Inkjet Biospecimen Discharge Surfactant Prevents Port Clogging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for discharging biospecimens using inkjet techniques face issues with clogging due to protein adhesion and loss of biological activity, as existing solutions do not effectively prevent molecule adsorption around discharge ports or maintain biochemical activity.
Innovation Solution
A liquid for discharge containing a biospecimen and an ethylene glycol-based surfactant molecule with a specific structure (E-P-K, where m≥16 and n=8) is used to prevent protein adhesion and maintain biological activity, allowing stable discharge and high reproducibility of biochemical reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If an ink jet method is used to discharge biospecimens, then the amount of biospecimen required is reduced, but protein molecules adsorb around the discharge port causing clogging and unstable discharge
Solution Approach 1:
A surfactant is introduced as an intermediary substance between the protein molecules in the biospecimen and the discharge port surface. The surfactant adsorbs onto the discharge port surface first, creating a protective layer that prevents protein molecules from adsorbing and causing clogging. This mediator approach allows trace amount discharge while maintaining discharge stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge port surface is pre-treated by allowing the surfactant to adsorb onto it before the biospecimen is discharged. This preliminary action of coating the surface with surfactant prevents subsequent protein adhesion and clogging, enabling stable discharge of trace biospecimen amounts.
2Device complexity
If thermal energy is used to discharge the biospecimen, then the discharge process is simplified, but the biological activity of biomolecules decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge method is changed from thermal energy to electrostatic or piezoelectric actuation. This parameter change in the discharge mechanism avoids thermal damage to biomolecules while maintaining simple device operation. The surfactant-coated discharge port works effectively with these non-thermal discharge methods, preserving biological activity.
3Quantity of substance
If the discharge port is made finer to reduce biospecimen amount, then the required biospecimen volume is reduced, but clogging becomes more severe
Solution Approach 1:
The surfactant acts as a protective intermediary layer on the fine discharge port surface, preventing protein molecules from directly contacting and clogging the narrow opening. This allows the use of finer discharge ports to reduce biospecimen volume while the surfactant prevents the severe clogging that would otherwise occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The surfactant is applied to the discharge port surface in advance to create a protective barrier against protein adhesion. This preliminary anti-action prevents the harmful clogging effect before it can occur, enabling the use of finer discharge ports for reduced biospecimen volume.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables stable and reproducible discharge of biospecimens without clogging, maintaining the biological activity of biomolecules, and significantly reduces the required amount of biospecimen, especially when the surfactant is added at 2% by weight or more.
Implementation Method 1
Biospecimens, such as e.g. blood, contain a lot of molecules including proteins, which are prone to be nonspecifically adsorbed around a discharge port of an ink jet head or on the surface of a flow path
Implementation Method 2
JP-A-2008-137967 discloses an example of discharging a solution which includes at least one of proteins and peptides by an ink jet method using thermal energy
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A liquid for discharge includes: a biospecimen; and at least one kind of compounds represented by the formula (1). In the formula (1), m≥8, and 6≤n≤20.