrounded by the migration lane wall 4 that partitions the space between the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 was formed.

  Specifically, the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 were arranged to face each other, and hot pressing was performed from both the upper and lower surfaces. The sealing material on the lower substrate 1 is once softened by hot pressing, and then cured and bonded to each other, whereby the migration lane 3 is formed between the two substrates. The gap of the electrophoresis lane 3 is maintained by the spacer included in the sealing material constituting the electrophoresis lane wall 4. In the present embodiment, as described above, four rows of electrophoresis lanes 3 having a lane width (interval between the partition walls 4a and 4a) of about 1 cm, a lane length of about 6 cm, and a thickness of about 40 μm are formed in parallel. Through the above steps, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is connected to the control substrate 50 via the FPC 17 mounted on the mounting / connecting portion 6 b formed at the end of the electrophoresis electrode array 6. The dielectrophoresis apparatus 70 according to the present embodiment includes the dielectrophoresis panel 10, a control board 50, and a DC power source 60 (power source). The dielectrophoresis system 85 according to the present embodiment includes the dielectrophoresis apparatus 70 and the imaging system 80.

  The control board 50 includes a frequency / timer control unit 50a, a synchronization signal control unit 50b, an oscillation circuit unit 50c, and a phase selection / amplification unit 50d.

  In the dielectrophoresis apparatus 70, a voltage (DC (direct current) voltage) output from the DC power source 60 is input to the control board 50 and drives the control board 50.

  In the control board 50, an AC voltage is output from the oscillation circuit unit 50c. The output AC voltage is adjusted to an intended AC output by controlling the frequency, phase, amplitude, and the like by the frequency / timer control unit 50a, the synchronization signal control unit 50b, and the phase selection / amplification unit 50d. It is applied (input) to the dielectrophoresis panel 10 via the FPC 17.

  The imaging system 80 includes a light source such as a laser for applying irradiation light to the observation region (measurement unit) in the electrophoresis lane 3 of the dielectrophoresis panel 10, an optical microscope, a CCD (charge coupled device). An optical system provided with an imaging device such as a camera, etc., is installed on the upper or lower side of the migration lane 3 to perform optical detection.

  The sample used in the present embodiment may be a sample containing a dielectric substance capable of inducing dielectrophoretic force. More specifically, a medium made of a dielectric substance is dispersed in the medium. If it is a sample which becomes, it will not specifically limit.

  The “electrophoresis medium” used as the sample (sample solution) in the present embodiment refers to a dispersion in which “particles” (electrophoretic particles) to be migrated are dispersed in a “solvent”. Uses a migration medium in which particles to be migrated are dispersed in a solvent.

  Specific examples of the particles include dielectric particles, that is, biological cells, bacteria, viruses, parasitic microorganisms, DNA, proteins, biopolymers, botanical particles (pollen etc.), non-biological particles, and the like. Is mentioned.

  The particles also include other particles that can be suspended in a liquid and can induce dielectrophoretic forces.

  Further, the particles (dielectric particles) may be compounds or gases (so-called dielectric gases) dissolved or suspended in a liquid. For example, Non-Patent Document 4 discloses that carbon nanotubes are sorted (separation between metal and semiconductor) by dielectrophoresis. In Non-Patent Document 4, carbon nanotube suspension is prepared by dispersing carbon nanotubes that are anhydrophilic and not dispersed in water using supercritical water, so that the semiconductor can migrate and the metal cannot migrate. The above-mentioned carbon nanotubes are sorted using

  In dielectrophoresis, the difference in the dielectrophoretic rate between the media is a parameter of the driving force. For this reason, it is also possible to convey a minute valve of gas such as air or nitrogen by using an appropriate viscous medium. Further, the anaerobic substance can be carried in a gas valve such as nitrogen. That is, even an anaerobic substance can be dispersed in a solvent by being enclosed in a gas valve as described above, and can be used as particles according to the present embodiment.

  Moreover, as a solvent, water, physiological saline, ethanol, methanol, butanol, oil etc. can be used suitably, for example. Moreover, in order to adjust the dielectric constant of a solvent, the mixed solvent (For example, the liquid mixture of water and ethanol) which mixed several solvent can also be used. Furthermore, in order to adjust the viscosity resistance of the solvent, cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, or the like can be added as a regulator.

  Depending on the type of particles in the electrophoresis medium, such as when using Escherichia coli as the particles, in order to prevent nonspecific adsorption to the inner wall of the electrophoresis lane 3 immediately before the experiment (measurement), It is desirable to perform surface treatment of the inner wall (providing a surfactant or an artificial cell membrane).

  An example using the dielectrophoresis system 85 in the present embodiment will be specifically described below. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this.

  In general, it is known that frequency characteristics of dielectric constant are different between live cells and dead cells. Thereby, it is possible to separate live and dead cells by the dielectrophoresis phenomenon.

  In this example, a case where the difference between E. coli cultured in three different environments is quantitatively observed will be described as an example. For observation, a dielectrophoresis system 85 including the dielectrophoresis panel 10 provided with four electrophoresis lanes 3 in parallel is used.

  In addition, immediately before this experiment, in order to prevent non-specific adsorption of E. coli to the inner wall of the electrophoresis lane 3, it is desirable to perform surface treatment (providing a surfactant or an artificial cell membrane) on the inner wall of each electrophoresis lane 3.

  In one of the four lanes 3, one lane 3 is supplied with a dilute aqueous solution (physiological saline) of a specific concentration of specific Escherichia coli (before culture) as a comparative sample. Inject from 5. In the remaining three electrophoresis lanes 3, an aqueous solution obtained by diluting each Escherichia coli cultured in three different environments to the same concentration as the comparative sample is injected from one injection / discharge hole 5 in each electrophoresis lane 3. .

  First, live cells and dead cells are separated by stationary DEP (DEP). Specifically, an AC voltage is alternately applied to the adjacent migration electrodes 6a with an applied voltage of 8 V, a frequency of 10 MHz, and an adjacent phase difference π. As a result, live cells are trapped at the end of the migration electrode 6a, and dead cells rise near the center of the migration electrode 6a.

  The living cells trapped at the end of the electrophoresis electrode 6a are observed by the imaging system 80. By comparing the living cells trapped at the end of the electrophoresis electrode 6a with a comparative sample, a difference depending on each culture environment can be confirmed. For example, a quantitative comparison can be made by counting the number of cells in a certain region by, for example, transmission imaging.

  Next, only dead cells are moved by traveling wave DEP (TWD). Specifically, an AC voltage is applied to the adjacent migration electrode 6a with an applied voltage of 8 V, a frequency of 10 MHz, and an adjacent phase difference of π / 2. Thereby, the difference of the dead cell generation by each culture environment can be confirmed. For example, by comparing the number of dead cells that pass through a certain region in a certain time by, for example, observation with an optical microscope, it is possible to make a quantitative comparison.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of electrophoresis lanes 3 are provided in parallel, and furthermore, the electrophoresis electrode 6a (the electrophoresis electrode array 6) that acts in common on each electrophoresis lane 3 is provided. By providing the electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) in common in each electrophoresis lane 3, the electrophoresis control voltage can be input to the electrophoresis electrode array 6 in a lump. As described above, according to the present embodiment, when one type of signal is input to the comb-shaped electrode (electrophoresis electrode array 6) including the electrophoresis electrodes 6a common to the electrophoresis lanes 3 provided in parallel to each other, a plurality of signals are input. An electric field can be simultaneously applied to the electrophoresis lanes 3. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, migration control of a plurality of samples (electrophoresis media) can be performed simultaneously in a lump. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of different types of samples (for example, samples having different relative dielectric constants and viscosities of solvents, or samples having different physical property values (relative dielectric constants, etc.) of particles in the solvent) are used. To realize a dielectrophoresis chip and a dielectrophoresis apparatus that can be placed under the same electrophoresis conditions under the same conditions, has a wide range of application to the test conditions, and adapts to various test conditions, and further a dielectrophoresis system 85 Is possible.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, by using the dielectrophoresis panel 10 (dielectrophoresis chip) having the plurality of electrophoresis lanes 3 as described above, the type of the solvent (electrophoresis medium) is changed for each electrophoresis lane 3. It is also possible to sort a plurality of specific particles at the same time, or to select a plurality of specific particles at the same time by changing the electrode shape for each migration lane 3 with the same solvent (migration medium). Can be efficiently selected. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize a dielectrophoresis chip and a dielectrophoresis device, and further a dielectrophoresis system 85 corresponding to a wide range of applications.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, as described above, the migration electrode 6a is composed of a transparent electrode such as ITO, so that when observing the migration medium as a sample, the migration electrode 6a is not blocked by the migration electrode 6a. Observation is possible from any direction above and below the electrophoresis lane 3 (on the lower substrate 1 side and the upper substrate 2 side). For this reason, the observation direction can be selected.

  In the present embodiment, the migration lane wall 4 is formed on the lower substrate 1 on which the lower surface protective film 7 is formed, that is, on the lower surface protective film 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Not when the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are formed, but with the migration lane wall 4 formation region in the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8, that is, the migration lane wall 4 (seal material). A part or all of the overlapping region may be removed. With such a structure, sufficient adhesion can be obtained even when the adhesion between the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 and the sealing material is poor.

  Further, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are formed on the opposing surfaces of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, respectively. . However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are not necessarily formed on the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2. However, on the opposing surfaces of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, particularly on the migration electrodes 6 a... In the migration lane 3, protective films (the lower surface protection film 7 and the upper surface protection film) that cover the migration electrodes 6 a. By providing 8), it is possible to prevent the migrating particles from adsorbing to the migrating electrode 6a. Therefore, it is desirable that the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are formed on the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 depending on the type of the particles.

  In this embodiment, the case where the migration lane wall 4 is formed on the lower substrate 1 has been described as an example. However, the migration lane wall 4 is not necessarily formed on the lower substrate 1. It is not necessary and may be formed on the upper substrate 2.

  In the present embodiment, for example, a transparent substrate of about 10 cm × 10 cm is used as the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the particles are not limited to this. The sample (electrophoresis medium) in the electrophoresis lane 3 can be observed in the area subjected to the dielectrophoretic force, specifically, in the area (observation area) where the electrophoresis lane 3 and each electrophoresis electrode 6a (the electrophoresis electrode array 6) overlap. As long as it is provided. Specifically, for example, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10, only one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 is formed of a transparent substrate, and the electrophoresis lane 3 and the electrophoresis electrode 6a on the other substrate are formed. You may have the structure by which the observation window (opening part or transparent area | region) is provided in the area | region (observation area | region) with which the (electrophoretic electrode array 6) overlaps. Further, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10, the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are respectively transparent in a region (observation region) where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode 6 a (the migration electrode array 6) overlap each other. You may have the structure which consists of a non-transparent board | substrate (semi-transparent or opaque board | substrate) in which the area | region (any one may be an opening part) was provided.

  According to the present embodiment, in any of the above-described configurations, observation with a transmitted light and photographing (observation and photographing with a transmission mode) are possible.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to construct an observation system by projection by using the transmission mode as described above. Further, the transmission mode is very effective for observation using a lot of fluorescence and filtering.

  The substrate sizes of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 may be set as appropriate and are not particularly limited. Furthermore, the specific size made in the present embodiment is also only an example of the embodiment, and various changes can be made according to the analysis target. That is, the substrate size, electrode size (electrode width, electrode interval, electrode thickness, electrode length, etc.) of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, the film thickness of the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8, the migration lane wall 4 Conditions such as layer thickness (height), lane width, and lane length are not particularly limited, and various changes can be made according to the analysis target.

  In this embodiment, four rows of electrophoresis lanes 3 are formed in parallel. However, the number of lanes in the electrophoresis lanes 3 may be set as appropriate according to the number of measurement samples, and is not particularly limited. .

  In the present embodiment, the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) is provided in a direction perpendicular to the migration lanes 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same electrophoresis electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) is extended over the plurality of electrophoresis lanes 3. The migration electrode 6 a does not necessarily have to extend in the vertical direction with respect to each migration lane 3. However, from the viewpoint of ease of comparative observation of particles, it is preferable that the observation regions in each electrophoresis lane 3 are provided adjacent to each other. For this reason, the migration electrode 6a is preferably provided in a direction perpendicular to the migration lanes 3.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of migration lanes 3 are provided on one substrate, and the migration electrode 6a (migration electrode array 6) is provided across the plurality of migration lanes 3. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and has a configuration in which only one electrophoresis lane 3 is provided on one substrate. It may be. More specifically, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to this exemplary embodiment may have a configuration in which one electrophoresis lane 3 is provided on the lower substrate 1 in FIGS. Good.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 in which the electrophoresis lane 3 is provided between the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 is described as an example of the dielectrophoresis chip according to the present embodiment. The present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the upper surface of the electrophoresis lane 3 is not covered with the upper substrate 2 although it depends on the type of the sample (sample solution). It does not matter. That is, the migration lane 3 is not necessarily formed between a pair of substrates. For example, the migration lane provided on the lower substrate 1 (the surface of the lower substrate 1) (that is, the lower substrate 1). And an electrophoresis tank composed of an electrophoresis lane wall 4 formed on the lower substrate 1, and an electrophoresis cell (that is, the lower substrate 1 and the upper side) formed on the lower substrate 1. It may be a closed space formed by the substrate 2 and the electrophoresis lane wall 4.

  The dielectrophoresis chip, dielectrophoresis apparatus, and dielectrophoresis system according to the present exemplary embodiment are used for bio research microarrays such as separation and detection of specific cells, for example, dielectrophoresis of dielectric substances such as biomolecules and resin beads. It can be suitably used for a chemical analysis system that transports by force. These chemical analysis systems can be widely applied in the medical field, food hygiene field, environmental monitoring, etc., and blood cell components such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and lymphocytes obtained by separating blood; Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes Targeting a wide range of dielectric materials such as bacteria (DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; deoxyribose nucleic acid), proteins, etc., for example, analysis of DNA, proteins, cells, etc. It is preferably used for applications such as separation / conveyance); chemical synthesis (microplant);

  In addition, since the dielectrophoresis chip, dielectrophoresis apparatus, and dielectrophoresis system according to the present embodiment can be observed and photographed with transmitted light as described above, it is particularly useful for observation using a lot of fluorescence observation and filtering. It is effective for.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same number is assigned to a component having the same function as the component used in the first embodiment. A description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the case where the migration electrode 6a is formed of a so-called transparent electrode such as ITO, ZnO, or IZO has been described as an example. However, in general, the resistivity of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, ZnO, or IZO is on the order of 10 ² μΩ · cm. This is two orders of magnitude larger than metal materials such as aluminum (Al, about 2.7 μΩ · cm) and gold (Au, about 2.5 μΩ · cm). Therefore, when an electrode (wiring) having the same shape is formed of a transparent conductive material and a metal material, the electrode formed of the transparent electrode material has a relatively high resistance of 1 to 2 digits compared to the electrode formed of the metal material. become. For this reason, when the migration electrode 6a is formed of a transparent electrode material, the migration electrode 6a (migration electrode array 6) becomes a high-resistance wiring as a result. The driving voltage for dielectrophoresis is AC, but the driving condition may be from several MHz to several tens of MHz. Under such a high-frequency application condition, there is a risk of attenuation or delay of the input voltage waveform depending on the time constant of the electrode wiring. Although it depends on the electrode conditions, if attenuation or delay becomes noticeable, the error from the input drive voltage increases, which may affect the dielectrophoretic behavior and, consequently, the experiment / analysis results. Then, when a transparent conductive material having a high resistance is used for the migration electrode 6a (wiring), it is determined that the above influence is relatively large.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, description will be given by taking a dielectrophoresis panel in which the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) is partially formed of a transparent electrode as an example.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the schematic configuration in the vicinity of the observation region in one migration lane of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. More specifically, FIG. 7 shows a schematic configuration of the region C in the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. Moreover, FIG. 9 is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the other dielectrophoresis panel concerning this Embodiment. In FIG. 6 as well, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment places the sample (electrophoresis medium) in each electrophoresis lane 3 on a portion where each electrophoresis lane 3 and the electrophoresis electrode array 6 overlap each other. An observation area 9 for observation / imaging (transmission imaging) is provided. Migration electrode 6a in the observation region 9 is formed of a transparent electrode 6a _1. A metal material (metal electrode 6a ₂ ) is used for the portion of the migration electrode 6a that does not overlap with the observation region 9.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, an electrode (electrode wiring) having a two-layer structure in which a metal electrode layer is partially formed on a transparent electrode layer is used as the migration electrode 6a. In other words, migration electrode 6a according to this embodiment, only the portion which overlaps with the observation region 9 in electrophoresis electrode 6a is a single layer electrode of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ (single-layer wiring), the other part is transparent electrodes It consists of two-layer electrodes (two-layer wiring) of 6a ₁ and metal electrode 6a ₂ .

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the portion where each electrophoresis lane 3 and the electrophoresis electrode 6a (the electrophoresis electrode array 6) overlap, that is, the electrophoresis electrode 6a (the electrophoresis electrode array 6) in each electrophoresis lane 3 is overlapped. by constituting at least a part only of a transparent electrode 6a _1, a migration electrode 6a ... forming region composed of the transparent electrode 6a _1, it is used as an observation region 9.

As a material of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ , for example, a transparent conductive material such as ITO, ZnO, or IZO can be used. Of these transparent conductive materials, ITO is preferably used. In addition, as the metal material, a metal material such as aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), or an alloy containing these metals should be used. Can do.

In the present embodiment as well, conditions such as the electrode width, electrode interval, and electrode length (wiring length) of the migration electrode array 6 (transparent electrode 6a ₁ and metal electrode 6a ₂ ) are not particularly limited. What is necessary is just to set suitably according to the magnitude | size of the particle | grains (namely, particle | grains in an electrophoresis medium) used as analysis object, target operation (separation, collection, conveyance, etc.), etc. Further, the electrode material in the film thickness and the electrode layer of the electrophoresis electrode 6a (transparent electrode 6a ₁ and the metal electrode 6a ₂₎ are also be set as appropriate, but is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, the electrode length of the single-layer wiring portion of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 is also not limited in particular, the resistivity of the lane width and electrophoresis electrode 6a of the electrophoresis lanes 3 (electrophoresis electrode array 6) or the like What is necessary is just to set suitably according to. However, the electrode length of the single-layer wiring portion of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ of the electrophoresis electrode array 6, when the electrodes (wiring) having the same shape as described above is formed by a transparent conductive material and a metal material, a transparent electrode material The electrode formed in (1) has a relatively high resistance compared to the electrode formed of a metal material. For this reason, in order to keep the resistivity as low as possible, at least a region corresponding to between the migration lanes 3 and 3 in the migration electrode 6a (migration electrode array 6), that is, the migration electrode 6a (migration electrode array 6). It is preferable that the overlapping region with the migration lane wall 4 in FIG. 6 has a two-layer structure of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ and the metal electrode 6a _2, and as shown in FIGS. in some within the migration lane 3, it is more desirable to have a single-layer structure of the transparent electrodes 6a _1.

  Below, the formation method of the said migration electrode array 6 concerning this Embodiment is demonstrated.

In the present embodiment, first, as in the first embodiment, an ITO film is formed on the lower substrate 1 by sputtering vapor deposition or the like, and then patterned into an electrode shape using photolithography to thereby form the lower substrate 1. On the top, transparent electrodes 6a ₁ ... Are formed.

Next, a metal film is formed on the lower substrate 1 on which the transparent electrodes 6a ₁ ... Are formed using a metal material by sputtering deposition or the like, and the metal film is patterned into an electrode shape using photolithography. In addition, a wiring portion overlapping with the observation region 9 in the patterned metal film (in this embodiment, a part of the migration lane 3, more specifically, application of a sealing material constituting the migration lane wall 4 is applied. The pattern of the wiring portion overlapping with a part between the regions is removed.

As a result, only the portion where the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) overlaps the observation region 9 is an ITO single-layer wiring, and the other portions are the metal electrode 6a ₂ such as Au / transparent electrode 6a ₁ such as ITO. Layer wiring is formed.

  The method for forming portions other than the migration electrode array 6 is basically the same as in the first embodiment. Also in the present embodiment, simultaneously with the formation of the migration electrode 6a, the mounting / connection portion 6b is formed as a mounting terminal on the end of the migration electrode 6a.

According to the present embodiment, the portion of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 that overlaps the observation region 9 provided in the electrophoresis lane 3 as described above is configured by the transparent electrode 6a ₁ such as ITO, and the other portions are formed. By forming the metal electrode 6a ₂ such as Au having a resistance lower than that of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ , the migration lane is not obstructed by the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) when observing the sample (migration medium). 3 can be observed from any direction above and below (the lower substrate 1 side and the upper substrate 2 side), and the resistance of the entire migration electrode array 6 has the same shape as that of the migration electrode array 6 ( Compared to the case of using an electrophoretic electrode array composed of transparent electrodes such as ITO of the same pattern), it can be kept low (for example, within the order of several tens of μΩ · cm to several μΩ · cm). Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the observation conditions for optical observation are not limited, and it is possible to suppress the attenuation / delay of the input voltage (electrophoresis control input voltage), which is easy to use. It is possible to realize the dielectrophoresis panel 10 and the dielectrophoresis apparatus 70 with high measurement accuracy, and thus the dielectrophoresis system 85.

In the present embodiment, the migration electrode array 6 is composed of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ made of ITO or the like in the portion overlapping the observation region 9, and the other portion is made of Au having a lower resistance than that of the transparent electrode 6a _1. is constituted by the metal electrode 6a ₂ etc., this embodiment is not limited thereto, the migration electrode array 6 has at least a part of the migration electrode array 6 in the region overlapping with the observation region 9 What is necessary is just to be formed with the transparent electrode.

For example, the migration electrode array 6 includes a portion formed by the transparent electrode 6a ₁ in a region where the migration electrode array 6 overlaps the observation region 9 (that is, a portion consisting only of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ ), a metal It may have a portion where the electrode 6a ₂ is provided (that is, a portion where the metal electrode 6a ₂ is further provided). Further, the migration electrode array 6 has a configuration in which the metal electrode 6a ₂ is formed (laminated) in a part of a region where the migration electrode array 6 does not overlap the observation region 9 with respect to the transparent electrode 6a _1. It may be.

Furthermore, the electrophoresis electrode array 6 is at least partially formed of a transparent electrode 6a ₁ (that is, formed only of a transparent electrode 6a ₁ of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 in the region where the electrophoresis electrode array 6 is overlapped with the observation region 9 ), A third electrode made of a non-transparent (semi-transparent or opaque) conductive material (low resistance conductive material) other than metal is provided in a part of the observation region 9 or a part of the non-observation region. You may have the structure currently made. The third electrode may be provided in place of the metal electrode 6a _2, it may be used together with the metal electrode 6a _2. In this case, the third electrode may be provided in the same layer as the metal electrode 6a _2, and the electrophoretic electrode 6a is a multilayer having three or more layers by forming a stacked structure with respect to the metal electrode 6a _2. It is good also as a structure which has a structure.

  In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, as the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, for example, transparent substrates of about 10 cm × 10 cm are used. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. If the sample (electrophoresis medium) in the electrophoresis lane 3 is provided to be observable in an area (observation area 9) where the electrophoresis lane 3 and each electrophoresis electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) overlap each other. Good. That is, also in the present embodiment, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 includes, for example, only one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 formed of a transparent electrode, and the electrophoresis lane 3 on the other substrate. You may have the structure by which the observation window (opening part or transparent area | region) is provided in the area | region (observation area | region 9) with which the electrophoresis electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) overlaps. Further, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10, the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are respectively arranged in regions (observation regions 9) where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode 6 a (the migration electrode array 6) overlap each other. You may have the structure which consists of a non-transparent board | substrate (semi-transparent or opaque board | substrate) provided with the transparent area | region (any one may be an opening part).

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) in the observation region 9 (the region where the migration electrode array 6 overlaps the observation region 9) is a transparent electrode, and the other regions. The electrophoretic electrode 6a (electrophoretic electrode array 6) in FIG. 1 is made into a non-transparent electrode (that is, an electrode structure that is non-transparent in plan view) by, for example, a laminated structure of a transparent electrode and a low-resistance non-transparent electrode such as a metal electrode . However, according to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, only a part of the migration electrode array 6 is observed in the observation area 9, that is, in the area where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode array 6 overlap. In addition to the transparent mode (observation and photographing with transmitted light) or the epi-illumination mode (observation and photographing with reflected (epi-illumination) light from the object to be observed) by the transparent electrode, the non-transparent electrode (metal It is possible to provide the dielectrophoresis panel 10 capable of using the epi-illumination mode for observing and projecting the reflected (epi-illumination) light from the electrode). As a result, the observation conditions can be relaxed, and more complex dielectrophoretic behavior can be observed. As a result, two types of observations are possible by using both the transmission mode by the transparent electrode and the epi-illumination mode by the non-transparent electrode (reflection (epi-reflection) electrode) such as a metal electrode as described above. It is possible to provide the dielectrophoresis panel 10 which can be analyzed from the angle of the angle.

In this case, in particular, in the observation region 9, the migration electrode array 6 (migration electrode 6 a) includes a portion including the transparent electrode 6 a ₁ and a portion provided with the metal electrode 6 a _2. , the resistance of the entire electrophoresis electrode array 6, as compared with the case of forming the該泳dynamic electrode array 6 only in the transparent electrode 6a _1, can be kept low, and that it is possible to reduce the parasitic capacitance between the electrodes In addition, as described above, it is possible to provide the dielectrophoresis panel 10 that can use any one of the transmission mode and the epi-illumination mode using transmission / reflection of light on the electrode surface.

In this case, in the observation region 9 (a region where the electrophoresis lanes 3 and electrophoresis electrode array 6 are overlapped), for the partial (reflecting region 9b) of the metal electrode 6a ₂ are provided, consisting of the transparent electrode 6a ₁ part ( The ratio (9a / 9b) of the transparent region 9a) is not particularly limited. For example, the lower limit is used for observation and recording of trapped particles (dielectric particles) or migrating particles (dielectric particles). The value is preferably 1/3, that is, 1/3 ≦ 9a / 9b (that is, the ratio of the transparent region 9a to the observation region 9 is 1/4 or more), and 1/3 <9a / 9b. Is more preferably 1 ≦ 9a / 9b (that is, the ratio of the transparent region 9a in the observation region 9 is ½ or more). The ratio (9a / 9b) is preferably 9a / 9b <3, and it is particularly preferable to set 9a / 9b = 1 within the above-described range.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, one of the migration electrodes 6a (the migration electrode array 6) is used as the transmission mode / epi-illumination mode type dielectrophoresis panel 10 utilizing the transmission / reflection of light on the electrode surface. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this.

  For example, in the first embodiment, one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 is placed on a region where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) overlap each other (the migration electrode array 6). A part of the observation region 9) is formed of a non-transparent substrate having a transparent region, and the other substrate is a transparent substrate or a region where the migration lane 3 and the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) overlap. By forming the non-transparent substrate having the observation window (opening or transparent region) in the (observation region 9), it is possible to provide the dielectrophoresis panel 10 for both transmission mode and epi-illumination mode.

  According to the present embodiment, when a plurality of migration lanes 3 are provided on one substrate as described above, different analyzes can be performed simultaneously by switching between the transmission mode and the epi-illumination mode according to the migration lane 3. It becomes possible.

[Embodiment 3]
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the differences from the first and second embodiments will be mainly described, and the components having the same functions as the components used in the first and second embodiments are described. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 10 as well, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in the first and second embodiments, the electrode width and the electrode interval of each migration electrode 6 a in the migration electrode array 6 are independent of whether or not they are overlapped with the migration lane 3. It was constant (L / S was both 30 μm). That is, in the first and second embodiments, the migration electrode array 6 has a stripe structure in which the migration electrodes 6a constituting the migration electrode array 6 are provided in parallel with each other in a stripe shape.

  However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the electrode width and the electrode interval of the migration electrode 6a are the same as the region where the migration electrode 6a (migration electrode array 6) overlaps the migration lane 3, It is different from other areas. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the electrode shape of the migration electrode 6a is different between the region where the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) overlaps the migration lane 3 and the other regions.

  In the dielectrophoresis experiment, when the narrow pitch electrophoretic electrode array 6 is formed, the wiring resistance of the entire electrophoretic electrode array 6 is increased, and the parasitic capacitance between the electrophoretic electrodes 6a constituting the electrophoretic electrode array 6 is also increased. For this reason, when the migration electrode array 6 having a narrow pitch is formed, the influence of attenuation and delay of the input AC voltage is unavoidable.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of frame-shaped migration lane walls 21 provided independently of each other as migration lane walls are provided between the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2. By providing a plurality of separation lanes 3 that are spaced apart from each other and provided in parallel, a plurality of migration lanes 3 are provided in the migration lane 3 (within the frame) and the region between the migration lanes (gap portion 22). The electrophoretic electrode array 6 is provided so that the electrode width and the electrode interval of the electrophoretic electrode 6a are different from those outside the electrophoretic lane 3 (outside the frame).

  Specifically, the migration electrode 6 a in the migration lane 3, that is, the migration electrode 6 a in the region where the migration electrode array 6 overlaps the migration lane 3 is used as the observation region 9. 10 μm and electrode spacing (S) 10 μm (electrode pitch 20 μm), while other regions, that is, regions not related to electrophoresis (that is, outside the electrophoresis lane 3), The electrode is formed with a width of 30 μm (L) and a maximum electrode interval of 30 μm (that is, an electrode interval of 30 μm at the center between the adjacent lanes 3 and 3 and an electrode pitch of 60 μm at the center).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the migration electrode 6a group (that is, the migration electrode 6a group in the observation region 9) in the migration lane 3 necessary for observation of the migration phenomenon is set as the required narrow pitch wiring. Other than that, by setting the migration electrode 6a group (the migration electrode 6a group in the gap 22) in a region unrelated to the migration phenomenon to have a wide pitch wiring, the overall resistance of the migration electrode array 6 is reduced and the parasitic capacitance is reduced. As a result, the attenuation and delay of the input AC voltage can be suppressed. The wiring shape described above is only an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

Also in the present embodiment, the migration electrode 6a is not limited to the transparent electrode, and can be in various forms as described above. For example, as shown in the second embodiment, the electrophoresis electrodes 6a, for example, by a laminated structure of a transparent electrode 6a ₁ and the metal electrode 6a _2, observed in transmission mode as described above, it allows shooting with In addition, the resistance of the entire migration electrode array 6 can be further lowered and the parasitic capacitance can be reduced.

[Embodiment 4]
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, differences from the first to third embodiments will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as the components used in the first to third embodiments will be described. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the migration panel according to the present embodiment. Also in FIG. 11, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  The dielectrophoresis panel 10 shown in FIG. 11 is different in that the electrode width and the electrode interval (electrode pitch) of the electrophoresis electrodes 6a are different in each of the three electrophoresis lanes 3 provided in parallel and spaced apart from each other. This is different from the dielectrophoresis panel 10 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the electrode width and the electrode interval of the migration electrodes 6 a are set so that the migration lane 3 on the side farther from the mounting / connecting portion 6 b provided at the end of the lower substrate 1 The migration electrode array 6 is provided so that the electrode width and the electrode interval of 6a are increased.

  More specifically, the migration electrode array 6 has an electrode width of 10 μm and an electrode interval of 10 μm (electrode pitch of 20 μm) in order from the migration lane 3 on the mounting / connecting portion 6 b side in an area overlapping each migration lane 3. Electrode part P1 consisting of the migration electrode 6a group, electrode part P2 consisting of the migration electrode 6a group with an electrode width of 20 μm and electrode spacing of 20 μm (electrode pitch 40 μm), and migration electrode with an electrode width of 30 μm and electrode spacing of 30 μm (electrode pitch of 60 μm) A total of three types of strip-like electrode portions P1, P2, and P3 of the electrode portion P3 composed of the group 6a are provided.

  The migration electrode 6a between the electrode parts P1 and P2 has an electrode width of 30 μm, an electrode interval of 10 μm (electrode pitch 20 μm) at the electrode part P1 side end, and an electrode interval of 20 μm (electrode pitch) at the electrode part P2 side end. The electrode interval is linear according to the array width of the migration electrode array 6 (the electrode width between the migration electrodes 6a and 6a at both ends of the migration electrode array 6). It is formed to change. Further, the migration electrode 6a between the electrode parts P2 and P3 has an electrode width of 30 μm, an electrode interval of 20 μm at the end of the electrode part P2 (electrode pitch 40 μm), and an electrode interval of 30 μm at the end of the electrode part P3 (electrode pitch). The electrode interval is linear according to the array width of the migration electrode array 6 (the electrode width between the migration electrodes 6a and 6a at both ends of the migration electrode array 6). It is formed to change.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of specific particles are simultaneously selected and identified by changing the electrode shape (or electrode width, electrode interval) of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 for each electrophoresis lane 3. It becomes possible to select a plurality of particles efficiently. In addition, there is an advantage that the difference in migration behavior of the plurality of migration lanes 3 can be observed collectively.

[Embodiment 5]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly based on FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (e). In the present embodiment, differences from the first to third embodiments will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as the components used in the first to third embodiments will be described. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 12A is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 12B to 12E show the dielectrophoresis panel 10 shown in FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the shape of an electrophoresis electrode 6a in each electrophoresis lane 3. FIG. In FIG. 12A as well, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes four electrophoretic lanes 3 arranged in parallel in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment. The shape of 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) is different.

  Specifically, in the electrophoresis lane 3A closest to the mounting / connecting portion 6b among the four electrophoresis lanes 3, the electrophoresis electrode array 6 has a linear shape with a wiring width of 30 μm as shown in FIG. The migration electrode 6a is provided in a stripe shape (stripe-type electrode structure). Next, in the migration lane 3B close to the mounting / connecting portion 6b, the migration electrode array 6 has a structure in which linear migration electrodes 6a having a wiring width of 45 μm are provided in a stripe shape (stripe) as shown in FIG. Type electrode structure). Then, in the electrophoresis lane 3C next to the mounting / connecting portion 6b next to the electrophoresis lane 3B, the electrophoresis electrode array 6 is formed in a mountain shape (saw shape) with a wiring width of 30 μm as shown in FIG. The plurality of electrophoretic electrodes 6a are arranged in parallel at equal intervals. Finally, in the electrophoresis lane 3D farthest from the mounting / connecting portion 6b among the four electrophoresis lanes 3, the electrophoresis electrode array 6 has a wave-shaped migration with a wiring width of 30 μm, as shown in FIG. A plurality of electrodes 6a are arranged at equal intervals. The electrode spacing (electrode pitch) of each of the migration electrodes 6a is 60 μm.

  The dielectrophoretic behavior is the same in the sample (electrophoresis medium) depending on the wiring, that is, the shape of the electrophoretic electrode 6a (electrophoretic electrode array 6), even when the same sample (electrophoretic medium) is used and driven with the same control voltage. Depending on the state of the electric field.

  Therefore, by changing at least one of the electrode shape, electrode width, and electrode interval of the electrophoresis electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) for each electrophoresis lane 3 as in the present embodiment, a specific plurality of the electrophoresis media in the electrophoresis medium are changed. It is possible to simultaneously select and identify the particles. As a result, for example, it is possible to efficiently select a plurality of particles. Moreover, according to said structure, there also exists a merit that the difference in the migration behavior of the said particle | grains in the several migration lane 3 can be observed collectively.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, as the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment, at least one of the shape, electrode width, and electrode interval of the electrophoresis electrode 6a (electrophoresis electrode array 6) has a condition. The dielectrophoresis panel which is different for each electrophoresis lane 3 has been described as an example. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10 or FIG. 11, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment has a predetermined gap portion 22 (region between electrophoresis lanes) between the electrophoresis lanes 3 and 3 adjacent to each other. The gap portion 22 and the migration lane 3 may have a configuration in which at least one condition among the shape, electrode width, and electrode interval of the migration electrode 6a (the migration electrode array 6) is different.

  For example, when the electrode shape of the migration electrode array 6 in the migration lanes 3A, 3B, and 3C is not a stripe shape, the electrode shape of the migration electrode array 6 in the gap 22 is made a stripe structure to shorten the wiring length, An increase in wiring resistance can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the electrode shape of the electrophoresis electrode array 6 is made different between the migration lane 3 and the gap 22 by changing the wiring width and spacing of the migration electrodes 6a, the dielectric The resistance of the migration electrode array 6 (wiring) in the migration panel 10 can be reduced.

[Embodiment 6]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly based on FIG. In the present embodiment, differences from the first to fifth embodiments will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as the components used in the first to fifth embodiments are described. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment. In FIG. 13, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment has mounting / connecting portions 6b at both ends of the electrophoresis electrode array 6, and an FPC 17 is provided at each of the mounting / connecting portions 6b and 6b. Each has a mounted configuration. As a result, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment can input drive AC voltages from both ends of the migration electrode array 6.

  The FPCs 17 are each connected to the control board 50 (drive control unit, control device). Thereby, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the same drive AC voltage is simultaneously input from the FPCs 17 at both ends of the electrophoretic electrode array 6 to each electrophoretic electrode 6a during the dielectrophoresis test. Is done.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the driving voltage is input from both ends of the migration electrode 6a, so that the wiring resistance and the wiring resistance and the driving voltage are input from only one side of the migration electrode 6a. It is possible to further suppress the influence of attenuation and delay of the input voltage signal due to the parasitic capacitance.

[Embodiment 7]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly based on FIG. 14 and FIG. In the present embodiment, differences from the first to sixth embodiments will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as those used in the first to sixth embodiments are used. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the present embodiment, a method of injecting a sample solution (electrophoresis medium) as a sample into each electrophoresis lane 3 in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 will be mainly described.

  Conventionally, as a method for injecting a sample into a dielectrophoresis panel, as shown in the first embodiment, an injection / discharge hole 5 (opening) is provided in one of the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1. A method of injecting a sample from the injection / discharge hole 5 by a pressurizing operation such as a pump is common.

  For example, Patent Document 6 describes a microchip that is not a system for dielectrophoresis but has an injection port formed above the microchannel of the flow path chip. When this structure is applied to the dielectrophoresis panel 10, as shown in the first embodiment, the upper substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are bonded to each other before forming the dielectrophoresis panel 10. It is necessary to provide an injection / discharge hole 5 as an injection port in a portion that becomes the top wall or the bottom wall of each electrophoresis lane 3 in either one of the substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1. As a method for forming the injection / discharge hole 5, as shown in the first embodiment, there are methods such as drilling, blasting, and etching.

  By the way, as shown in the first embodiment, generally, a protective layer is formed on the upper and lower substrates on the inner surface of the dielectrophoresis panel. In the first embodiment, a protective film (protective layer) that covers, for example, the migration electrode array 6 is provided on the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 like the lower protective film 7 and the upper protective film 8. Further, the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are subjected to a surface treatment such as a hydrophilic / water repellent treatment according to the sample to be injected into the electrophoresis lane 3.

  However, if an injection port is formed in the substrate after the protective film is formed on the substrate in this way, there is a concern that the surface treatment material and the dust on the substrate accompanying the opening treatment may adhere to the surface treatment portion of the substrate. . Dust adhering to the surface treatment portion is difficult to remove even after performing a cleaning process, and causes a product defect as an impurity when a dielectrophoresis panel is formed.

  In addition, when surface treatment of the substrate is performed after the injection port is manufactured, the surface treatment agent may enter the injection port and contaminate the opening. When the surface treatment agent is solidified in the opening, it causes an opening diameter error, and causes problems such as poor connection and generation of dust when a connector or the like is inserted.

  Further, when the dielectrophoresis panel 10 has a plurality of migration lanes 3 as in the present invention, the conventional method of forming the injection ports on the substrate forms a plurality of injection ports according to the number of migration lanes. Therefore, the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the probability of occurrence of defects increases.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sample injection / discharge hole 5 (opening) is not the surface of one of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, but the side surface (panel structure of the panel structure). (Cross section).

  FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 15 is an exploded sectional view taken along line EE of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, for convenience of illustration, the upper substrate is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment uses the lower substrate as an opening for sample injection / discharge instead of the injection / discharge hole 5 according to the first embodiment. An injection / discharge port 31 (opening, injection port) formed by the electrophoresis lane wall 4 is provided between 1 and the upper substrate 2, specifically, on the side surface of the dielectrophoresis panel 10. It has a configuration. In the present embodiment, the injection / discharge ports 31 are provided at both ends of the electrophoresis lane 3.

  The inlet / outlet holes 5 have a diameter of about 2 mm and a height of about 40 μm (equal to the gap of the panel cavity). Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, each lane 3 has a lane width (interval between partition walls 4a and 4a) of about 1 cm and a lane length of about 6 cm. The width of was set to about 2 mm. Further, a glass spacer having a particle diameter of 40 μm was mixed in the sealing material used for forming the migration lane wall 4 so that the thickness of the migration lane 3 (height of the migration lane wall 4) was uniform. The configuration other than the above was formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the migration lane wall 4 has an opening 4b in which a part of the frame (outer edge) connecting the partition walls 4a and 4a separating the migration lanes 3 is opened in each migration lane 3. .., And an injection lane wall extending portion extending from the opening 4 b to the end of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 along the extending direction of the electrophoresis lane 3 as the inlet / outlet 31. 4c (electrophoresis lane wall 4) is provided with a flow path (passage).

  Also in this embodiment, since the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are transparent substrates of about 10 cm × 10 cm, the length of the injection / discharge port 31 (flow path (extension) The length of part) is about 2 cm each.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, inner ends 1 a and 2 a of the inlet / outlet 31 in the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2, that is, a surface facing the upper substrate 2 in the lower substrate 1 and It is desirable that each end side of the portion where the injection / discharge port 31 is formed on the surface of the upper substrate 2 facing the lower substrate 1 is subjected to a chamfering process in which corners are chamfered.

  In the present embodiment, the liquid feeding tube 13 having an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the injection / discharge port 31 is connected (pressed contact) to the injection / discharge port 31 so that the sample can be injected / discharged. It becomes.

  Therefore, as described above, the inner end portions 1a and 2a of the injection / discharge port 31 are chamfered, so that when the injection / discharge port 31 and the liquid feeding tube 13 are connected, the contact area between the two is reduced. It becomes large and the adhesiveness of both improves.

  As described above, the liquid feeding tube 13 is made of a deformable material such as silicon resin (a flexible material, preferably, from the viewpoint of adhesion between the injection / discharge port 31 and the liquid feeding tube 13. It is desirable that it is made of an elastic material. In the present embodiment, a tube made of silicon resin having an outer diameter of about 3 mm and an inner diameter of about 1 mm is used as the liquid feeding tube 13. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10, the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are formed at the end of the injection / discharge port 31 (that is, the lower side subjected to the chamfering process). The lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are formed on the inner side of the substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 with respect to the inner end portions 1a and 2a). It is desirable not to.

  Thus, by adopting a structure in which the lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 are not formed at the end of the injection / discharge port 31, the diameter of the injection / discharge port 31 is increased, and the injection / discharge port 31 is thus formed. The adhesion between the outlet 31 and the liquid feeding tube 13 is further improved. Moreover, according to said structure, there exists an effect which prevents that the said lower surface protective film 7 and the upper surface protective film 8 become unnecessary dust and remain in the migration lane 3 at the time of a chamfering process.

  In this embodiment, as described above, as a method for injecting a sample (sample solution) into each electrophoresis lane 3 through the injection / discharge port 31, the liquid supply tube 13 is connected to the injection / discharge port 31 as described above. Although the method for feeding the sample solution to the injection / discharge port 31 by connection has been described, the sample injection method (sample solution feeding method) according to the present embodiment is limited to the above method. It is not a thing.

  In the present embodiment, the injection / discharge port 31 is connected (pressed contact) with the liquid supply tube 13 having an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the injection / discharge port 31. Although the method for feeding the sample solution to 31 has been described, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the liquid feed tube 13 (for example, the injection / discharge port 31 described above) fitted to the injection / discharge port 31 is not limited thereto. The liquid feeding may be performed using a liquid feeding tube 13) having an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the liquid.

  Further, as described above, the liquid feeding tube 13 may be provided separately from the dielectrophoresis panel 10 and may be connected to the dielectrophoresis panel 10 only when a sample (sample solution) is injected. You may have the structure previously fixed to the electrophoresis panel 10. FIG.

  That is, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment may have a configuration including the liquid feeding tube 13 as an injecting unit for feeding (injecting) a sample to the dielectrophoretic panel 10. Then, the dielectrophoresis device 70 or the dielectrophoresis system 85 uses the liquid feeding tube 13 or the liquid feeding tube 13 as an injection means (injection device) for sending (injecting) a sample to the dielectrophoresis panel 10. You may have the structure provided with the provided sample injection apparatus.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, the opening (injection / discharge port 31) for feeding the sample into and out of the electrophoresis lane 3 is provided on the side surface of the dielectrophoresis panel 10, so that It is possible to prevent impurities from being mixed in and to prevent the occurrence of defects in the liquid feeding system.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the injection / discharge port 31 is inevitably formed on the side surface of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 by the pattern of the migration lane wall 4, so that the injection / discharge port 31 is formed. No additional materials or processes are required. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is compared with a method of providing an opening (injection / discharge hole 5) on the dielectrophoresis panel 10 (for example, on the upper substrate 2) with a drill or the like. It is possible to relatively suppress the defect occurrence rate. This suppression effect becomes more prominent as the number of migration lanes 3 increases. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 can be formed more efficiently than the case where the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is provided with an injection / discharge port by a drill or the like. It is more preferable from the viewpoint.

[Embodiment 8]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. In the present embodiment, differences from the first to seventh embodiments will be mainly described, and components having the same functions as the components used in the first to seventh embodiments will be described. The same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the present embodiment, another method for feeding a sample solution (electrophoresis medium) as a sample to the inlet / outlet 31 of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 will be mainly described.

  FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment has an outer edge portion (frame body) of the electrophoresis lane wall 4 that connects the partition walls 4 a and 4 a that separate the respective electrophoresis lanes 3. Is provided with openings 4b that are opened at both ends of each migration lane 3 (both ends in the longitudinal direction of each migration lane 3), and from the opening 4b as an inlet / outlet 31. Electrophoresis lane wall extension 4c (extending to the end of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 (end of the lower substrate 1) along the extending direction of the electrophoresis lane 3 (longitudinal direction of each electrophoresis lane 3) ( It has a configuration in which a flow path (passage) composed of electrophoresis lane walls 4) is provided.

  Thereby, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment also has the injection / discharge ports 31 opened at both ends of the electrophoretic lane 3 so as to face the side surfaces of the dielectrophoretic panel 10 as in the sixth exemplary embodiment. (Migration lane wall extending portion 4c) is provided.

  Also in this embodiment, the lane width (interval between the partition walls 4a and 4a) of each migration lane 3 is about 1 cm, the lane length is about 6 cm, and the width of the migration lane wall 4 is about 2 mm as in the sixth embodiment. The diameter of the injection / discharge hole 5 was about 2 mm in width and about 40 μm in height (equal to the gap of the panel cavity). The length of the injection / discharge port 31 (the length of each electrophoresis lane wall extending portion 4c) was about 2 cm.

  However, in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the substrate length of the upper substrate 2 in the extending direction of each electrophoresis lane 3 is the extension of each electrophoresis lane 3. It is formed to be shorter than the substrate length of the lower substrate 1 in the installation direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the side wall of the injection / discharge hole 5, that is, the migration lane wall extending portion 4c (migration lane wall 4) is provided to protrude outward from the end of the upper substrate 2. It has a configuration. In the present embodiment, the substrate length of the upper substrate 2 in the extending direction of the migration lanes 3 is approximately 4 mm shorter than the substrate length of the lower substrate 1 in the extension direction of the migration lanes 3. Formed. In other words, in the present embodiment, the lower substrate 1 protrudes from the upper substrate 2 by about 2 mm at each end in the extending direction of the electrophoresis lanes 3.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment has the inner end portion among the inner end portions 1a and 2a of the injection / discharge port 31 in the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2. Only 2a has a configuration in which a chamfering process with chamfered corners is performed. That is, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes the upper substrate 2 out of the lower substrate 1 facing surface with the upper substrate 2 and the upper substrate 2 facing with the lower substrate 1. Only the surface facing the lower substrate 1 has a configuration in which a chamfering process is performed on an end side of the injection / discharge port 31 forming portion.

  Furthermore, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment has a configuration in which the liquid feeding connector 15 is connected to the injection / discharge port 31.

  The liquid feeding connector 15 is formed of a deformable material such as silicon resin, like the liquid feeding tube 13. As shown in FIG. 17, the liquid feeding connector 15 is connected to the inlet / outlet 31 by sandwiching the ends of the dielectrophoresis panel 10, that is, the ends of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2. Is done.

  The liquid delivery connector 15 has a plurality of U-shaped openings 15a into which the inlet / outlet 31 (the migration lane wall extending portion 4c) is inserted and fitted on one side surface. Each electrophoresis lane 3 is structurally separated inside the liquid feeding connector 15 by inserting the inlet / outlet 31 (electrophoresis lane wall extending portion 4c) into the opening 15a.

  The top wall (upper wall) of the liquid delivery connector 15 has an injection / discharge hole 16 (injection / discharge portion, opening) communicating with the opening 15a corresponding to the injection / discharge port 31. Is provided.

  In the present embodiment, the inner diameter of the injection / discharge port 31 is set to about 2 mm. The liquid feeding connector 15 has the lower substrate 1 in the plan view in the state where the lower substrate 1 end surface 1b of the inlet / outlet port 31 is in contact with the inner wall of the opening 15a. In addition, the migration lane wall extending portion 4c on the lower substrate 1 is formed so as to be positioned above the exposed portion (that is, the portion where the upper substrate 2 is not provided).

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, by injecting the sample into the injection / discharge hole 16, the sample can be injected (delivered) into each electrophoresis lane 3 via the injection / discharge port 31. It can be done.

  The liquid feeding connector 15 is appropriately designed according to the number of electrophoresis lanes 3. Further, the liquid feeding connector 15 may be fixed to the dielectrophoresis panel 10 in advance, or may be detachably provided on the dielectrophoresis panel 10. In the latter case, the liquid feeding connector 15 can be reused for the dielectrophoresis panel 10 of the same design.

  That is, also in this embodiment, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 may have a configuration including the liquid feeding connector 15 as an injecting means for feeding (injecting) a sample to the dielectrophoretic panel 10. The dielectrophoresis device 70 or the dielectrophoresis system 85 uses the liquid feeding connector 15 or the liquid feeding connector 15 as injection means (injection device) for sending (injecting) a sample into the dielectrophoresis panel 10. You may have the structure provided with the provided sample injection apparatus.

  Also in the present embodiment, as described above, an opening (injection / discharge port 31) for feeding the sample into and out of the electrophoresis lane 3 is provided on the side surface of the dielectrophoresis panel 10, so that the sample enters the electrophoresis lane 3. It is possible to prevent the impurities from being mixed and to suppress the occurrence of defects in the liquid feeding system.

  Also in this embodiment, since the injection / discharge port 31 is inevitably formed on the side surface of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 due to the pattern of the migration lane wall 4, a separate material or material is used to form the injection / discharge port 31. No process is required. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is compared with a method of providing an opening (injection / discharge hole 5) on the dielectrophoresis panel 10 (for example, on the upper substrate 2) with a drill or the like. It is possible to relatively suppress the defect occurrence rate. This suppression effect becomes more prominent as the number of migration lanes 3 increases. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the dielectrophoresis panel 10 can be formed more efficiently than the case where the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is provided with an injection / discharge port by a drill or the like. It is more preferable from the viewpoint.

  In the present embodiment, the lower substrate 1 is configured to protrude about 2 mm from the upper substrate 2 at each end in the extending direction of the respective electrophoresis lanes 3. By setting the inner diameter of 31 to about 2 mm, as shown in FIG. 17, in the state where the lower substrate 1 end face 1b is in contact with the inner wall of the opening 15a, the edges of the injection / discharge holes 16 are located on the upper side. It was set as the structure located in the board | substrate 2 edge part and the said lower board | substrate 1 edge part. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and in the state where the end surface 1b of the lower substrate 1 is in contact with the inner wall of the opening 15a, the edges of the injection / discharge holes 16 are all the above-mentioned. If formed so as to be located in the exposed region of the lower substrate 1, the inner diameter of the injection / discharge hole 16 does not need to be the same as the protruding length of the lower substrate 1, and the injection / discharge hole 16. The inner diameter of the lower substrate 1 may be smaller than the protruding length of the lower substrate 1.

  Further, the inner diameter of the injection / discharge hole 16 and the protruding length of the lower substrate 1 are not limited to the above lengths, and can be set as appropriate so that the sample can be smoothly injected / discharged. is there.

  The method of injecting (feeding) the sample in the dielectrophoresis panel 10 having the injection / discharge ports on the side surface (electrophoresis array cross section) of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 is not limited to the above method. The above method is an example of a method of injecting (liquid feeding) a sample in the dielectrophoresis panel 10, and various forms of injection (liquid feeding) depending on the method of use of the dielectrophoresis panel 10 and the type of sample (electrophoresis medium). The method is adaptable.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dielectrophoresis chip, a dielectrophoresis apparatus, and a dielectrophoresis system in which the restriction of observation conditions is relaxed compared to the prior art. The dielectrophoresis chip, the dielectrophoresis apparatus, and the dielectrophoresis system according to the present invention can be suitably applied to uses such as microarrays for bioresearch such as separation and detection of specific cells.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The dielectrophoresis chip, the dielectrophoresis apparatus, and the dielectrophoresis system according to the present invention are used for bio research microarrays such as separation and detection of specific cells, for example, dielectric substances such as biomolecules and resin beads by dielectrophoretic force. It can be used suitably for the chemical analysis system to convey. These chemical analysis systems can be widely applied in the medical field, food hygiene field, environmental monitoring, etc., and blood cell components such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and lymphocytes obtained by separating blood; Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes Targeting a wide range of dielectric materials such as bacteria (DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; deoxyribose nucleic acid), proteins, etc., for example, analysis of DNA, proteins, cells, etc. It is preferably used for applications such as separation / conveyance); chemical synthesis (microplant); Since the dielectrophoresis chip, the dielectrophoresis apparatus, and the dielectrophoresis system according to the present invention can be observed and photographed with transmitted light, they are particularly effective for observation using a lot of fluorescence observation and filtering.

It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is the top view which looked at the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. 1 from the upper side board | substrate side. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the dielectrophoresis system concerning this Embodiment provided with the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning the other form of implementation of this invention. It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the observation region vicinity in one migration lane of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the other dielectrophoresis panel concerning the other embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention. (A) is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention, (b)-(e) is each electrophoresis lane of the dielectrophoresis panel shown to (a). It is a top view which shows typically the shape of the migration electrode in. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention. It is the EE arrow directional cross-sectional exploded view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the dielectrophoresis panel concerning further another form of implementation of this invention. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the dielectrophoresis panel shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the conventional particle conveying apparatus using a dielectrophoresis phenomenon. (A) is a side view which shows schematic structure of the conventional dielectrophoresis apparatus which isolate | separates a cell using a comb-shaped electrode, (b) is the structure of the principal part in the dielectrophoresis apparatus shown to (a). FIG. It is a figure explaining the technique which conveys a cell using a comb-shaped electrode.

Explanation of symbols

1 Lower substrate (substrate)
2 Upper substrate (substrate)
3 Electrophoresis Lane 4 Electrophoresis Lane Wall 4a Partition 4b Opening 4c Electrophoresis Lane Wall Extension 5 Injection / Discharge Hole (Injection Port)
6 Electrophoresis electrode array (electrode array)
6a Electrophoresis electrode (electrode)
6a ₁ transparent electrode 6a ₂ metal electrode 6b mounting / connecting part 7 lower surface protective film (protective film)
8 Top surface protective film (Protective film)
9 Observation area 10 Dielectrophoresis panel (Dielectrophoresis chip)
17 FPC
21 migration lane wall 22 gap 31 injection / discharge port (injection port)
50 Control board (control unit)
60 DC power supply 61 AC-DC converter 70 Dielectrophoresis apparatus 80 Imaging system 85 Dielectrophoresis system P1 Electrode part P2 Electrode part P3 Electrode part

Claims (12)

A dielectrophoresis chip that dielectrophoreses the dielectric substance by applying an electric field formed by an alternating voltage to a sample containing the dielectric substance,
An electrophoresis lane for dielectrophoretic migration of the dielectric material;
Comprising a plurality of electrodes intersecting with the electrophoresis lane, and comprising an electrode array for dielectrophoresis of the dielectric substance by applying an alternating voltage to apply an electric field to a sample injected into the electrophoresis lane,
The electrophoresis lane has a transparent surface facing the electrode array of the electrophoresis lane in at least a part of a region where the electrophoresis lane and the electrode array overlap, and the electrode array is transparent in the electrophoresis lane. A dielectrophoresis chip, wherein at least a part of an electrode in a portion overlapping with a region is formed of a transparent electrode.   2. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1, wherein the electrode array includes a metal electrode in a portion other than a portion overlapping the transparent region in the electrophoresis lane.   The electrode of the part which overlaps with the transparent area | region in the said electrophoresis lane in the said electrode row | line | column is provided with the part which consists of a transparent electrode, and the part in which the metal electrode is provided. Dielectrophoresis chip.   The electrophoretic lane is provided in plurality on one substrate, and each electrode in the electrode array is provided across the electrophoretic lanes. Dielectrophoresis chip.   5. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the shape, the electrode width, and the electrode interval of the electrode row is different between adjacent lanes.   The electrophoresis lanes are provided apart from each other, and at least one of the shape of the electrode row, the electrode width, and the electrode spacing is different between the electrophoresis lanes and the area between the electrophoresis lanes. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 4, wherein The migration lane is formed by a pair of substrates and a migration lane wall provided between the pair of substrates,
2. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1, wherein the electrophoresis lane wall contains a spacer for keeping a distance between the pair of substrates therein.   The electrophoresis lane includes a migration lane wall provided on the substrate along the migration lane, and the electrode array is formed on a region excluding at least a part of the region where the migration lane wall is formed on the substrate. 2. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1, further comprising a protective film covering the substrate.   The electrophoresis lane is formed by a pair of substrates and a migration lane wall provided between the pair of substrates, and a note for injecting the sample into the electrophoresis lane between the pair of substrates. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1, further comprising an inlet.   2. The dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1, wherein input terminals for inputting the same voltage from both ends of each electrode are provided at both ends of each electrode in the electrode array.   A dielectrophoresis apparatus comprising the dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1.   A dielectrophoresis system comprising the dielectrophoresis chip according to claim 1.

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