Abstract:
The present invention provides a structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors, including: a holder member for carrying and receiving an optical biosensor; microfluidic channel layer for providing at least a fluid to flow; and a cover member for the inflow and outflow of the at least a fluid, the at least a fluid flowing from an inlet, passing the optical biosensor by at least a fluid channel for sensing, and then flowing out through at least one fluid outlet. As such, the integrating structure of the present invention can detect the optical signal produced by the optical biosensor, transport fluid, and avoid leakage, and is applicable to the integration of various forms of optical biosensors and microfluidic devices.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of Taiwanese patent application No. 105110409, filed on Mar. 31, 2016, which is incorporated herewith by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
       [0002]    The technical field generally relates to a structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors. 
       2. The Prior Arts 
       [0003]    With the continuous development of electronic technology, the applications expand into cross-discipline exploration and integration, wherein the emergence of biosensors is considered a major breakthrough in the rapid development of biological or medical technology. A biosensor is generally defined as a device comprising an immobilized biomolecule binding a transducer or biochip to detect or interact with a chemical or biomolecule in vivo or in vitro to generate a response. 
         [0004]    Biosensors fulfill many of the important measurement needs, particularly in the determination of drug, metabolic interactions with other biomolecules. While conventional analytical instruments can achieve similar goals, the most unique feature of biosensors is the high sensitivity, specificity, or selectivity of biosensors and the real-time detection characteristics of biomolecules. The reason is that the organism itself has a variety of chemical receptors, in other words, the organism itself is actually a collection of chemoreceptors, and the chemoreceptors have a high degree of specificity or selectivity and sensitivity. As biosensor technology matures, more and more forms of biosensors are on the market, wherein the biosensor combined with optical mechanism shows great potential in application of detecting protein, nucleic acid or other biochemical molecules. 
         [0005]    On the other hand, adding the mechanic components required in conventional biochemical analysis in a form of micro-pumps, micro-valves, micro-filters, micro-mixers, micro-channels, micro-sensors and micro-reactors to the microfluidic devices for sample pre-processing, mixing, transporting, separation and detection procedures has also be actively applied to the biosensor. The applications cover, such as, new drug development, biological and medical research, health examination, disease detection, infection pathogen detection, blood screening and other clinical testing, or even non-medical fields, such as, national defense military detection, forensic identification, environmental and food inspection, and so on. 
         [0006]    However, the known integrated structures of biosensors and microfluidic devices are often unable to provide quality uniformity, structural integrity, and process throughput for detection modules due to limitations of applications and existing integration manufacturing processes. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an effective and flexible application of optical biosensor and microfluidic device integration structure to respond to the market needs. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    An embodiment of the present invention discloses a structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors, comprising: a carrier, disposed with at least a recess for carrying and accommodating at least an optical biosensor, wherein the optical biosensor having a biosensor layer; a flow channel layer, disposed on top of the carrier and comprising at least a channel for at least a fluid to flow; and a cover member, disposed on top of the flow channel layer and having at least a fluid inlet and at least a fluid outlet for the inflow and outflow of the at least a fluid, the at least a fluid inlet and the at least a fluid outlet being connected to the at least a channel of the flow channel layer, wherein the at least a fluid flowing in from the at least a fluid inlet, through the at least a channel to the biosensor layer of the optical biosensor thereon for sensing and out of the at least a fluid outlet. 
         [0008]    Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors, comprising: a carrier, disposed with at least a recess for carrying and accommodating at least an optical biosensor, wherein the optical biosensor having a first biosensor layer and a second biosensor layer; an upper flow channel layer, disposed on top of the carrier and comprising at least a first channel for at least a first fluid to flow; a lower flow channel layer, disposed below the carrier and comprising at least a second channel for at least a second fluid to flow; an upper cover member, disposed on top of the upper flow channel layer, and having at least a first fluid inlet and at least a first fluid outlet for the inflow and outflow of the at least a first fluid, the at least a first fluid inlet and the at least a first fluid outlet being connected to the at least a first channel of the upper flow channel layer; and a lower cover member, disposed below the lower flow channel layer and having at least a second fluid inlet and at least a second fluid outlet for the inflow and outflow of the at least a second fluid, the at least a second fluid inlet and the at least a second fluid outlet being connected to the at least a second channel of the lower flow channel layer; wherein the at least a first fluid and the at least a second fluid flowing in respectively from the at least a first fluid inlet of the upper cover member and the at least a second fluid inlet of the lower cover member, and then respectively through the at least a first channel to the first biosensor layer of the optical biosensor thereon for sensing and through the at least a second channel to the second biosensor layer of the optical biosensor thereon for sensing, and finally out respectively from the at least a first fluid outlet of the upper cover member and the at least a second fluid outlet of the lower cover member. 
         [0009]    The foregoing will become better understood from a careful reading of a detailed description provided herein below with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The embodiments can be understood in more detail by reading the subsequent detailed description in conjunction with the examples and references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0014]    In the following detailed description, for purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
         [0015]    Refer to  FIGS. 1-2 .  FIG. 1  shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; and  FIG. 2  shows cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors is applied to form an integrated module comprising at least a optical biosensor and at least a microfluidic devices. As shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors comprises, from bottom up: a carrier  110 , a flow channel layer  120  and a cover member  130 . 
         [0016]    The carrier  110  is disposed with at least a recess  111  for carrying and accommodating at least an optical biosensor  112 , wherein the optical biosensor  112  has a biosensor layer  113 . The flow channel layer  120  is disposed on top of the carrier  110  and comprises at least a channel for at least a fluid to flow. The cover member  130  is disposed on top of the flow channel layer  120  and has at least a fluid inlet  131  and at least a fluid outlet  132  for the inflow and outflow of the at least a fluid; the at least a fluid inlet  131  and the at least a fluid outlet  132  are connected to the at least a channel of the flow channel layer  120 , wherein the at least a fluid flows in from the at least a fluid inlet  131 , through the at least a channel to the biosensor layer  113  of the optical biosensor  112  thereon for sensing and out of the at least a fluid outlet  132 . 
         [0017]    It should be noted that, in a preferred embodiment, the optical biosensor  112  is secured within the recess  111  of the carrier  110  using an adhesive means (A). Moreover, the upper surface of the optical biosensor  112 , when placed inside the recess  111 , is at the same horizontal level as the upper surface of the carrier  110 . The recess  111  may be a concave surface, a concave portion, or a hollow via. The carrier  110  may be made of a transparent or opaque material, for example, a polymeric material, plastic, ceramic, metal, silicon wafer, glass, or other composite material. When the carrier  110  is made of an opaque material, the carrier  110  is provided with a light transmission window (not shown); and the light transmission window is aligned with the biosensor layer  113  of the optical biosensor  112  when the optical biosensor is placed inside the recess  111 . This is because the optical biosensor requires exposure to light for reaction. The light transmission window may be covered by a transparent material or simply an opening. 
         [0018]    Similarly, flow channel layer  120  may be made of a transparent or opaque material such as, polymeric material, plastic, ceramic, metal, silicon wafer, glass, or other composite material. The surface of the flow channel layer  120  may be processed to a hydrophilic or hydrophobic surface. The flow channel layer  120  may further comprise at least a pump element, at least a valve element, at least a mixer element, other microfluidic element, or any combination thereof for the flow and pretreatment of at least a fluid. Furthermore, the flow channel layer  120  may also be a multi-layer structure having a plurality of layers whose surfaces may be processed to show hydrophilic or hydrophobic characteristics. 
         [0019]    The cover member  130  may be made of a transparent material or an opaque material such as, polymeric material, plastic, ceramic, metal, silicon wafer, glass, or other composite material. When the cover member  130  is made of an opaque material, the cover member  130  is provided with a light transmission window (not shown) which, after covering, is aligned with the biosensor layer  113  of the optical biosensor  112 . The light transmission window may be covered by a transparent material or simply an opening. Further, the flow channel layer  120  and the cover member  130  may be integrated into one piece, or the flow channel layer  120  and the carrier  110  may be integrated into an integrally formed structure to reduce the subsequent encapsulation or assembly process. 
         [0020]    It should be noted that since the optical biosensor  112  needs illumination to excite the optical signal of the biosensor layer and to receive the sensed optical signal sensed, an additional light transmission window aligned with the optical biosensor  112  must be provided when the carrier  110  or the cover  130  is made of an opaque material, for the illumination to enter and the optical signal generated to be sensed. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , the carrier  110  and the cover member  130  are made of a transparent material. Moreover, the junctions between the components in the structure of the present invention, with the exception of the channel, such as the carrier  110 , the biosensor layer  113 , the flow channel layer  120 , and the cover member  130 , must be leakage-proof to prevent fluid leakage. 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the second embodiment of the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors comprises: a carrier  310 , an upper flow channel  320 , a lower flow channel layer  330 , an upper cover member  340  and a lower cover member  350 . 
         [0022]    The carrier  310  is disposed with at least a recess for carrying and accommodating at least an optical biosensor, wherein the optical biosensor has a first biosensor layer and a second biosensor layer. The upper flow channel layer  320  is disposed on top of the carrier  310  and comprises at least a first channel for at least a first fluid to flow; and the lower flow channel layer  330  is disposed below the carrier  310  and comprises at least a second channel for at least a second fluid to flow. The upper cover member  340  is disposed on top of the upper flow channel layer  320 , and has at least a first fluid inlet and at least a first fluid outlet for the inflow and outflow of the at least a first fluid; and the at least a first fluid inlet and the at least a first fluid outlet are connected to the at least a first channel of the upper flow channel layer  320 . Similarly, the lower cover member  350  is disposed below the lower flow channel layer  330  and has at least a second fluid inlet and at least a second fluid outlet for the inflow and outflow of the at least a second fluid; and the at least a second fluid inlet and the at least a second fluid outlet are connected to the at least a second channel of the lower flow channel layer. Accordingly, the at least a first fluid flows in from the at least a first fluid inlet of the upper cover member, through the at least a first channel of the upper flow channel layer  320  to the first biosensor layer of the optical biosensor thereon for sensing, and finally out from the at least a first fluid outlet of the upper cover member  330 . Similarly, the at least a second fluid flows in from the at least a second fluid inlet of the lower cover member, through the at least a second channel of the lower flow channel layer  340  to the second biosensor layer of the optical biosensor thereon for sensing, and finally out from the at least a second fluid outlet of the lower cover member  350 . 
         [0023]    It should be noted that the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, with the difference that the first embodiment uses a three-layered structure while the second embodiment uses a five-layered structure. By disposing the upper and lower flow channel layers  320 ,  330  and the upper and lower cover members  340 ,  350  on top of and below the carrier  310  respectively, the second embodiment allows two fluids to enter from the top and from below, and thus can be applied to more complex processes that requires multiple sensing reactions. The structure and functions of the components are similar to the counterparts in the first embodiment, and the detailed description will not be repeated. 
         [0024]    In summary, the structure for integrating microfluidic devices and optical biosensors of the present invention is able to detect the optical signal generated by the optical biosensors. Moreover, the junctions between the components in the structure, with the exception of the channel, are able to isolate fluid to prevent fluid leakage. Hence, the structure of the present invention is applicable to various optical biosensors and microfluidic devices. 
         [0025]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.