Rapid switching microfluidic liquid drop preparation device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a rapid switching microfluidic droplet preparation device, which comprises a box body, a mounting seat and microfluidic chips symmetrically mounted on the mounting seat, a vertical plate is mounted on the top wall of the mounting seat, the side wall of the vertical plate is rotatably connected with a main shaft, the side wall of the main shaft is fixedly connected with a transverse plate, and the transverse plate is fixedly connected with the mounting seat. Rectangular holes are symmetrically formed in the side walls of the two ends of the transverse plate, a first connecting rod is fixedly connected to the side wall of the main shaft, a second connecting rod is rotationally connected to the other end of the first connecting rod, a sliding frame is installed on the side wall of the vertical plate, a sliding block is elastically connected to the inner side wall of the sliding frame through a spring, and the second connecting rod is rotationally connected with the side wall of the sliding block. According to the utility model, when liquid drops with different particle sizes need to be prepared, the motor is started to enable the other pipe fitting mounting plate to insert the two corresponding liquid supply pipes into the liquid inlet insertion holes in the other micro-fluidic chip, so that the other group of micro-fluidic chips can be automatically switched, and the liquid drops with different particle sizes can be conveniently prepared.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of microfluidic droplet preparation, in particular to a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device. Background Art

[0002] Droplet microfluidics, a key branch of microfluidic chip research, is a discontinuous flow microfluidic technology that has developed in recent years based on traditional continuous-flow microfluidic systems. It utilizes two immiscible liquid phases to generate dispersed microdroplets for experimental manipulation. In microfluidic chips, droplets are formed by the combined action of surface tension and shear forces at the interface between the two phases. Depending on the difference between the dispersed and continuous phases, droplets can be divided into two types: aqueous droplets in an oil phase (W / O droplets) and oil droplets in an aqueous phase (O / W droplets). Droplet microfluidics enables the controlled flow of droplets in tiny channels, creating a new platform for biological and medical research. To date, droplet technology has been widely applied in biomedical fields such as the analysis and detection of biomacromolecules such as DNA, proteins, and enzymes, as well as in drug delivery.

[0003] Currently, when using a microfluidic chip to prepare droplets, two liquid supply tubes are inserted into the liquid inlet holes on the microfluidic chip, and then the oil phase and the water phase are pumped into the two liquid supply tubes respectively to form droplets with an encapsulated structure. However, when the current microfluidic droplet preparation device needs to be shut down for a long time to replace microfluidic chips of different specifications when preparing droplets of different particle sizes, this leads to low preparation efficiency. In addition, high-speed cameras are often used to record and observe the formation of droplets in the microfluidic chip. If impurities such as dust adhere to the microfluidic chip, it will interfere with the subsequent recording and observation of the high-speed camera. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to solve the shortcomings of the prior art and to propose a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The top of the mounting base is provided with a vertical plate, the side wall of the vertical plate is rotatably connected to the main shaft, the side wall of the main shaft is fixedly connected to the cross plate, and the side walls at both ends of the cross plate are symmetrically provided with rectangular holes, the side walls of the main shaft are fixedly connected to the first connecting rod, the other end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the second connecting rod, the side wall of the vertical plate is provided with a sliding frame, the inner side wall of the sliding frame is elastically connected to the sliding block by a spring, the second connecting rod and the side wall of the sliding block are rotatably connected, the side walls of the vertical plate are symmetrically provided with grooves, each of the grooves is slidably connected to a slider, the side wall of the slider is fixedly connected to the sliding rod, the other end of the sliding rod is fixedly connected to the pipe mounting plate, and the side walls of the vertical plate are symmetrically fixed with limiting columns;

[0007] The box body is provided with a power mechanism for switching between different microfluidic chips.

[0008] Preferably, the first connecting rod is in contact with one of the limit columns, the sliding block is slidably connected to the inside of the sliding frame, the sliding frame is an inverted U-shaped structure, the first connecting rod and the cross plate are arranged perpendicular to each other, the sliding rod slides through an adjacent rectangular hole, and the bottom wall of the cross plate is symmetrically installed with a guide plate.

[0009] Preferably, the power mechanism includes a motor fixedly mounted on the side wall of the box body, the output end of the motor is fixedly connected to a reciprocating screw, the side wall of the reciprocating screw is threadedly connected to a nut, and the top of the nut is fixedly connected to a trapezoidal block.

[0010] Preferably, the bottom wall of the nut is fixedly connected to a rectangular rod, and the rectangular rod is slidably connected to the top wall of the mounting seat.

[0011] Preferably, the bottom wall of the nut is symmetrically fixedly connected with a push rod, the top wall of the mounting seat is symmetrically fixedly connected with a box body, the interior of the box body is sealingly and slidingly connected with a piston, and the push rod is fixedly connected to an adjacent piston side wall.

[0012] Preferably, a one-way air inlet pipe and a one-way air outlet pipe are fixedly connected through the side wall of the box body, and a support frame is symmetrically fixedly connected to the top wall of the mounting seat.

[0013] Preferably, each side wall of the support frame is fixedly mounted with an air jet seat, and the other end of each one-way air outlet pipe is fixedly connected to the air jet seat away from it.

[0014] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0015] 1. When it is necessary to prepare and collect droplets of different particle sizes, it is necessary to switch to the microfluidic chip on the left to work. By setting up structures such as the horizontal plate, sliding rod and pipe mounting plate, turning on the motor, and limiting the horizontal plate to rotate counterclockwise at a certain angle through structures such as the spring, the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod, the other pipe mounting plate is used to insert the corresponding two liquid supply tubes into the liquid inlet jacks on the other microfluidic chip, completing the automatic switching of the other set of microfluidic chips, facilitating the preparation of droplets of different particle sizes;

[0016] 2. By setting up structures such as a piston, a box body, and an air jet seat, the air jet seat adjacent to another microfluidic chip that needs to be automatically switched can eject a high-speed airflow. This part of the high-speed airflow blows the surface of the adjacent microfluidic chip, preventing dust and other impurities from adhering to the microfluidic chip, and improving the accuracy of subsequent observation of droplets formed inside the microfluidic chip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device proposed in the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship among the sliding rod, the horizontal plate and the rectangular hole in a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device proposed in the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of the upper portion of a mounting base in a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device proposed in the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure inside the box of a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device proposed in the present invention.

[0021] In the figure: 1. Box body; 2. Spindle; 3. Cross plate; 4. Rectangular hole; 5. Groove; 6. Slider; 7. Sliding rod; 8. Pipe mounting plate; 801. Liquid supply pipe; 9. Microfluidic chip; 901. Collection tube; 10. Guide plate; 11. First connecting rod; 12. Second connecting rod; 13. Slide frame; 14. Spring; 15. Sliding block; 16. Limiting column; 17. Motor; 18. Reciprocating screw; 19. Nut; 20. Trapezoidal block; 21. Rectangular rod; 22. Box body; 23. Piston; 24. Push rod; 25. One-way air inlet pipe; 26. One-way air outlet pipe; 27. Support frame; 28. Jet seat; 29. ​​Vertical plate; 30. Mounting seat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0023] Reference Figures 1-4 , a fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device, comprising:

[0024] The box body 1, the mounting base 30, the two microfluidic chips 9, the liquid supply tube 801 and the collection tube 901, the two microfluidic chips 9 are symmetrically mounted on the top of the mounting base 30, the top wall of the mounting base 30 is installed with a vertical plate 29, the side wall of the vertical plate 29 is rotatably connected to the main shaft 2, the side wall of the main shaft 2 is fixedly connected to the horizontal plate 3, and the side walls of both ends of the horizontal plate 3 are symmetrically provided with rectangular holes 4, the side wall of the main shaft 2 is fixedly connected to the first connecting rod 11, and the end of the first connecting rod 11 away from the main shaft 2 is rotatably connected to the second connecting rod 12, the side wall of the vertical plate 29 is installed with a slide frame 13, the inner side wall of the slide frame 13 is fixedly connected to the spring 14, the other end of the spring 14 is fixedly connected to the slide block 15, the end of the second connecting rod 12 away from the first connecting rod 11 is rotatably connected to the side wall of the slide block 15, the side wall of the vertical plate 29 is symmetrically provided with grooves 5, each groove 5 is slidably connected to a slider 6, and the side wall of the slider 6 is fixedly connected to the slide rod 7 (such as Figure 2 As shown in the figure, each slide rod 7 drives the corresponding slider 6 to slide inside the groove 5 when moving in the vertical direction. The other end of the slide rod 7 is fixedly connected to the pipe mounting plate 8, which is used to insert and fix the two liquid supply pipes 801. The side walls of the vertical plate 29 are symmetrically fixed with limit posts 16. The two limit posts 16 limit the rotation angle of the first connecting rod 11.

[0025] The box body 1 is provided with a power mechanism for switching between different microfluidic chips 9 .

[0026] The first connecting rod 11 is in contact with one of the limit columns 16, and the sliding block 15 is slidably connected to the inside of the sliding frame 13. The sliding frame 13 has an inverted U-shaped structure. The first connecting rod 11 and the cross plate 3 are arranged perpendicular to each other. The cross plate 3 drives the first connecting rod 11 to rotate synchronously through the main shaft 2. The slide rod 7 slides through an adjacent rectangular hole 4. When the rectangular hole 4 rotates with the cross plate 3, it will drive the corresponding slide rod 7 to move in the vertical direction. The guide plate 10 is symmetrically installed on the bottom wall of the cross plate 3, and the bottom end of the guide plate 10 has a semicircular structure.

[0027] like Figure 3 As shown, the power mechanism includes a motor 17 fixedly mounted on the side wall of the box body 1. The motor 17 is a prior art and will not be described in detail here. The output end of the motor 17 is fixedly connected to a reciprocating screw 18, and a nut 19 is threadedly connected to the side wall of the reciprocating screw 18. The top of the nut 19 is fixedly connected to a trapezoidal block 20, and the trapezoidal block 20 and the guide plate 10 slide against each other.

[0028] The bottom wall of the nut 19 is fixedly connected with a rectangular rod 21 , and the rectangular rod 21 is slidably connected to the top wall of the mounting seat 30 . Under the action of the rectangular rod 21 , the nut 19 will not rotate.

[0029] The bottom wall of the nut 19 is symmetrically fixedly connected with a push rod 24, the top wall of the mounting seat 30 is symmetrically fixedly connected with the box body 22, the interior of the box body 22 is sealed and slidably connected with a piston 23, and the push rod 24 is fixedly connected to the side wall of an adjacent piston 23.

[0030] A one-way air inlet pipe 25 and a one-way air outlet pipe 26 are fixedly connected to the side wall of the box body 22, and a support frame 27 is symmetrically fixedly connected to the top wall of the mounting seat 30. The other end of the one-way air inlet pipe 25 is connected to the clean air tank outside. The one-way air inlet pipe 25 only allows clean air from the outside to enter the box body 22.

[0031] A jet seat 28 is fixedly installed on the side wall of each support frame 27. The jet seat 28 is a prior art. A nozzle is provided on the side wall of the jet seat 28. After the gas enters the jet seat 28, it is ejected from the nozzle. The other end of each one-way air outlet pipe 26 is fixedly connected to the jet seat 28 away from it, ensuring that when the nut 19 moves to the right, the microfluidic chip 9 on the left is cleaned, and when the nut 19 moves to the left, the microfluidic chip 9 on the right is cleaned. The one-way air outlet pipe 26 only allows the gas inside the box body 22 to be ejected from the nozzle head of the jet seat 28 to form a high-speed airflow.

[0032] In the present invention, two microfluidic chips 9 of different models are installed on the mounting seat 30 in advance, and the collection tube 901 is respectively inserted and installed with the two microfluidic chips 9. The bottom of the two liquid supply tubes 801 is a hard insert tube, and the rest is a soft tube body. The soft tube body part of the liquid supply tube 801 located inside the box body 1 is long enough and will not interfere with the movement of the pipe mounting plate 8 in the vertical direction.

[0033] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, at this time, the right slider 6 is located at the bottom end of the groove 5 and drives the pipe mounting plate 8 and the two liquid supply tubes 801 fixed thereto through the slide rod 7 to be inserted into the two liquid inlet holes on the top of the microfluidic chip 9. At this time, the experimenter injects the water phase and the liquid phase into the two liquid supply tubes 801 respectively through external driving pumps and other devices, so that the water phase and the liquid phase enter the microfluidic chip 9 and circulate. The droplets formed by the water phase and the liquid phase in the microfluidic chip 9 will be discharged and collected through the collection tube 901.

[0034] When it is necessary to prepare and collect droplets of different particle sizes, it is necessary to switch to the microfluidic chip 9 on the left to work, then turn on the motor 17, the output end of the motor 17 drives the reciprocating screw 18 fixedly connected to it to rotate, and the nut 19 threadedly connected to the side wall of the reciprocating screw 18 will reciprocate along the axial direction of the reciprocating screw 18, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, when the nut 19 moves to the right, the nut 19 will drive the trapezoidal block 20 and the guide plate 10 on the right side of the bottom wall of the horizontal plate 3 to slide against each other. Then, the guide plate 10 will drive the horizontal plate 3 to rotate counterclockwise by a certain angle after being pushed by the contact of the inclined part of the trapezoidal block 20. The rectangular hole 4 on the right side of the horizontal plate 3 will drive the sliding rod 7 and the pipe mounting plate 8 sliding through it to move upward synchronously. The pipe mounting plate 8 will drive the corresponding two liquid supply tubes 801 to move upward, and then disengage from the microfluidic chip 9 on the right.

[0035] The cross plate 3 will also drive the first connecting rod 11 to rotate a certain angle through the main shaft 2, and the first connecting rod 11 will drive the second connecting rod 12 to move, so that the second connecting rod 12 drives the sliding block 15 to move, so that the sliding block 15 moves upward a certain distance inside the sliding frame 13 and squeezes the spring 14. When the cross plate 3 rotates to a horizontal state, the first connecting rod 11 no longer pushes the sliding block 15 upward through the second connecting rod 12. Subsequently, under the elastic force of the spring 14, the sliding block 15 will move downward, so that the sliding block 15 drives the second connecting rod 12 to move. A connecting rod 11 contacts the limit column 16 on the left side. At this time, the horizontal plate 3 will also rotate counterclockwise by a certain angle to be tilted to the lower left. During the counterclockwise rotation of the horizontal plate 3, the rectangular hole 4 on the left side of the horizontal plate 3 will drive the sliding rod 7 sliding through it to move downward, and the sliding rod 7 drives the pipe mounting plate 8 fixedly connected to it to move downward synchronously, so that the pipe mounting plate 8 will insert the corresponding two liquid supply tubes 801 into the liquid inlet jacks on the microfluidic chip 9 on the left, completing the automatic switching of another group of microfluidic chips 9.

[0036] like Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, in the process of the nut 19 moving to the right, the nut 19 will also drive the two push rods 24 fixedly connected to its bottom to move synchronously to the right, and the push rod 24 on the right side drives the piston 23 fixedly connected to it to slide sealedly inside the corresponding box body 22, and then squeezes the gas inside the box body 22 through the one-way air outlet pipe 26 to the air injection seat 28 farther on the left to form a high-speed airflow. This part of the high-speed airflow blows the surface of the microfluidic chip 9 on the left, avoiding dust and other impurities adhering to the microfluidic chip 9 on the left, thereby improving the subsequent observation accuracy of droplets formed inside the microfluidic chip 9.

[0037] The above is only a preferred specific implementation method of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to this. Any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can make equivalent replacements or changes based on the technical solution and utility model concept of the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device, comprising a housing (1), a mounting base (30), two microfluidic chips (9), a liquid supply tube (801) and a collection tube (901), characterized in that: The top wall of the mounting seat (30) is provided with a vertical plate (29), the side wall of the vertical plate (29) is rotatably connected to the main shaft (2), the side wall of the main shaft (2) is fixedly connected to the horizontal plate (3), and rectangular holes (4) are symmetrically opened on the side walls of both ends of the horizontal plate (3), the side wall of the main shaft (2) is fixedly connected to the first connecting rod (11), the other end of the first connecting rod (11) is rotatably connected to the second connecting rod (12), the side wall of the vertical plate (29) is provided with a sliding frame (13), and the sliding frame (1 3) The inner side wall is elastically connected to a sliding block (15) via a spring (14); the second connecting rod (12) and the side wall of the sliding block (15) are rotatably connected; the side wall of the vertical plate (29) is symmetrically provided with grooves (5); each groove (5) is slidably connected to a slider (6); the side wall of the slider (6) is fixedly connected to a sliding rod (7); the other end of the sliding rod (7) is fixedly connected to a pipe mounting plate (8); and the side wall of the vertical plate (29) is symmetrically fixedly provided with a limiting column (16); The box (1) is provided with a power mechanism for switching between different microfluidic chips (9).

2. A fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first connecting rod (11) is in contact with one of the limiting columns (16), the sliding block (15) is slidably connected to the inside of the sliding frame (13), and the sliding frame (13) is in an inverted U-shaped structure. The first connecting rod (11) and the cross plate (3) are arranged perpendicular to each other, the sliding rod (7) slides through an adjacent rectangular hole (4), and the bottom wall of the cross plate (3) is symmetrically installed with a guide plate (10).

3. The fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power mechanism comprises a motor (17) fixedly mounted on a side wall of the box body (1); an output end of the motor (17) is fixedly connected to a reciprocating screw (18); a nut (19) is threadedly connected to the side wall of the reciprocating screw (18); and a trapezoidal block (20) is fixedly connected to the top of the nut (19).

4. A fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom wall of the nut (19) is fixedly connected to a rectangular rod (21), and the rectangular rod (21) is slidably connected to the top wall of the mounting seat (30).

5. The fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom wall of the nut (19) is symmetrically fixedly connected to a push rod (24), the top wall of the mounting seat (30) is symmetrically fixedly connected to a box body (22), the interior of the box body (22) is sealingly and slidably connected to a piston (23), and the push rod (24) is fixedly connected to the side wall of an adjacent piston (23).

6. The fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 5, characterized in that: A one-way air inlet pipe (25) and a one-way air outlet pipe (26) are fixedly connected to the side wall of the box body (22), and a support frame (27) is symmetrically fixedly connected to the top wall of the mounting seat (30).

7. The fast-switching microfluidic droplet preparation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: An air jet seat (28) is fixedly mounted on the side wall of each support frame (27), and the other end of each one-way air outlet pipe (26) is fixedly connected to the air jet seat (28) away from the one-way air outlet pipe (26).

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