Microfluidic devices for electrophoretic analysis of materials

Abstract

The present invention provides a microfluidic system for electrophoretic analysis of materials in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biology and numerous other fields. Light absorbance signals are received by a photodetector from periodically spaced regions along a channel in the microfluidic system. The signals received by the photodetector are modulated by the movement of species bands through the channel under electrophoretic forces. By Fourier analysis, the velocity of each species band is determined, and identification of the species is made based on its electrophoretic mobility in the channel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 606,158 filed Jun. 25, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 977,056 filed Oct. 12, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 378,169 filed Aug. 19, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,740), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 207,864 filed Dec. 8, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,048), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 941,679 filed Sep. 30, 1997 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,495), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 683,080 filed Jul. 16, 1996 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,157).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] There has been a growing interest in the manufacture and use of microfluidic systems for the acquisition of chemical and biochemical information. Techniques commonly associated with the semiconductor electronics industry, such as phot...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

Enables rapid and automated identification of species through enhanced resolution and speed, overcoming the limitations of manual observation and low automation in existing systems.

Problems solved by technology

While these operations are fast compared to macroscale electrophoretic methods, the operations fall short of a highly automated microfluidic system, such as disclosed in the above-mentioned Pat. No. 5,942,443, for example.

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