Microfluidic device and methods of using same

US8343442B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• FLUIDIGM CORPORATION · US

Inventors

• Lincoln McBride · Redwood City, US
• Michael Lucero · South San Francisco, US
• Marc A. Unger · San Mateo, US
• Hany Ramez Nassef · San Mateo, US
• Geoffrey Facer · San Francisco, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 18, 2010
• Grant date: Jan 1, 2013
• Expiry date: Aug 18, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T436/25
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A variety of elastomeric-based microfluidic devices and methods for using and manufacturing such devices are provided. Certain of the devices have arrays of reaction sites to facilitate high throughput analyses. Some devices also include reaction sites located at the end of blind channels at which reagents have been previously deposited during manufacture. The reagents become suspended once sample is introduced into the reaction site. The devices can be utilized with a variety of heating devices and thus can be used in a variety of analyses requiring temperature control, including thermocycling applications such as nucleic acid amplification reactions, genotyping and gene expression analyses.