Patent ID: 8642353
Filing Date: 2014-02-04
Classification: B01D,B01L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A microfluidic device for separating a constituent element from a microfluidic sample, comprising: a microfluidic channel having a microfluidic dimension and configured to receive a microfluidic sample, the microfluidic channel having a length and a width and configured to conduct the microfluidic sample in a direction of flow along the length of the microfluidic channel, a plurality of zones being defined within the microfluidic channel, each zone being elongated in a direction parallel to the length of the microfluidic channel, each zone being narrower than the width of the microfluidic channel, and immediately adjacent to at least one other zone; an actuation module including an array of actuation elements, each actuation element being adjacent to and operatively interfaced with a corresponding zone of the microfluidic channel and configured to induce a phase change in that zone by freezing a corresponding portion of the microfluidic sample in that zone, the actuation elements being actuatable independently of one another so as to freeze corresponding portions of the microfluidic sample independently of one another at different times than one another so as to cause fractional exclusion of the constituent element from the microfluidic sample across the width of the microfluidic channel and perpendicular to the direction of flow of the microfluidic sample; a first outlet configured to receive a flow of the excluded constituent element; and a second outlet configured to receive a flow of a purified portion of the microfluidic sample from which the constituent element has been excluded, wherein the first and second outlets are configured such that the excluded constituent element in the first outlet remains substantially separated from the purified portion of the microfluidic sample in the second outlet.