Microbead loading device for micro-fluidic chip

Abstract

The micro-bead loading device comprises guide rails and a stock bin arranged above the guide rails, a discharging hole is formed in the bottom of the stock bin, a switch is arranged at the position of the discharging hole, the guide rails comprise the first guide rail and the second guide rail which are parallel to each other, and the stock bin, the first guide rail and the second guide rail are in a door frame shape. The micro-fluidic chip to be loaded with the micro-beads is placed on the guide rail and moved to the position below the stock bin, after the micro-fluidic chip reaches the loading position, the switch is turned on, the micro-beads in the stock bin fall into the designated position of the micro-fluidic chip along the discharging hole, the switch is turned off to wait for loading operation of the next micro-fluidic chip, and the micro-beads are loaded on the micro-fluidic chip by turning on and turning off the switch and moving the micro-fluidic chip on the guide rail. And uninterrupted loading operation can be realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of microfluidic chips, in particular to a microsphere loading device for a microfluidic chip. Background Art

[0002] Microfluidic chip technology (microfluidics), also known as a microfluidic chip laboratory or a lab-on-a-chip, refers to a chemical or biological laboratory constructed on a chip with an area of several square centimeters. It integrates basic operation units such as sample preparation, reaction, separation, detection, cell culture, sorting, and lysis involved in fields such as chemistry and biology onto a very small chip. A network is formed by microchannels, and a controllable fluid runs through the entire system to realize various functions in fields such as biological, chemical, and medical diagnosis.

[0003] A microfluidic chip generally has various microspheres for reactions inside. These microspheres are extremely small in size. How to quickly and accurately load the microspheres during the assembly of the microfluidic chip will seriously affect the production and manufacturing of the chip. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] In view of the above problems, the utility model provides a microsphere loading device for a microfluidic chip, which has the advantages of simple structure, accurate and reliable microsphere loading, ensuring the rapid production of the microfluidic chip, and improving production efficiency.

[0005] The technical solution of the utility model is as follows:

[0006] A microsphere loading device for a microfluidic chip includes a guide rail, a material bin arranged above the guide rail, and a tray arranged on the guide rail and slidable along the guide rail.

[0007] The guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail that are parallel to each other.

[0008] The material bin is arranged between the first guide rail and the second guide rail. The first guide rail, the material bin, and the second guide rail form a door frame shape. A blanking hole is arranged at the bottom of the material bin.

[0009] The material bin includes a bottom plate, a pull plate, a surrounding plate, and a cover plate that are stacked on top of each other along the height direction from the end close to the guide rail to the end far from the guide rail. The bottom plate, the surrounding plate, and the cover plate form a cuboid structure. An opening is arranged on the side of the surrounding plate close to the bottom plate. The pull plate penetrates through the opening, and the pull plate is parallel to the bottom plate.

[0010] A long strip-shaped through hole is arranged along the axial direction at the center of the pull plate, and a limiting protrusion that can slide in the long strip-shaped through hole is arranged at the center of the bottom plate.

[0011] The blanking hole is arranged on the bottom plate and the pull plate.

[0012] The blanking hole is a vertical through hole.

[0013] The bottom plate is symmetrically provided with slide rails on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the opening, and the pull plate is arranged between the slide rails.

[0014] A limit block is arranged at one end of the guide rail in the length direction.

[0015] A push rod is arranged outside the limit block.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present utility model are as follows:

[0017] The microfluidic chips to be loaded with beads are sequentially placed on the guide rail, and the blanking hole is opened at the corresponding position of the material bin to ensure that the microbeads to be loaded can accurately enter the microfluidic chips. Quantitative loading can be achieved through the cooperation of the pull plate and the blanking hole, ensuring the reliability of the bead loading, effectively improving the assembly efficiency of the microfluidic chips, and at the same time ensuring the assembly quality of the microfluidic chips. Description of the Drawings

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 It is an exploded structure schematic diagram of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a pull plate of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0021] Figure 4 It is another schematic diagram of the structure of a pull plate of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0022] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a bottom plate of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0023] Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of the structure of a bottom plate of a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0024] Description of the Reference Numerals:

[0025] 1 is the guide rail, 2 is the material bin, 3 is the tray, 4 is the blanking hole, 5 is the limit block, 11 is the first guide rail, 12 is the second guide rail, 21 is the bottom plate, 22 is the pull plate, 23 is the surrounding plate, 24 is the cover plate, 221 is the long strip through hole, 211 is the limit protrusion, 212 is the slide rail. Detailed Embodiments

[0026] The embodiments of the present utility model will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Embodiment

[0027] As Figure 1 shown, a microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip includes a guide rail 1, a material bin 2 arranged above the guide rail 1, and a tray 3 arranged on the guide rail 1 and slidable along the guide rail 1.

[0028] The guide rail 1 includes a first guide rail 11 and a second guide rail 12 that are parallel to each other.

[0029] The material bin 2 is arranged between the first guide rail 11 and the second guide rail 12. The first guide rail 11, the material bin 2, and the second guide rail 12 form a door frame shape, and a blanking hole 4 is arranged at the bottom of the material bin 2.

[0030] The working principle of the above technical solution is as follows:

[0031] A material bin 2 is arranged at the upper part of the guide rail 1, and a tray 3 is slidably arranged on the guide rail 1. A microfluidic chip to be loaded with microbeads is placed on the tray 3, and it slides along the guide rail 1 to the lower part of the material bin 2. The blanking hole 4 at the bottom of the material bin 2 is directly opposite to the position where the microbeads are to be loaded. By intermittently opening the blanking hole 4, the loading of the microbeads into the microfluidic chip is realized.

[0032] The material bin 2 includes a bottom plate 21, a pull plate 22, a surrounding plate 23, and a cover plate 24 that are stacked on top of each other along its height direction from the end close to the guide rail 1 to the end far from the guide rail 1. The bottom plate 21, the surrounding plate 23, and the cover plate 24 form a cuboid structure. An opening is arranged on the side of the surrounding plate 23 close to the bottom plate 21, and the pull plate 22 penetrates through the opening. The pull plate 22 is parallel to the bottom plate 21.

[0033] As Figures 2 - 6 shown, the material bin 2 is a cuboid structure, and different blanking holes 4 can be arranged on the bottom plate 21 and the pull plate 22 according to the number and position of the microbeads to be loaded.

[0034] A long strip-shaped through hole 221 is arranged along the axial direction of the center of the pull plate 22. A limiting protrusion 211 that can slide in the long strip-shaped through hole 221 is arranged at the center of the bottom plate 21. The blanking hole 4 is arranged on the bottom plate 21 and the pull plate 22. The blanking hole 4 is a vertical through hole. By sliding the relative position of the pull plate 22 and the bottom plate 21 between the long strip-shaped through hole 221 and the limiting protrusion 211, the microbeads to be loaded in the material bin 2 are quantitatively dropped through the blanking hole 4 to the position to be loaded. The microbeads to be loaded first fall quantitatively into the blanking hole 4 of the pull plate 22. The pull plate 22 moves, and the blanking hole 4 of the pull plate 22 is communicated with the blanking hole 4 of the bottom plate 21 to realize quantitative blanking. After one blanking is completed, the pull plate 22 returns to its original position to close the blanking hole 4 and wait for the next blanking.

[0035] The bottom plate 21 is symmetrically provided with slide rails 212 on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the opening. The pull plate 22 is arranged between the slide rails 212, which can ensure that the pull plate 22 slides along the bottom plate and ensure the reliability of material discharging.

[0036] A limit block 5 is arranged at one end of the guide rail 1 in the length direction, and a push rod 6 is arranged outside the limit block 5. The limit block 5 ensures reliable positioning of the microfluidic chip during loading, and the push rod 6 takes out the microfluidic chip after the loading is completed.

[0037] The microbeads that can be loaded by this technology include magnetic beads, filter elements, etc.

[0038] This technology can also be provided with a sensor to control the opening and closing of the pull plate 22, and a conveyor belt is set to continuously convey the microfluidic reagent card to be loaded, so as to realize the automation of the loading operation.

[0039] The above embodiments only represent the specific implementation manners of the present utility model, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the patent of the present utility model. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present utility model, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip, characterized in that, It includes a guide rail, a silo arranged above the guide rail, and a tray arranged on the guide rail and slidable along the guide rail; The guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail that are parallel to each other; The silo is arranged between the first guide rail and the second guide rail. The first guide rail, the silo, and the second guide rail form a door frame shape, and a blanking hole is arranged at the bottom of the silo.

2. The microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 1, wherein The silo includes a bottom plate, a pull plate, a side plate, and a cover plate that are superimposed on each other from one end close to the guide rail to the other end away from the guide rail along its height direction. The bottom plate, the side plate, and the cover plate form a cuboid structure. An opening is arranged on the side of the side plate close to the bottom plate, and the pull plate penetrates through the opening. The pull plate is parallel to the bottom plate.

3. A microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 2, characterized in that, A long strip-shaped through hole is arranged along the axial direction of the center of the pull plate, and a limiting protrusion that can slide in the long strip-shaped through hole is arranged at the center of the bottom plate.

4. A microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The blanking hole is arranged on the bottom plate and the pull plate.

5. The microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 4, characterized in that, The blanking hole is a vertical through hole.

6. The microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 2, characterized in that, Sliding rails are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the bottom plate in a direction perpendicular to the opening, and the pull plate is arranged between the sliding rails.

7. A microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 1, characterized in that, A limiting block is arranged at one end in the length direction of the guide rail.

8. A microbead loading device for a microfluidic chip according to claim 7, characterized in that, A push rod is arranged outside the limiting block.

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