JP5076234B2 - Apparatus for measuring qualitative distribution of particle concentration in vertical cross section of microchannel and method for manufacturing microchannel structure used in said apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring a qualitative distribution of particle concentration in a vertical section of a microchannel and a method for manufacturing a microchannel structure used in the apparatus.

The microchannel has a large specific surface area per volume, and the fluid flowing in the microchannel is dominated by laminar flow. Therefore, the time required for analysis can be shortened, and the effects such as promoting the mixing of the solution by molecular diffusion can be achieved. Therefore, it has been put to practical use in biochips, microreactors, microtas (μTAS), lab-on-chips, and the like.
Moreover, since microchannels have many merits today, their application range extends to fields such as chemistry and biotechnology, the environment and energy, and is expected to be put to practical use in various industries.

An example of the microchannel structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 21A is a plan view showing a substrate serving as a base, FIG. 21B is a plan view showing a substrate serving as a lid, FIG. 22A is a plan view of a microchannel structure, and FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of Fig.22 (a).
First, as shown in FIG. 21A, a groove to be a channel 102 having a predetermined shape is formed in a substrate 101 to be a base. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 21B, predetermined inlets 104 and outlets 105 are perforated at positions corresponding to the ends of the flow paths 102 of the substrate 103 serving as a lid.

  Then, by attaching the substrate 101 and the substrate 103 together, the microchannel structure 100 in which the microchannel 107 having the predetermined inlet 104 and the outlet 105 is formed is manufactured.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 23, an electrode which is embedded and formed on one surface of the first substrate 151 without having a gap at the peripheral edge and is flush with the one surface of the first substrate 151. A first substrate 151, a second substrate 152 provided in contact with the one surface of the first substrate 151, and a flow path 154 formed by the first substrate 151 and the second substrate 152. A fine channel structure 150 has been proposed.
In this kind of fine channel structure 150, since the electrode portion 153 is formed in the channel 154, the concentration of a small amount of flowing liquid or the concentration of a target substance in the liquid is detected. be able to.
JP 2006-224014 A

Incidentally, a microscope is generally used to instantaneously and qualitatively observe the concentration of particles flowing in the flow channel in the micro flow channel structure shown in FIG. For example, a microscope is arranged perpendicularly (immediately above) to the main flow direction of the microchannel flow (microchannel direction), and the horizontal cross-sectional particle image of the flow field obtained from the microscope is displayed on a CCD camera, etc. The observation was performed by recording the information and displaying the information using a computer or the like.
However, in microchannel observation using such a microscope, qualitative observation and quantitative measurement of particle concentration in the horizontal cross section in the mainstream direction are possible, but qualitative measurement of particle concentration in the vertical cross section of the microchannel is possible. There was a technical problem that it was not possible to perform regular observation and quantitative measurement.

In addition, since the microchannel structure shown in FIG. 23 has an electrode portion formed in the channel, it detects the concentration of a minute amount of flowing liquid or the concentration of a target substance in the liquid. Can do.
However, in this case as well, since the electrode portion is formed on the first substrate surface, the qualitative observation of the particle concentration in the horizontal cross section in the mainstream direction is the same as in the microchannel structure shown in FIG. In addition, although quantitative measurement is possible, there has been a technical problem that qualitative observation and quantitative measurement of the particle concentration in the vertical section of the microchannel cannot be performed.

  Thus, in the conventional microchannel structure, although it is actually a three-dimensional particle distribution, it can only be observed and measured as a two-dimensional particle distribution. It was not satisfying.

The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problem, and is capable of measuring the qualitative distribution of the concentration in the vertical section of the microchannel, and qualitatively determining the particle concentration in the vertical section of the microchannel. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring a general distribution and a method for manufacturing a microchannel structure used in the device .

The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and an apparatus for measuring a qualitative distribution of particle concentration in a vertical section of a microchannel according to the present invention includes a microchannel, and the microchannel On the same vertical section perpendicular to the direction, at least two electrodes are exposed in the microchannel on each of the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the left wall portion, and the right wall portion constituting the microchannel. A microfluidic structure formed in this manner, a liquid feeding means for flowing a liquid containing particles in the microfluidic channel, and a predetermined electrode combination is selected from the electrodes, and the selected electrode combination is selected between Voltage supply means for supplying a voltage; and means for measuring at least one of capacitance, impedance and inductance between the electrodes to which the voltage is supplied by the voltage supply means.

  In this way, on the vertical cross section perpendicular to the microchannel direction, at least two or more electrodes are provided on each of the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the left wall portion, and the right wall portion constituting the microchannel. Since it is exposed in the channel, the capacitance, impedance, and inductance of the vertical cross section of the microchannel can be measured by applying a voltage to the electrode. Qualitative distribution can be measured.

  Here, an electrode group including at least eight or more electrodes provided on the vertical cross section of the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the left wall portion, and the right wall portion is arranged in the flow channel direction of the micro flow channel. It is desirable to provide a plurality. As described above, since a plurality of electrode groups are provided in the flow direction of the micro flow channel, the qualitative distribution of the concentration in each vertical cross section and the qualitative distribution in the horizontal cross section in the micro flow channel direction are measured. be able to.

In addition, the first pattern is sandwiched between the two substrates so that the end of the electrode pattern patterned in advance is exposed on the end surface of the substrate, and is integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion. After the second step of sandwiching the electrode pattern so that the end portion of the electrode pattern is exposed to the end surface of the substrate and integrating by crimping or bonding, the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the right wall portion, and the left wall portion are respectively After the step of forming and after the step, the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the left wall portion, and the right wall portion are arranged vertically and horizontally at a predetermined interval, and are integrated by crimping or bonding, and the microchannel is formed in the central portion. And a step of forming the structure.
Thus, according to the manufacturing method of the microchannel structure, the above-described microchannel structure can be easily manufactured.

  By repeatedly performing the second step, it is possible to further stack electrode patterns and form each of a predetermined upper wall portion, lower wall portion, right wall portion, and left wall portion.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can use for the apparatus which measures the qualitative distribution of the density | concentration of the vertical cross section of a microchannel, and the said apparatus which can measure the qualitative distribution of the particle density of the vertical section of a microchannel. A method for producing a microchannel structure can be obtained.

First, an embodiment of a microchannel structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing a microchannel structure according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the microchannel structure 1 connects an upper wall portion A, a lower wall portion B facing the upper wall portion A, and the upper wall portion A and the lower wall portion B. The right and left wall portions C and D are configured, and the upper and lower wall portions A and B and the left and right wall portions C and D form a microchannel S having a rectangular cross section. The macro flow channel S is formed at the center of the micro flow channel structure 1 and has, for example, a length of 600 μm, a width of 600 μm, and a length of 30 mm.

The upper wall portion A is obtained by bonding substrates A1, A2, A3, and A4 as will be described later. Between the substrates A1 and A2, as shown in FIGS. An electrode pattern 2 having 10 electrodes is formed in the microchannel direction).
Further, an electrode pattern 3 having 10 electrodes in the mainstream direction is formed between the substrate A2 and the substrate A3, and the mainstream direction is also formed between the substrate A3 and the substrate A4. An electrode pattern 4 having 10 electrodes is formed.
One end portions (electrodes) 2a, 3a, 4a of the electrode patterns 2, 3, 4 are formed to be exposed in the microchannel S, and the other end portions (terminals) of the electrode patterns 2, 3, 4 are formed. ) 2b, 3b, 4b are formed to be exposed on the surface of the upper wall portion A.

Similarly, the lower wall portion B is obtained by bonding substrates B1, B2, B3, and B4 as will be described later, and between the substrate B1 and the substrate B2, as shown in FIGS. An electrode pattern 5 having 10 electrodes is formed in the main flow direction (microchannel direction).
Similarly to the electrode pattern 5, an electrode pattern 6 having 10 electrodes in the mainstream direction is formed between the substrate B2 and the substrate B3, and the mainstream is also interposed between the substrate B3 and the substrate B4. An electrode pattern 7 having 10 electrodes in the direction is formed.
One end portions (electrodes) 5a, 6a, 7a of the electrode patterns 5, 6, 7 are formed to be exposed in the microchannel S, and the other end portions (terminals) of the electrode patterns 5, 6, 7 are formed. Part) 5b (the other end parts of the electrode patterns 6 and 7 are not shown) are formed to be exposed on the surface of the lower wall part B.

The left wall C is obtained by bonding substrates C1, C2, C3, and C4 as will be described later. Between the substrate C1 and the substrate C2, as shown in FIGS. An electrode pattern 8 having 10 electrodes is formed.
Similarly to the electrode pattern 8, an electrode pattern 9 having 10 electrodes in the main flow direction is formed between the substrate C2 and the substrate C3, and the main flow direction is also formed between the substrate C3 and the substrate C4. An electrode pattern 10 having 10 electrodes is formed.

  One end portions (electrodes) 8a, 9a, 10a of the electrode patterns 8, 9, 10 are formed to be exposed in the microchannel S, and one end portions (terminals) of the electrode patterns 8, 9, 10 are formed. 8b (the other end portions of the electrode patterns 9 and 10 are not shown) are formed to be exposed on the surface of the left wall portion C.

Similarly, the right wall portion D is obtained by bonding substrates D1, D2, D3, and D4 as will be described later. Between the substrate D1 and the substrate D2, as shown in FIGS. An electrode pattern 11 having 10 electrodes in the main flow direction is formed.
Similarly to the electrode pattern 11, an electrode pattern 12 having 10 electrodes in the main flow direction is formed between the substrate D2 and the substrate D3, and the main flow direction is also formed between the substrate D3 and the substrate D4. An electrode pattern 13 having 10 electrodes is formed.
One end portions (electrodes) 11a, 12a, 13a of the electrode patterns 11, 12, 13 are formed to be exposed in the microchannel S, and one end portions (terminals) of the electrode patterns 11, 12, 13 are formed. 11b, 12b, and 13b are formed exposed on the surface of the right wall D.

Thus, in this microchannel structure 1, as shown in FIG. 1, there are three electrode patterns in total, three on the top, bottom, left and right walls of the microchannel S having a rectangular cross section. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each electrode pattern has ten electrodes in the mainstream direction. Each electrode in the flow channel direction (main flow direction) of the micro flow channel of each electrode pattern is formed on the same vertical cross section orthogonal to the micro flow channel.
That is, on the same vertical cross section of the microchannel S, there are three in each of the upper wall portion A, the lower wall portion B, the left wall portion C, and the right wall portion D constituting the microchannel, for a total of twelve. The electrodes are formed so as to be exposed in the microchannel, and constitute one electrode group. Then, ten electrode groups are formed in the micro flow path direction (main flow direction) with a predetermined interval.

This is schematically shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A. 4 shows a vertical cross section along the flow path direction of the micro flow path, and FIG. 5A shows a vertical cross section orthogonal to the flow path direction of the micro flow path.
As is clear from FIG. 5A, on the same vertical cross section orthogonal to the channel direction of the microchannel, the upper wall portion A, the lower wall portion B, and the left wall portion C that constitute the microchannel. 3 on each of the right wall portions D, a total of 12 electrodes (2a1, 3a1, 4a1, 5a1, 6a1, 7a1, 8a1, 9a1, 10a1, 11a1, 12a1, 13a1) are exposed in the microchannel. Thus, one electrode group is formed.

As is apparent from FIG. 4, this electrode group has 10 electrode groups formed along the flow path direction of the micro flow path.
In FIG. 4, the first electrode group (2a1, 3a1, 4a1, 5a1, 6a1, 7a1), the second electrode group (2a2, 3a2, 4a2, 5a2, 6a2, 7a2), the third electrode Groups (2a3, 3a3, 4a3, 5a3, 6a3, 7a3) are shown, and the 10th electrode group is omitted from the 4th electrode group.

In the above embodiment, the number of electrodes on the same vertical section of the microchannel S is three for each of the upper wall portion A, the lower wall portion B, the left wall portion C, and the right wall portion D. Although a total of 12 cases are shown, in order to accurately observe the particle concentration distribution in the flow path, the number of electrodes is preferably 8 or more, and more preferably 12 or more.
Moreover, although the case where ten electrode groups were formed in the micro flow path direction (main flow direction) was shown as an electrode group, normally 5 to 10 electrode groups are arranged in the main flow direction. It is preferable to change the concentration distribution according to the range to be observed.

Next, the usage method of this microchannel structure is demonstrated based on FIG. 5, FIG.
In the microchannel structure 1, for example, on the same vertical section orthogonal to the channel direction of the microchannel, between the electrode 2a1 and the electrode 3a1, between the electrode 2a1 and the electrode 4a1, The electrodes are combined, such as between the electrode 2a1 and the electrode 11a1, and a voltage is supplied from the voltage supply means between the combined electrodes.
And the qualitative distribution of the density | concentration of the particle | grains which flow through the inside of a macrochannel can be measured by measuring the capacitance between each electrode, an impedance, and an inductance by a measurement means .

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the combination of electrodes and the impedance.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the non-conductive particles in the flow channel are biased to the upper right on the vertical cross section orthogonal to the flow channel direction of the micro flow channel, FIG. ), The impedance value between the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 11a1 is high, but the impedance value between the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 9a1 is low.
Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the non-conductive particles in the flow channel are biased to the lower left, as shown in FIG. 6B, between the electrode 9a1 and the electrode 6a1 However, the impedance value between the electrode 9a1 and the electrode 3a1 is low.

Furthermore, for example, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the non-conductive particles in the flow path are uniformly distributed, the impedance value of any electrode combination takes a medium value. FIG. 6C shows the impedance value between the electrodes 3a1 and 12a1 and the impedance value between the electrodes 3a1 and 9a1.
Therefore, by measuring the impedance value between the electrodes, the deviation of the particle concentration can be qualitatively observed.

  The voltage applied between the electrodes is preferably not alternating current but alternating current, and is preferably as high as 100 kHz or higher, and the magnitude of the voltage is preferably 10 V or less from the viewpoint of accuracy. .

Next, a method for manufacturing a microchannel structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 7A, a previously patterned thin film electrode pattern 8 is sandwiched between two substrates C1 and C2. The electrode pattern 8 has 10 electrodes.
At this time, both end portions of the electrode pattern 8 are sandwiched so as to be exposed from the end portions of the substrates C1 and C2. Thereafter, the substrates C1 and C2 are bonded or bonded together to produce a substrate in which the sandwich structure of the substrate C1, the thin-film electrode pattern 8, and the substrate C2 is integrated (see FIG. 8A).

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7B, a thin-film electrode pattern 11 patterned in advance between two substrates D1 and D2 is exposed at the ends from the ends of the substrates D1 and D2. So as to sandwich. The electrode pattern 11 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates D1 and D2 are pressed or bonded to produce a substrate in which the sandwich structure of the substrate D1, the thin film electrode pattern 11, and the substrate D2 is integrated (see FIG. 8B).

Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, a thin film-like electrode pattern 9 and a substrate C3, which are pre-patterned, are disposed below the integrated substrates C1 and C2 of the sandwich structure. The end portion is sandwiched so as to be exposed from the end portions of the substrates C2 and C3. The electrode pattern 9 is formed with 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to manufacture an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 10A).

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, a thin film-like electrode pattern 12 and a substrate D3, which are pre-patterned, are arranged below the integrated substrates D1 and D2 of the sandwich structure, and the end portions of the electrode pattern 12 are arranged. Is sandwiched so as to be exposed from the ends of the substrates D2 and D3. The electrode pattern 12 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 10B).

Further, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), a thin-film electrode pattern 10 and a substrate C4 that are pre-patterned are arranged below the integrated substrates C1, C2, and C3 of the sandwich structure. 10 are sandwiched so as to be exposed from the ends of the substrates C3 and C4. The electrode pattern 10 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to manufacture an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 12A).

Further, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), a thin-film electrode pattern 13 and a substrate D4, which are pre-patterned, are arranged below the integrated substrates D1, D2, and D3 of the sandwich structure. The end portions are sandwiched so as to be exposed from the end portions of the substrates D3 and D4. The electrode pattern 13 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 12B).

  Through these steps, left and right side walls C and D are formed. The electrode patterns on the left and right side walls C and D are formed in three layers perpendicular to the flow path direction of the micro flow path. When three or more electrode pattern layers are required, the above steps are repeated as necessary.

Similarly to the left and right wall portions C and D, the upper wall A and the lower wall B of the macro flow channel structure 1 are also formed by laminating a substrate and a thin film electrode pattern.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13A, the end portion of the thin-film electrode pattern 2 patterned in advance is exposed from the end portions of the substrates A1 and A2 between the two substrates A1 and A2. The electrode pattern 2 is sandwiched between the two. The electrode pattern 2 is formed with ten electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates A1 and A2 are bonded to each other by pressure bonding or bonding to produce a substrate in which the substrate, thin film electrode pattern, and substrate sandwich structure are integrated (see FIG. 14A).

Further, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), the electrode pattern is formed so that the end of the thin-film electrode pattern 5 patterned in advance is exposed from the end of the substrates B1 and B2 between the two substrates B1 and B2. 5 is inserted. The electrode pattern 5 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates B1 and B2 are bonded or bonded together to produce a substrate in which the substrate, the thin film electrode pattern, and the substrate sandwich structure are integrated (see FIG. 14B).

Further, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), a thin film-like electrode pattern 3 and a substrate A3, which are pre-patterned, are arranged on the right side of the integrated substrates A1 and A2 of the sandwich structure, and the end portions of the electrode pattern 3 are arranged. Is sandwiched so as to be exposed from the ends of the substrates A2 and A3. The electrode pattern 3 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are unified by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce a substrate having an integrated sandwich structure (see FIG. 16A).

Further, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), a thin film electrode pattern 6 and a substrate B3 that are pre-patterned are arranged on the right part of the integrated substrates B1 and B2 of the sandwich structure. The portion is sandwiched so as to be exposed from the end portions of the substrates B2 and B3. The electrode pattern 6 has 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, they are similarly integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 16B).

Further, as shown in FIG. 17 (a), a thin-film electrode pattern 4 and a substrate A4, which are pre-patterned, are arranged on the right side of the integrated substrates A1, A2, and A3 of the sandwich structure. The end portion is sandwiched so as to be exposed from the end portions of the substrates A3 and A4. The electrode pattern 4 is formed with ten electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are unified by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce a substrate having an integrated sandwich structure (see FIG. 18A).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17B, a thin film electrode pattern 7 and a substrate B4 that have been patterned in advance are arranged on the right side of the integrated substrate B1, B2, B3 of the sandwich structure. Is sandwiched so that the end of the substrate is exposed from the ends of the substrates B3 and B4. The electrode pattern 7 is formed with 10 electrodes.
Thereafter, the substrates are integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion to produce an integrated substrate having a sandwich structure (see FIG. 18B).

  Through these steps, the upper and lower upper wall portions A and B are formed. This electrode pattern is formed in three layers perpendicular to the microchannel on the upper and lower channels of the vertical section of the microchannel, and if more electrode layers are required, the above steps are performed as necessary. Will be repeated.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 19A, the integrated substrate with the sandwich structure is arranged on the left and right with a predetermined distance, and the integrated substrate with the sandwich structure is arranged on the upper and lower sides with a predetermined distance. Thereafter, the microchannel structure 1 having the microchannel S at the center is formed as shown in FIG.
The microchannel structure 1 is formed by exposing a total of 12 electrodes in the microchannel on the same vertical cross section perpendicular to the channel direction, and constitutes one electrode group. Ten are formed along the flow path direction of the micro flow path.

  In the above embodiment, the substrate is not particularly limited as long as it has electrical insulation. Preferably, a plastic substrate or a glass substrate can be used, and the electrode is not particularly limited as long as it conducts electricity. For example, aluminum, silver, nickel, molybdenum, copper, gold Further, a metal material such as platinum can be used. In addition, the number of the inlets and outlets of the microchannel and the number of inlets and outlets thereof are not particularly limited.

In a Y-shaped microchannel with a total length of 20 mm, an inner diameter of 600 μm, and an inlet angle of 60 degrees, nylon bead water diluted with about 10 μm nylon beads at 5% by weight and ion exchange water are transferred from the microsyringe pump to silicon. The twelve electrodes of the present invention were allowed to flow into the microchannel provided in the channel cross section through the tube.
The flow rate of the nylon bead water was 500 ml / h and 1000 ml / h, and the impedance value between the electrodes was measured using an LCR meter. The measurement position was a position 1 mm downstream from the mixing position of the Y-shaped inlet.

The result is shown in FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram in which time is plotted on the horizontal axis and only the resistance component of the impedance value is plotted on the vertical axis.
FIG. 20A shows a case where nylon beads water is introduced from the right side of the channel inlet and ion exchange water is introduced from the left side of the channel inlet at a flow rate of nylon beads water of 1000 ml / h. The resistance components of 3a1 and electrode 12a1 are shown.
FIG. 20C shows resistance components of the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 9a1 under the same conditions.
As is apparent from this graph, the resistance component of the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 12a1 indicates 4.05 × 10 ⁵ [Ω], and the resistance component of the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 9a1 indicates 3.80 × 10 ⁵ [Ω]. Yes. That is, it can be seen that the resistance components of the electrodes 3a1 and 12a1 are higher than the resistance components of the electrodes 3a1 and 9a1.

FIG. 20B shows resistance components of the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 12a1 under the same conditions except that the flow rate of nylon bead water is 500 ml / h.
As is apparent from this graph, when the flow rate of the nylon bead water is small, the resistance component of the electrode 3a1 and the electrode 12a1 is 3.95 × 10 ⁵ [Ω], and when the flow rate of the nylon bead water is large, It can be seen that the resistance component of the electrode 12a1 is smaller than the resistance component of 4.05 × 10 ⁵ [Ω].
Thus, the qualitative deviation of the particle concentration in the vertical cross section of the flow path can be determined from the resistance component between the electrodes. When a plurality of electrode groups formed in the vertical cross section of the flow path are formed in the flow path direction of the flow path, it is possible to determine a qualitative change in the particle concentration in the flow path.

  The present invention can be suitably used in the fields of chemistry and biotechnology, the environment and energy, such as biochips, microreactors, microtas (μTAS), and lab-on-chip.

It is a perspective view which shows the microchannel structure concerning this invention. It is II sectional drawing of FIG. It is II-II sectional drawing of FIG. It is a schematic diagram showing the vertical cross section along the flow path direction of a micro flow path. It is a schematic diagram showing the vertical cross section orthogonal to the flow path direction of a micro flow path. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the combination of an electrode and impedance. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of a right-and-left wall. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of the left-right wall following FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of the left-right wall following FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of an up-and-down wall. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of the up-and-down wall following FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the manufacturing process of the upper and lower wall following FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state after the process shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the process of forming a microchannel structure by integrating the upper and lower walls and the left and right walls. It is a figure which shows the result of an Example. (A) is a top view which shows the board | substrate used as the base | substrate of the conventional microchannel structure, (b) is a top view which shows the board | substrate used as a lid | cover. (A) is a top view of the microchannel structure shown in FIG. 21, (b) is AA sectional drawing of (a). It is sectional drawing of the other conventional microchannel structure.

Explanation of symbols

A Upper wall A1 to A4 Substrate B Lower wall B1 to B4 Substrate C Left wall C1 to C4 Substrate D Right wall D1 to D4 Substrate S Microchannel 1 Microchannel structure 2 Electrode pattern 3 Electrode pattern 4 Electrode Pattern 5 Electrode pattern 6 Electrode pattern 7 Electrode pattern 8 Electrode pattern 9 Electrode pattern 10 Electrode pattern 11 Electrode pattern 12 Electrode pattern 13 Electrode pattern

Claims (4)

On the same vertical cross section perpendicular to the microchannel direction, the microchannel includes at least two of each of an upper wall portion, a lower wall portion, a left wall portion, and a right wall portion constituting the microchannel. A microchannel structure formed by exposing the electrode in the microchannel;
Liquid feeding means for flowing a liquid containing particles in the microchannel;
A voltage supply means for selecting a predetermined electrode combination from the electrodes and supplying a voltage between the selected electrode combinations;
Means for measuring at least one of capacitance, impedance, and inductance between the electrodes supplied with voltage by the voltage supply means;
A device for measuring the qualitative distribution of the particle concentration in the vertical cross section of the microchannel. A plurality of electrode groups each including at least eight electrodes provided on the same vertical cross section of the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, the left wall portion, and the right wall portion are provided in the flow channel direction of the micro flow channel. The apparatus for measuring a qualitative distribution of particle concentration in a vertical section of a microchannel according to claim 1, wherein A method of manufacturing a microchannel structure used in an apparatus for measuring a qualitative distribution of particle concentration in a vertical cross section of a microchannel according to claim 1 or 2,
A first step in which an end portion of an electrode pattern patterned in advance is sandwiched between two substrates so as to be exposed on an end surface of the substrate, and is integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion;
Further, the second substrate is sandwiched between the integrated substrate so that the end portion of the electrode pattern patterned in advance is exposed on the end surface of the substrate, and is integrated by pressure bonding or adhesion, and then the upper wall portion, the lower wall portion, Forming each of the wall and the left wall;
After the above steps, an upper wall portion, a lower wall portion, a left wall portion, and a right wall portion are arranged at predetermined intervals on the upper, lower, left, and right sides, integrated by crimping or bonding, and a microchannel is formed in the central portion; A method for producing a microchannel structure, comprising:   The electrode pattern is further laminated by repeating the second step to form each of a predetermined upper wall portion, lower wall portion, right wall portion, and left wall portion. Manufacturing method of microchannel structure.

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