Thermoplastic Laser Welding for Fluid-Tight Bodily Fluid Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for separating bodily fluid constituents, such as blood plasma from whole blood, face challenges in creating a mechanically stable and fluid-tight connection between substrates and filter layers, often requiring adhesives that can contaminate samples and are costly to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a thermoplastic connection layer between substrates and a filter layer, where the thermoplastic connection layer is laser-welded to form a fluid-tight and mechanically stable connection, allowing for simultaneous capillary penetration and eliminating the need for adhesives, enabling efficient separation of bodily fluid constituents in a single process step.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesives are used to connect substrates and filter layers, then mechanical stability and fluid-tight connection are improved, but sample contamination and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes adhesives from the system entirely and replaces them with a laser-welding process that directly fuses the filter layer to the substrate. This extraction of the harmful adhesive component eliminates sample contamination while maintaining the fluid-tight connection requirement through an alternative joining method.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical bonding mechanism (adhesives) with a thermal processing mechanism (laser welding). The laser beam heats and fuses the filter layer material directly to the substrate, creating a mechanical bond without introducing foreign chemical substances that could contaminate the sample.
2Reliability
If adhesives are used to connect substrates and filter layers, then mechanical stability and fluid-tight connection are improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces adhesive-based joining with laser welding, which eliminates the need for additional adhesive materials and their associated costs. The laser welding process creates a direct fusion bond that is both mechanically stable and fluid-tight, reducing overall manufacturing expenses.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser welding process utilizes phase transitions (melting and solidification) of the filter layer material to create a permanent bond with the substrate. This phase change mechanism provides strong mechanical stability without requiring external adhesives, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.
3Reliability
If laser welding is used to connect thermoplastic connection layer, then fluid-tight connection and mechanical stability are achieved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into the single thermoplastic connection layer: it serves as both the bonding medium and the structural component. The laser welding process simultaneously achieves fluid-tight sealing and mechanical stability in one operation, reducing overall process complexity despite the advanced joining technique.
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 solution provides a cost-effective, efficient, and contamination-free method for separating bodily fluid constituents, allowing for precise control of the separation process and enabling automated analysis systems by ensuring complete filtration and easy integration with microsensors for diagnostics.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating the thermoplastic connection layer through the first transparent substrate by means of a laser beam such that the thermoplastic connection layer fuses with the first substrate and the filter layer in the region of the laser beam
Implementation Method 2
the thermoplastic connection layer fuses with the first substrate and the filter layer in the region of the laser beam
Implementation Method 3
there is simultaneous partial capillary penetration of the molten thermoplastic connection layer into the filter layer
Data Source
AI summary
A system for separating bodily fluid constituents is disclosed. The system includes a first substrate which, in a first main surface, has a first cavity for holding a bodily fluid sample, a second substrate, which, in a first main surface facing the first substrate, has a second cavity) for holding constituents separated from the bodily fluid sample, which second cavity lies opposite to the first cavity, a filter layer, which is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate and which is designed to separate constituents of the bodily fluid sample in the first cavity and to pass the separated constituents to the second cavity, and a first thermoplastic connection layer, which is arranged between the first substrate and the filter layer, interconnects the first main surface of the first substrate and the filter layer in a fluid-tight manner and has a cutout lying opposite to the first cavity.