Patent ID: 8679831
Filing Date: 2014-03-25
Classification: B01L,B33Y,C12Q,G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method for processing a particle-containing liquidic sample, comprising: inputting a particle-containing liquidic sample into a microfluidic network of a microfluidic device comprising a retention member comprising an interior surface and an exterior surface, said interior surface being configured to retain particles within an enrichment region of the microfluidic network, and said exterior surface being exterior to the microfluidic network; spatially separating a first portion of the liquid of the particle-containing liquidic sample from particles of the liquidic sample by passing the first portion of the liquid through at least the surface of the retention member wherein the particles are retained in the enrichment region and the first portion of the liquid passes through the exterior surface of the retention member into a reservoir, thereby being expelled from the microfluidic network; passing at least a subset of the expelled first portion from the reservoir through the interior of the retention member back into the microfluidic network, thereby recombining the retained particles with the subset of the first portion of the liquid within the enrichment region; and wherein recombining the retained particles includes reducing a pressure within the microfluidic device by generating a vacuum downstream of the retention member, and wherein generating the vacuum comprises: cooling the chamber, wherein the remaining gas is contracted creating a vacuum.