Abstract:
There is provided a biochip including a plate member, and a pillar member formed on the plate member and including a surface to which biomaterials are attached, wherein the surface includes an outer wall preventing the biomaterials from flowing outwardly therefrom.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0099798 filed on Sep. 30, 2011, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a biochip used for biomaterial experimentation, and more particularly, to a biochip capable of improving the adhesion of biomaterials attached to a pillar member of the biochip. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    A biochip is used to test biomaterial components (for example, DNA, a protein, an enzyme, another ligand, or the like) and to determine biological reactions between the biomaterial components and test substances. The biochip has a predetermined area or surface to which biomaterials or test substances may be applied and attached. 
         [0006]    The surface of a biochip, according to the related art, is a simple flat, smooth surface. Consequently, biomaterials applied to the biochip have tended to flow in one direction, according to a shape of the pillar member, rather than being stably fixed in a position desired by an experimenter. This phenomenon causes a quantitative deviation in the biomaterial applied to the biochip, thereby degrading testing precision. 
         [0007]    Further, biochips, according to the related art, do not include a structure able to stably receive biomaterials applied through a mechanism such as pipette, and therefore, bubbles may be caused when biomaterials collide with the surface of the biochip. These bubbles may have a negative impact on the viability of the biomaterials, thereby degrading the testing precision thereof. 
         [0008]    Therefore, in order to accurately obtain the test results of the biomaterials, a need exists for the development of a biochip having a structure allowing biomaterials to be stably attached thereto. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    An object of the present invention provides a biochip capable of suppressing a generation of bubbles during an application of biomaterials to a pillar member or a process of dropping biomaterials onto the pillar member while improving adhesion therebetween. 
         [0010]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a biochip, including: a plate member; and a pillar member formed on the plate member and including a surface to which biomaterials are attached, wherein the surface includes an outer wall preventing the biomaterials from flowing outwardly therefrom. 
         [0011]    The surface may further include a protrusion allowing the biomaterials to be uniformly spread thereon. 
         [0012]    The protrusion may be formed at a center of the surface. 
         [0013]    The protrusion may be formed to be higher or lower than the outer wall from the surface. 
         [0014]    The protrusion may include a plurality of protrusions formed on the surface, the plurality of protrusions having a predetermined distance therebetween. 
         [0015]    The protrusion may have a hemispherical shape. 
         [0016]    The surface may further include protruding pieces extending radially from the center of the surface. 
         [0017]    The surface may further include inner walls formed inside of the outer wall. 
         [0018]    The inner walls may be formed to have predetermined distances toward the center of the surface from the outer wall. 
         [0019]    The surface may be a convex surface or a concave surface. 
         [0020]    The surface may further include a plurality of grooves to increase an area in contact with the biomaterials. 
         [0021]    The surface may be a convex surface or a concave surface. 
         [0022]    The surface may further include the protruding pieces extending radially from the center of the surface. 
         [0023]    The plate member may be integrally formed with the pillar member. 
         [0024]    The plate member and the pillar member may be injection-molded. 
         [0025]    The plate member and the pillar member may be formed of a plastic material. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a biochip according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a partial enlarged view of a pillar member in the biochip shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which biomaterials are applied to the pillar member shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which biomaterials are applied to the pillar member shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIGS. 7 and 8  are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, respectively; 
           [0034]      FIGS. 9A through 12  are views showing a pillar member of a biochip according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0035]      FIGS. 13 through 15  are cross-sectional views showing a pillar member of a biochip according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0036]    Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0037]    In describing the present invention below, terms indicating components of the present invention are named in consideration of functions of each component, and these terms should not be understood as being limited to technical components of the present invention. 
         [0038]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a biochip according to a first embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a partial enlarged view of a pillar member in the biochip shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which biomaterials are applied to the pillar member shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIRST EMBODIMENT 
       [0039]    A biochip  100  according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a plate member  10 , a pillar member  20 , and an outer wall  30 . 
         [0040]    The plate member  10  may be a generally thin rectangular sectional member and may form a biochip module for testing biomaterials by being coupled with another member. A first surface  12  and second surface  14  of the plate member  10  may be a plane, parallel with an X-Y plane based on the directions of  FIG. 1 . The plate member  10  maybe formed of a plastic material. The plate member  10  formed of the plastic material may be mass-produced by injection molding, thereby reducing manufacturing costs as compared with a biochip formed of a glass material. Further, the plate member  10  formed of the plastic material is relatively lighter and has a lower level of brittleness than the biochip formed of the glass material, such that the plate member  10  may be easily handled and the possibility of the generation of damage to the plate member due to carelessness may be reduced. 
         [0041]    However, the plate member  10  is not limited thereto. For example, the plate member  10  may be formed of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), cyclic olefin copolymer, polynorbonene, styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC), or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. 
         [0042]    The pillar members  20  may be formed on a first surface  12  of the plate member  10 . In this case, the pillar members  20  may protrude from the first surface  12  of the plate member  10  in a vertical direction (that is, a +Z-axis direction) and may be arranged to have a predetermined interval therebetween in widthwise and lengthwise directions (that is, X-axis and Y-axis directions) of the plate member  10 . The pillar members  20  arranged as described above may have the same length and may have any one of circular, quadrangular, and polygonal sectional shapes. Further, a top surface  22  of the pillar member  20  may be machined to facilitate the attachment of the biomaterials thereto or may be coated with an auxiliary material assisting in the attachment of the biomaterials. 
         [0043]    The pillar member  20  may have a predetermined diameter D as shown in  FIG. 3 . In this case, the diameter D of the pillar member  20  may be determined within a range having an upwardly protruding shape by a surface tension of the biomaterials  200  fixed to the surface  22 . 
         [0044]    The outer wall  30  may be formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 . In more detail, the outer wall  30  may be protruded in the +Z-axis direction along the edge of the surface  22 . The outer wall  30  may prevent the biomaterials received on the surface  22  from flowing outwardly. Meanwhile, a height h 1  of the outer wall  30  may be determined in a range allowing a height h 0  of the biomaterials  200  to be maximized on the surface  22 . However, the height h 1  of the outer wall  30  may be varied according to the biomaterials  200  to be tested. 
         [0045]    For reference, in the embodiment of the present invention, the biomaterials may refer to various biomolecules or biomaterials but are not limited thereto. For example, the biomaterials maybe nucleic acid arrangement such as RNA, DNA, or the like, peptide, protein, lipid, organic or inorganic chemical molecules, virus particles, procaryotic cells, organelle, or the like. In addition, the types of cells are not particularly limited and may be, for example, microorganism, plant and animal cells, cancer cells, neuron cells, cells in blood vessel, immune cells, or the like. 
         [0046]    As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the outer wall  30  allows the biomaterials  200  on the surface  22  to be centered (portion shown by line C-C) of the pillar member, thereby improving the testing precision of the biomaterials  200 . 
         [0047]    In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the contact area between the pillar member  20  and the biomaterials  200  may be increased by the outer wall  30 , thereby effectively fixing the biomaterial  200  to the pillar member  20 . 
         [0048]    Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. For reference, the components described in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and a description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0049]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a second embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the biomaterials are applied to the pillar member shown in  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a third embodiment of the present invention,  FIGS. 7 and 8  are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a pillar member of a biochip according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention,  FIGS. 9A through 12  are views showing a pillar member of a biochip according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and  FIGS. 13 through 15  are cross-sectional views showing a pillar member of a biochip according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 
       SECOND EMBODIMENT 
       [0050]    The second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0051]    The biochip according to the second embodiment of the present invention may be different from the first embodiment, in that the biochip includes protrusions  40 . 
         [0052]    The protrusion  40  may be formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 . In more detail, the protrusion  40  may be disposed on a central axis C-C of the pillar member  20 . In this case, the protrusion  40  may have a height h 2  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The height h 2  of the protrusion  40  maybe equal to the height h 1  of the outer wall  30  or may be lower than the height h 1  of the outer wall  30 . However, the height h 2  of the protrusion  40  may be higher than the height h 1  of the outer wall  30 . 
         [0053]    In this embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion  40  is formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20  and therefore, the biomaterials  200  may be easily formed in an upwardly protruding shape suitable for testing. Therefore, it may be advantageous in allowing the biomaterials  200  having low viscosity to be convexedly protruded. 
         [0054]    Further, the protrusion  40  according to the embodiment of the present invention serves to allow the biomaterials  200  dropped onto the surface  22  of the pillar member  20  to be spread over the surface  22 , thereby allowing the thickness of the biomaterials  200  being applied to be uniform. Therefore, it may be advantageous in improving the testing precision of the biomaterials  200 . 
       THIRD EMBODIMENT 
       [0055]    The third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
         [0056]    The biochip according to the third embodiment of the present invention maybe different from the second embodiment, in that the biochip includes a plurality of protrusions  40 . That is, according to this embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of protrusions  40  may be formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 . In this case, the protrusions  40  may have any one of hemispherical, conic, pyramidal, and polygonal pillar shapes. Further, the protrusions  40  may be regularly or irregularly formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 . 
         [0057]    In this embodiment of the present invention, the contact area between the surface  22  of the pillar member  20  and the biomaterials  200  may be increased through the plurality of protrusions  40 . 
       FOURTH EMBODIMENT 
       [0058]    The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
         [0059]    The biochip according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention may be different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in that the biochip further includes protruding pieces  50 . 
         [0060]    In this embodiment of the present invention, the protruding pieces  50  may extend from the outer wall  30  toward the central axis of the pillar member  20  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Alternatively, although not shown, the protruding pieces  50  may extend from the center of the pillar member  20  toward the outer wall  30 . 
         [0061]    Further, the protruding pieces  50  may have the same width w toward the central axis from the outer wall  30 . Alternatively, the protruding piece  50  may have the width w gradually reduced or increased toward the central axis from the outer wall  30 . 
         [0062]    Further, a height h 3  of the protruding piece  50  may be constant from the outer wall  30  to the central axis C-C as shown in  FIG. 8 . Alternatively, the height h 3  of the protruding piece  50  may be gradually increased toward the central axis C-C from the outer wall  30  as shown by a dotted line in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0063]    Meanwhile,  FIGS. 7 and 8  show that the protrusion  40  is formed on the pillar member  20 , but the protrusion may be omitted if necessary. 
         [0064]    In this embodiment of the present invention, it may be advantageous in dispersing the biomaterials  200  in all directions through the protruding pieces  50 . 
       FIFTH EMBODIMENT 
       [0065]    The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 9A through 12 . For reference,  FIG. 9A  is a plan view of the pillar member  20  and  FIG. 9B  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A. 
         [0066]    The biochip according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention may be different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in that the biochip further includes inner walls  60 . 
         [0067]    As shown in  FIGS. 9A and 9B , the inner walls  60  may be formed in the outer wall  30  at a predetermined distance. In more detail, the plurality of inner walls  60  may be formed at the same distance S from the outer wall  30 . Further, a height h 4  of the inner wall  60  may be equal to the height h 1  of the outer wall  30  or may be lower or higher than the height h 1  of the outer wall  30 . 
         [0068]    Further, the inner wall  60  may have at least one passage  62  so as to allow for communication from the central point O (that is, a center of the outer wall  30  or inner wall  60 ) of the surface  22  in a radius direction (R direction) as shown in  FIG. 10 . For reference,  FIG. 10  shows that each inner wall  60  is provided with two passages  62  but may be provided with three or more passages  62 . 
         [0069]    Meanwhile, the surface  22  of the pillar member  20  may have a convex shape or a concave shape as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . 
         [0070]    According to this embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of inner walls  60  are formed on the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 , thereby stably fixing the biomaterials to the surface  22  of the pillar member  20 . 
       SIXTH EMBODIMENT 
       [0071]    The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 13 through 15 . 
         [0072]    The biochip according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention may be different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in that the biochip further includes grooves  70 . 
         [0073]    The grooves  70  may be regularly or irregularly formed in the surface  22  of the pillar member  20  and may increase the contact area between the biomaterials and the pillar member  20 . 
         [0074]    As set forth above, the biochip according to the embodiments of the present invention can suppress the phenomenon of biomaterials flowing outwardly from the test surface by allowing the biomaterials to be collected onto a specific surface. 
         [0075]    In addition, the biochip according to the embodiments of the present invention can suppress the generation of bubbles due to the collision between the surface of the biochip and the biomaterials by forming protrusions and protruding pieces on the surface of the biochip. 
         [0076]    Further, the biochip according to the embodiments of the present invention may allow the bio materials to be in a protruding shape suitable for testing since protrusions are formed at the center of the surface. 
         [0077]    Therefore, testing precision can be enhanced. 
         [0078]    While the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.