High-Throughput dPCR Chip With Valve-Isolated Reaction Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital PCR (dPCR) technologies face challenges in ensuring high-throughput testing with accurate quantification and minimizing contamination between reaction chambers, particularly in flexible and efficient sample liquid management.
Innovation Solution
A high-throughput test chip design featuring a backplane and cover plate with accommodation chambers, each equipped with a test chip unit, liquid inlets and outlets, and a connector with pipelines and valve structures allowing flexible selection and control of sample liquid distribution, preventing contamination by isolating unused chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple accommodation chambers are used for high-throughput testing, then test throughput is improved, but contamination risk between chambers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the fluid control into multiple independent pipeline groups, where each group serves specific accommodation chambers. Valve structures are segmented to control each pipeline independently, allowing selective activation of chambers while isolating others, thus preventing cross-contamination while maintaining high throughput capability
Solution Approach 2:
The valve structures enable dynamic control of pipeline connections, allowing the system to adaptively configure which accommodation chambers are active during each test cycle. This dynamic isolation ensures that only used chambers receive sample liquid, eliminating contamination risk to idle chambers while preserving high-throughput functionality
2Object-affected harmful factors
If valve structures are added to control sample liquid distribution, then contamination prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing individual valve control for every single pipeline connection, the system implements valve structures at strategic points in the pipeline groups. This partial control approach is sufficient to isolate accommodation chambers when needed, achieving contamination prevention without the excessive complexity of full individual control
Solution Approach 2:
The valve structures serve multiple functions: they control sample liquid flow distribution, isolate idle accommodation chambers, and enable flexible configuration of active test chambers. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving comprehensive contamination prevention
3Productivity
If pipeline groups with shared outlets are used, then sample liquid management efficiency is improved, but control precision over individual chambers decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The shared outlet pipelines are equipped with valve structures that enable dynamic control of sample liquid distribution. Although pipelines share common outlets, the valves allow precise routing of sample liquid to specific accommodation chambers based on test requirements, maintaining control precision while benefiting from the efficiency of shared pipeline infrastructure
Data Source
AI summary
A high-throughput test chip includes: a backplane, a cover plate and a connector. The backplane and the cover plate are aligned to form a plurality of accommodation chambers. Test chip units are disposed on one side of the backplane facing the cover plate, and each of the test chip units is located in the corresponding accommodation chamber. Each of the accommodation chambers is provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet. The connector includes pipelines; each of the pipelines is provided with a valve structure configured to control connection or disconnection of the pipeline. In each pair of a pipeline and an accommodation chamber, an inlet of the pipeline communicates with the liquid outlet of the accommodation chamber; the pipelines form at least one pipeline group, each pipeline group at least includes two pipelines, and the pipelines in each pipeline group share the same sample liquid outlet.