Particle separation device capable of being discarded

Abstract

The utility model provides a particle separation device capable of being discarded. The particle separation device comprises a signal generator, a power amplifier, an ultrasonic transducer, a water cavity, a photonic crystal plate, a microfluid cavity channel, an injection pump and a collection tank, the signal generator transmits the modulation waveform to the power amplifier for amplification; the modulated waveform amplified by the power amplifier is used for exciting the ultrasonic transducer to transmit an ultrasonic signal; the ultrasonic transducer is embedded in the water cavity to form a sound wave transmitting device; the photonic crystal plate and the microfluid cavity channel are bonded to form a sorting chip, and the sorting chip is immersed in the water cavity; sound waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer are used for exciting the phononic crystal plate to generate a resonance sound field; after the injection pump injects a sample into the microfluid cavity channel, different particles are sorted under the action of a sound field in the microfluid cavity channel, and the sample is collected through the collecting tank. The device disclosed by the utility model is simple, and the separated sample is easy to collect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of microfluids, in particular to a disposable particle separation device. Background Art

[0002] Screening for specific particles or cells from mixed samples is important in many fields, including biomedical research, chemical analysis, and wastewater treatment. For example, HIV diagnosis and treatment rely on isolating CD4+ T lymphocytes from human blood; similarly, malaria diagnosis and treatment rely on separating parasite-infected red blood cells from uninfected cells. Traditional methods, such as centrifugation, filtration, and solvent addition, offer the advantages of rapid, high-volume processing. However, these methods are often insufficient to fully meet increasingly stringent requirements, such as small differences in density and size of mixed particles, biocompatibility, continuous processing, and device miniaturization.

[0003] In recent years, thanks to the development of micro-nanofabrication technologies such as soft lithography, the fabrication of multifunctional microfluidic devices has made great progress to achieve chip lab integration. Acoustofluidics is an emerging interdisciplinary science involving acoustics, chemistry, fluid physics, microelectronics, and new materials. It combines acoustics with microfluidics technology, using sound waves as a driving force to manipulate fluids or particles in microchannels. Due to differences in density, compressibility, and size, particles are subject to different acoustic radiation forces. When they flow in microfluidic channels, the difference in acoustic radiation forces leads to different motion trajectories, thus separating the particles. Acoustic waves have the advantages of being contactless, having high energy, and being harmless to particles. Therefore, acoustic fluidics is very suitable for sorting biological particles such as cells, bacteria, and model organisms.

[0004] Currently, the most widely used acoustofluidic separation method is surface wave acoustofluidics. Surface wave acoustofluidics consists of a surface acoustic wave device and a microfluidic channel. When excited by interdigitated electrodes, the surface acoustic waves manipulate the movement of particles within the microfluidic channel, thereby separating different particles. However, existing separation devices are complex and costly to manufacture. They are also inconvenient to collect separated samples and prone to channel clogging. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a disposable particle separation device to solve the above problem.

[0006] The utility model provides a disposable particle separation device, comprising: a signal generator (1), a power amplifier (2), an ultrasonic transducer (3), a water cavity (4), a phononic crystal plate (5), a microfluidic cavity (6), an injection pump (7), and a collection tank (8); the signal generator (1) transmits a modulated waveform to the power amplifier (2) for amplification; the modulated waveform amplified by the power amplifier (2) is used to stimulate the ultrasonic transducer (3) to emit an ultrasonic signal; the ultrasonic transducer (3) is embedded with a phononic crystal plate (5), a microfluidic cavity (6), an injection pump (7), and a collection tank (8); The device is embedded in the water cavity (4) to form an acoustic wave emitting device; the phononic crystal plate (5) is bonded to the microfluidic cavity (6) to form a sorting chip, and the sorting chip is immersed in the water cavity (4); the acoustic wave generated by the ultrasonic transducer (3) is used to excite the phononic crystal plate (5) to generate a resonant acoustic field; after the injection pump (7) injects the sample into the microfluidic cavity (6), different particles are sorted under the action of the acoustic field in the microfluidic cavity (6), and the sample is collected by the collection tank (8).

[0007] In another implementation of the present invention, the phononic crystal plate (5) is a thin plate with a periodic grid on one side.

[0008] In another implementation of the present invention, the phononic crystal plate (5) is made of stainless steel, with a plate thickness of t=50 μm, a grid thickness of h=50 μm, a grid width of w=50 μm, and a grid spacing of a=300 μm.

[0009] In another implementation of the present invention, the microfluidic cavity (6) includes two inlets and two outlets.

[0010] The disposable particle separation device of the utility model utilizes the lateral acoustic radiation force of the resonant sound field of the phononic crystal plate on the particles to separate particles of different sizes and material parameters; the material and size of the microfluidic cavity can be adjusted as needed; the incident flow velocity and incident sound pressure can be adjusted as needed to adjust the particle separation effect; the device is simple, and the samples are easy to collect after separation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the embodiments or the description of the prior art. By reading the detailed description of the embodiments below, the advantages and benefits of the solutions will become clear to those skilled in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. In the drawings:

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a disposable particle separation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a sorting chip according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission spectrum of a phononic crystal plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the resonant acoustic field in a microfluidic cavity according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the motion trajectory simulation of polystyrene particles of two sizes according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and in detail below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art should fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 1 A disposable particle separation device is provided in an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment mainly includes the following steps:

[0019] Signal generator (1), power amplifier (2), ultrasonic transducer (3), water cavity (4), phononic crystal plate (5), microfluidic cavity (6), injection pump (7), collection tank (8).

[0020] The signal generator (1) transmits the modulated waveform to the power amplifier (2) for amplification.

[0021] The modulated waveform amplified by the power amplifier (2) is used to excite the ultrasonic transducer (3) to transmit an ultrasonic signal.

[0022] The ultrasonic transducer (3) is embedded in the water cavity (4) to form a sound wave emitting device.

[0023] like Figure 2 As shown, the phononic crystal plate (5) is bonded to the microfluidic cavity (6) to form a sorting chip, and the sorting chip is immersed in the water cavity (4).

[0024] The sound waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer (3) are used to excite the phononic crystal plate (5) to generate a resonant sound field.

[0025] After the injection pump (7) injects the sample into the microfluidic cavity (6), different particles are sorted under the action of the acoustic field in the microfluidic cavity (6), and the sample is collected by the collection tank (8).

[0026] For example, when in use, the water cavity (4) is filled with water as a coupling agent, the acoustofluidic chip is placed in the water cavity (4), the ultrasonic transducer (2) transmits a plane wave to the phononic crystal plate (5), causing the phononic crystal plate (5) to resonate and generate Lamb waves, and when the particles flow in the microfluidic cavity (6) bonded to the phononic crystal plate (5), they are subjected to the lateral (parallel to the phononic crystal plate) acoustic radiation force generated by the Lamb wave. The injection pump (7), the microfluidic cavity (6) and the collection tank (8) are connected by a hose. Due to the difference in radiation force on particles of different sizes, densities and sound speeds, the movement trajectories of the particles are different, so they are separated and flow to different outlets for collection.

[0027] The disposable particle separation device of the utility model utilizes the lateral acoustic radiation force of the resonant sound field of the phononic crystal plate on the particles to separate particles of different sizes and material parameters; the material and size of the microfluidic cavity can be adjusted as needed; the incident flow velocity and incident sound pressure can be adjusted as needed to adjust the particle separation effect; the device is simple, and the samples are easy to collect after separation.

[0028] In another implementation of the present invention, the phononic crystal plate (5) is a thin plate with a periodic grid on one side.

[0029] In another implementation of the present invention, the phononic crystal plate (5) is made of stainless steel, with a plate thickness of t=50 μm, a grid thickness of h=50 μm, a grid width of w=50 μm, and a grid spacing of a=300 μm.

[0030] For example, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown in the figure, under the vertical incidence of a 4MHz plane wave, the phononic crystal plate completely immersed in water will resonate, and a non-leakage Lamb wave of the A0 mode will be generated in the plate, and the sound field will show a standing wave distribution in the direction of the grid arrangement.

[0031] In another embodiment of the present invention, the microfluidic cavity (6) includes two inlets and two outlets.

[0032] It should be understood that the sorting chip composed of the phononic crystal plate (5) and the microfluidic cavity (6) is separated from the sound source, and the chip can be discarded and replaced; the phononic crystal plate (5) can be mass-produced by chemical etching; the microfluidic cavity (6) can be repeatedly produced by using a silicon mask produced by photolithography; and the ultrasonic transducer (3) can be mass-produced and reused, so the cost is relatively low.

[0033] In another implementation of the present invention, the motion of different particles in the channel is simulated, and the acoustic radiation force on the particles in the acoustic field is:

[0034]

[0035] in, is the spatial gradient operator, r is the particle radius, κ p , κ0 is the compressibility coefficient of particles and water, ρ p , ρ0 is the density of particles and water, c0 is the speed of sound in water, p1 and u1 are the first-order sound pressure field and velocity field.

[0036] Spherical particles are also subject to the drag force of water flow in the channel:

[0037] F D =6πμr(u f -u p )

[0038] Where μ is the fluid viscosity, u f is the flow velocity, u p is the particle velocity.

[0039] The equation of motion of the particle is described by Newton's second law:

[0040]

[0041] Among them, m p is the particle mass and t is the time.

[0042] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, COMSOL software was used to simulate the motion trajectory of two sizes of polystyrene particles in the channel: the diameters are 5 μm and 10 μm respectively, and the material parameter is κ p =1.72E-10Pa -1 ,ρ p =1050kg / m 3 Under the extrusion of the sheath flow, the particles flow along the upper part of the channel. When passing through the sound field area, the sound field will give the particles a lateral acoustic radiation force, causing the particles to deflect and move toward the lower part of the channel. Due to the difference in radiation force, larger particles have a larger deflection displacement, while smaller particles have a smaller deflection displacement. Finally, they can flow out from two outlets respectively, realizing particle separation.

[0043] Thus far, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve the desired results. Furthermore, the processes depicted in the accompanying drawings do not necessarily require the specific order shown or the sequential order shown to achieve the desired results. In certain embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0044] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0045] In the description of this utility model, the terms "first" and "second" are used only to facilitate the description of different components or names and should not be understood to indicate or imply a sequential relationship, relative importance, or implicitly specify the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features.

[0046] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art in the art of the present invention. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0047] It should be noted that although the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Within the scope described by the claims, various modifications and variations that can be made by those skilled in the art without inventive effort still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] The examples of the embodiments of the present invention are intended to briefly illustrate the technical features of the embodiments of the present invention so that those skilled in the art can intuitively understand the technical features of the embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to be an improper limitation of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0049] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A disposable particle separation device, characterized in that: include: Signal generator (1), power amplifier (2), ultrasonic transducer (3), water chamber (4), phononic crystal plate (5), microfluidic channel (6), syringe pump (7), collection tank (8); The signal generator (1) transmits the modulated waveform to the power amplifier (2) for amplification; The modulated waveform amplified by the power amplifier (2) is used to stimulate the ultrasonic transducer (3) to transmit an ultrasonic signal; The ultrasonic transducer (3) is embedded in the water cavity (4) to form a sound wave emitting device; The phononic crystal plate (5) is bonded to the microfluidic cavity (6) to form a sorting chip, and the sorting chip is immersed in the water cavity (4); The sound waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer (3) are used to excite the phononic crystal plate (5) to generate a resonant sound field; After the injection pump (7) injects the sample into the microfluidic cavity (6), different particles are sorted under the action of the acoustic field in the microfluidic cavity (6), and the sample is collected by the collection tank (8).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The phononic crystal plate (5) is a thin plate with a periodic grid on one side.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The phononic crystal plate (5) is made of stainless steel, with a plate thickness of t=50 μm, a grid thickness of h=50 μm, a grid width of w=50 μm, and a grid spacing of a=300 μm.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The microfluidic cavity (6) comprises two inlets and two outlets.

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