Device and Method for Size-Selective Particle Separation, Trapping, and Manipulation of Micro and Nanoparticles for Molecular Detection

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

This patent describes a lab-on-a-chip device and method for efficiently separating, trapping, and manipulating micro- and nanoparticles from biological fluid samples (such as blood or urine) for sensitive molecular detection. The chip uses specially designed channels and pillar arrays to sort particles by size, trap functionalized nanoparticles (such as those with disease-specific antibodies), and enables highly sensitive optical detection (down to picogram per milliliter) of target molecules (biomarkers) in complex samples. The platform allows for the detection of multiple biomarkers on a single chip, enabling early and efficient disease diagnosis.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Early detection of infectious diseases (e.g., HIV, hepatitis) from blood samples
• Cancer screening by analyzing multiple cancer-related biomarkers in blood or urine
• Rapid point-of-care diagnostics for emergency medical settings
• Personalized medicine via customizable detection of patient-specific biomarkers
• Comprehensive health monitoring in home-based or telemedicine environments
• Food safety testing for biological contaminants at very low concentrations
• Environmental monitoring for trace toxins or pathogens in water samples

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Significantly increases sensitivity to very low concentrations of target molecules (as low as ~10 pg/mL)
• Eliminates or reduces the need for complicated sample preparation
• Enables simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers (multiplexing) on a single chip
• Portable and potentially low-cost, supporting use in point-of-care and field applications
• Reduces user error and allows use by untrained personnel or even patients themselves
• Works directly with complex biological fluids (like whole blood or urine) without extensive preprocessing
• Speeds up analysis and diagnosis compared to conventional laboratory methods

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

It is the objective of the present invention to enable molecular detection at very small target molecule concentrations (a few pg/ml) in presence of whole blood, urine etc., a robust method is required which can provide conclusive information of multiple biomarkers on a single chip.This objective is achieved according to the present invention by a lab on a chip (LoC) device (2) for size-selective particle separation, trapping, and manipulation of micro/nanoparticles from a flow of a sample solution for molecular detection, comprising:a) an in-port area (4) for the reception of a sample solution;b) a microparticle separation area (6) and a macroparticle separation area (8);c) a nanoparticle sorting and separation area (10);d) a functionalized nanoparticle trapping and detection area (12); ande) an out-port area (20) for the waste sample solution.Further, the objective mentioned above is achieved according to the present invention by a method for size-selective particle separation, trapping and a manipulation of micro/nanoparticles from a flow of a sample solution for molecular detection; comprising the steps of:a) providing a sample solution to be investigated;b) conveying the sample solution through a LoC device according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 7.Therefore, the present device represents a lab-on-a-chip platform that allows for particle separation, sorting and trapping at specific locations in the device for molecular sensing in the range of nano- to picomolar concentration. In combination with optical detection using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), a highly sensitive (∼10 pg/ml) molecular detection can be achieved.