Microwell Array Lateral Flow Membrane for Microbiology Screening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional techniques for cultivating and screening biological entities are slow, laborious, and expensive, often failing to culture microbes and requiring complex methods for metabolite or enzyme screening, leading to missed opportunities for new insights and products.
Innovation Solution
A microfabricated device with a high density array of microwells and a membrane system that allows for efficient cultivation and screening of biological entities, enabling high-throughput cultivation and identification of cells and nutrients through lateral fluid flow and reactive reagents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional cultivation techniques are used, then the process is simple and easy to understand, but the speed is slow and productivity is low
Solution Approach 1:
The cultivation system is segmented into multiple microwells arranged in arrays, allowing parallel cultivation of numerous biological entities simultaneously. Each microwell acts as an independent cultivation unit, enabling high-throughput processing while maintaining simple individual well structures.
Solution Approach 2:
A membrane is introduced as an intermediary component that enables lateral flow of liquids across the microwell array. This membrane mediates the delivery of reagents and nutrients to multiple microwells simultaneously, increasing productivity without requiring complex individual addressing systems for each well.
2Loss of time
If traditional screening methods are used, then the methodology is straightforward, but the process is laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral flow system enables continuous movement of liquids across the microwell array, allowing reagents to flow sequentially through multiple wells without interruption. This continuous flow process eliminates the need for repeated manual transfer operations, significantly reducing screening time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes hydraulic principles through lateral flow to deliver reagents across the microwell array. By applying pressure gradients, liquids flow continuously through the membrane and into multiple microwells simultaneously, automating the screening process and reducing manual labor.
3Productivity
If traditional cultivation methods are used, then the cost is low, but the throughput is limited and opportunities are missed
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from traditional single-well or low-density multi-well formats to high-density microwell arrays with thousands of wells per chip. This dimensional expansion in well density enables massively parallel cultivation and screening, dramatically increasing throughput while keeping individual well structures simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane component serves multiple functions: it acts as a barrier, a flow channel, a reagent delivery system, and a support structure. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional complex components, enabling high throughput without proportionally increasing system complexity.
4Measurement precision
If complex screening methods are used to identify metabolites and enzymes, then detection capability is improved, but the method becomes expensive and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates visual detection methods where biological entities or their products produce color changes in the microwells. This allows for simple visual or optical detection of metabolites and enzymes without requiring complex analytical instrumentation, maintaining ease of operation while providing sufficient detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The microwell array system is designed to be self-addressing through the lateral flow mechanism. Reagents automatically flow to the correct wells based on their physical arrangement, eliminating the need for complex robotic liquid handling systems or manual well-by-well addressing, thus maintaining operational simplicity.
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
This approach streamlines the cultivation workflow, facilitates high-throughput screening, and enables the development of new insights and products by efficiently cultivating and identifying biological entities and nutrients, overcoming the limitations of traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
The first portion of the membrane is contacted with a first liquid absorbable by the membrane such that the first liquid is wicked by the membrane and laterally flows from the first portion to the second portion
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing a lateral flow of liquid across a plurality of microwells of a microfabricated device. The microwells of the microfabricated device are covered by a membrane which includes a first portion disposed on one side of at least one microwell and a second portion on the other side of the at least one microwell. The first portion of the membrane is contacted with a liquid absorbable by the membrane such that the liquid is wicked by the membrane and laterally flows from the first portion to the second portion and across the at least one microwell. At least a portion of the liquid enters the at least one microwell.