Patent Description:
In general, high-throughput screening techniques are used for reaction optimization in chemical synthesis or drug development. High-throughput screening allows for rapid optimization of chemical reactions to achieve the desired target substance. However, the existing screening analysis method has a problem that it has a bulky equipment due to the system configured based on automatic dispensing equipment and it has high cost due to use of many reagents for reaction optimization.

<CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>,<NPL> and JAFRY <NPL> disclose known examples of multi assay screening devices.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention is to provide an economical and inexpensive screening analysis system alternative to an expensive screening system, while rapidly screening chemical reactions and performing simultaneous analysis of chemical reactions between one sample and a plurality of substances.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a screening analysis system that can stably distribute fluid to each reaction zone even in the case of excess sample injection.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a system that can improve detection sensitivity by making a concentration of sample uniform during moving in channels and by lowering a speed of entering reaction zones.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a screening analysis system that incineration can be carried out to prevent external contamination after chemical reactions of a sample and a plurality of organic substances.

The high speed screening analysis system according to the present invention comprises:.

In addition, the high speed screening analysis system comprises a plurality of discharging micro channels connecting the plurality of reactant-coating parts and the absorbing part, each of the discharging micro channels being connected with each of the reactant-coating and each of the injecting micro channels and the discharging micro channels has a micropillar structure, and the micropillar structure is comprised of dots patterned with wax and having a regular arrangement.

In addition, in the high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the high speed screening analysis system may be manufactured by patterning of wax on a hydrophilic disc-shaped material, the sample injection part may be located at the center of the hydrophilic disc-shaped material, each of pairs of the injecting micro channel, the reactant-coating part and the discharging micro channel may be disposed radially around the sample injection part, and the edge of the hydrophilic disc-shaped material may form an absorbing part.

In addition, in the high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the hydrophilic disc-shaped material may be paper, and the high speed screening analysis system may be manufactured by applying a temperature of <NUM> for <NUM> seconds to the disk-shaped wax-patterned paper.

In addition, in the high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the reactant-coating parts may detect at least one selected from the group consisting of nickel, copper, iron, zinc, mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, silver and arsenic.

In addition, in the high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the sample injection part may comprise a sample injection pad in which the sample is absorbed, the sample injection pad may be coupled to protrude from the surface of the plate-shaped material, and the sample injection pad may be made of the same material as the plate-shaped material.

In addition, in the high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention, the sample absorbing part may comprise a sample absorbing pad in which the sample is absorbed, the sample absorbing pad may be coupled to protrude from the surface of the plate-shaped material, and the sample absorbing pad may be made of the same material as the plate-shaped material.

The present invention relates to a high speed screening analysis system, in which micro channels through which fluid flows can be created by creating hydrophobic regions through wax patterning on a hydrophilic plate-shaped material such as paper, without an instrument such as an external pump or tube. In addition, it is possible to move one sample to a plurality of reaction zones by a design of wax patterning on a hydrophilic plate-shaped material such as paper.

In addition, according to the present invention, since a separate control unit is not required, there is an advantage that it is economical and portable.

In addition, according to the present invention, the high speed screening analysis system has advantages of low cost and easy of disposal, thereby avoiding external contamination.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that it is possible to simultaneously analyze chemical reactions between one sample and a plurality of substances, and thus it can be applied to the production of reaction screening between heavy metals and organic ligands and of antigen screening for biosensor detection.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the fluid can be stably distributed to each reaction zone to react even in the case of excessive sample injection.

In addition, the present invention has the advantage of improving detection sensitivity by making a concentration of sample uniform during moving in channels and by lowering a speed of entering reaction zones.

Hereinafter, a high speed screening analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

In addition, the same or corresponding components will be denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of symbols, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, the size and shape of each component shown may be exaggerated or reduced.

<FIG> shows a high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to one embodiment of the invention, and <FIG> shows one main portion of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> of <FIG>. The high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention is manufactured on a hydrophilic plate-shaped material such as paper, and comprises a sample injection part <NUM>, an injecting micro channel <NUM>, a reactant-coating part <NUM>, and an absorbing part <NUM>.

A sample is introduced into the sample injection part <NUM>. As the sample is dropped into the sample injection part <NUM>, the sample moves from the sample injection part <NUM> to the reactant-coating part <NUM>. The sample injection part <NUM> is not coated with wax and is made of a hydrophilic material (for example, paper) itself.

A plurality of the reactant-coating parts <NUM> are provided and disposed radially, for example, around the sample injection part <NUM>. For example, twelve reactant-coating parts <NUM> may be provided as shown in <FIG>. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be embodied by variously modifying the number according to the environment in which the present invention is implemented. The reactant-coating part <NUM> is not coated with wax, and is made of the hydrophilic material itself. In addition, the reactant-coating part <NUM> is coated with a substance that can react with the sample.

Each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM> may be coated with different organic ligands. For example, each of the twelve reactant-coating parts <NUM> of <FIG> may be coated with twelve different organic ligands, respectively.

Injecting micro channels <NUM> are also provided as many as the number of reactant-coating parts <NUM>, and each of the injecting micro channels <NUM> connects the sample injection part <NUM> with each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM>.

In addition, the injecting micro channel <NUM> has a micropillar structure, as shown in <FIG>. The micropillar structure refers to a structure in which the plurality of pillars are arranged regularly. For example, the plurality of micropillars <NUM> may be arranged in the injecting micro channel <NUM> at equal intervals. The injecting micro channel <NUM> is not coated with wax, but is made of a hydrophilic material itself, and the micropillar <NUM> is formed of a hydrophobic wax-coated portion.

By providing the micropillars <NUM> in the injecting micro channel <NUM>, while the sample moves in the injecting micro channel <NUM>, the sample is vortexed by the micropillars <NUM> and thus the sample in the injecting micro channel <NUM> can move uniformly without rapidly moving to the reactant-coating part <NUM>. In detail, while the sample moves through the injecting micro channel <NUM>, the vortex effect of the components in the sample is occurred around the pillar by the hydrophobic micropillar <NUM>. Therefore, the reaction may occur uniformly in the region where the reactant is coated. In addition, since the speed of the sample moving to the reactant-coating part <NUM> decreases due to the micropillar <NUM>, thereby securing sufficient reaction time and improving detection sensitivity.

The micropillar <NUM> may be formed in a dot shape. Accordingly, the plurality of micropillars <NUM> arranged may have a configuration having a pattern in which the plurality of points are arranged spaced apart at regular intervals or at equal intervals.

The absorbing part <NUM> is connected with the reactant-coating part <NUM>. Samples remaining after reacting in the reactant-coating part <NUM> may be absorbed in the absorbing part <NUM>. The absorbing part <NUM> is not coated with wax, and is made of a hydrophilic material itself. High speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure coated with wax on a hydrophilic material. Therefore, in the case where the absorbing part <NUM> is not provided at the edge of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM>, which is a sensor composed of a hydrophilic material (paper), sample overflow may occur in the injecting micro channel <NUM>, the reactant-coating part <NUM>, and/or the discharging micro channel <NUM> when the amount of the sample exceeds the amount that can be accommodated by the sensor. In addition, in the case where the amount of the sample to be injected is increased, the absorbing part <NUM> is required to sufficiently move heavy metals contained in the sample to the reactant-coating part <NUM> to cause a reaction.

In other words, the presence of the absorbing part <NUM> allows the sample to better pass through the reactant-coating part <NUM> without retention in a particular zone, even in the case of excessive sample injection. In addition, by moving the sample to the absorbing part <NUM>, the sample may continuously and uniformly be reacted while the sample from the sample injection part <NUM> passes through the reactant-coating part <NUM>.

Meanwhile, the reactant-coating part <NUM> and the absorbing part <NUM> are connected by the discharging micro channel <NUM>, for example. The discharging micro channel <NUM> is not coated with wax, but is made of a hydrophilic material itself. Like the injecting micro channel <NUM>, the discharging micro channel <NUM> has a micropillar structure having a plurality of micropillars <NUM>. The micropillar <NUM> is formed of a hydrophobic wax-coated portion. A description overlapping with the description of the micropillar structure described in the injecting micro channel <NUM> will be omitted.

In summary, in the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention, they are disposed in the order of sample injection part <NUM> - injecting micro channel <NUM> - reactant-coating part <NUM> - absorbing part <NUM> or they are disposed in the order of sample injection part <NUM> - injecting micro channel <NUM> - reactant-coating part <NUM> - discharging micro channel <NUM> - absorbing part <NUM>.

In addition, the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in a configuration in which wax is coated on the hydrophilic plate-shaped material, as described above. The hydrophilic plate-shaped material may be made of, for example, paper, cellulose, or cotton, but in some cases various modifications and changes are possible such as wax coating on glass that is not hydrophilic. The high speed screening analysis system <NUM> may be implemented by, for example, a disc-shaped paper. In such a case, the sample injection part <NUM> is positioned at the center of the disc-shaped paper, and a plurality of pairs of injecting micro channel <NUM>, reactant-coating part <NUM> and discharging micro channel <NUM> may be radially disposed around the sample injection part <NUM>, respectively. The edge (circumference) of the disc-shaped paper may form an absorbing part <NUM>.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above description, and the sample injection part <NUM> may be positioned at the center of the regular polygonal paper, and a plurality of pairs of injecting micro channel <NUM>, reactant-coating part <NUM> and discharging micro channel <NUM> may be radially disposed, respectively. In addition, the shape of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> and the arrangement of each component may be modified and changed in accordance with various environments in which the present invention is implemented.

<FIG> shows exemplary dimensions of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> of <FIG>. However, the present invention is not limited to the dimensions shown in <FIG>, and may be implemented by modifying and changing the dimensions of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> in accordance with various environments in which the present invention is implemented.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the sample injection part <NUM> may comprise a sample injection pad <NUM> in which the sample is absorbed, and the absorbing part <NUM> may include a sample absorbing pad <NUM> in which a sample is absorbed.

The sample injection pad <NUM> is coupled to protrude from the surface of the plate-shaped material, and may be made of the same material as the plate-shaped material. Also, the sample absorbing pad <NUM> is coupled to protrude from the surface of the plate-shaped material, and may be made of the same material as the plate-shaped material. That is, the sample injection pad <NUM> and the sample absorbing pad <NUM> may be manufactured in the same shape as that of the region of the sample injection part <NUM> and the region of the absorbing part <NUM>, respectively, and coupled to the region of the sample injection part <NUM> and the region of the absorbing part <NUM> on the plate-shaped material, respectively. The sample injection pad <NUM> and the sample absorbing pad <NUM> may be made of, for example, paper, cellulose, or cotton, but in some cases various modifications and changes are possible such as wax coating on glass that is not hydrophilic.

The sample injection pad <NUM> and the sample absorbing pad <NUM> may be manufactured to have different densities from the plate-shaped material depending on the conditions for the storage capacity and the absorbing force of the sample. For example, the sample injection pad <NUM> and the sample absorbing pad <NUM> may be porous.

Hereinafter, an example in which the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to an example of the present invention is implemented as a high speed screening analysis system for optimizing heavy metal-organic ligand reaction will be described.

The high speed screening analysis system <NUM> may be implemented as a system based on disc-shaped paper. One sample injection part <NUM> may be provided at the center of the disc-shaped paper, and twelve reactant-coating parts <NUM> which are disposed radially around the sample injection part <NUM> may be provided. Twelve injecting micro channels <NUM> may be provided, and each of the injecting micro channels <NUM> may connect the sample injection part <NUM> and each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM>. The absorbing part <NUM> may be disposed along the edge of the disc-shaped paper. Twelve discharging micro channels <NUM> may be provided and each of the discharging micro channels may connect each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM> and the absorbing part <NUM>.

The high speed screening analysis system <NUM> according to the above embodiment is designed with a drawing program (e.g., Powerpoint) as shown in <FIG>. The drawing is printed on paper (e.g., Whatman filter paper (Grade <NUM>)) by a wax printer (e.g., Wax Printer (ColorQube <NUM>, Xerox)). Next, a temperature of <NUM> is applied for <NUM> seconds to allow the wax in the wax-patterned region (the portion shown in black in <FIG>) to be deeply soaked into the wax-patterned filter paper. Then, twelve kinds of organic ligands are dropped in <NUM>µL to <NUM>µL into a region to be each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM>, and then dried to generate each of the reactant-coating parts <NUM>, which is a detection area capable of reacting with heavy metals. Then, the absorbing pad is attached to the region of the sample injection part <NUM> on the top of the printed paper and a PET film is bonded to the bottom of the printed paper, thereby completing the high speed screening analysis system <NUM>.

In this regard, <FIG> illustrates one embodiment of the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> including reactant-coating parts <NUM> coated with twelve kinds of organic ligands, respectively, as shown in Table <NUM> below.

In the table, PAN represents <NUM>-(<NUM>-pyridylazo)-<NUM>-naphthol, Bphen represents bathophenanthroline, DMG represents dimethylglyoxime, DTO represents dithiooxamide, DCB represents diphenylcarbazide, DTZ represents dithizone, <NUM>-ATP represents <NUM>-aminothiophenol, EBT represents Erichrome Black T, and BCP represents bathocuprine. In addition, <FIG> illustrate experimental examples of screening reactivity of organic ligands and heavy metal ions when the sample including each of nickel, copper, iron, zinc, mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, manganese, silver and arsenic is injected into the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> of <FIG>.

Specifically, <FIG> illustrates a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when nickel is included in the sample, a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when copper is included in the sample, and a case wherein the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when iron is included in the sample.

In addition, <FIG> illustrates a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when zinc is included in the sample, a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when mercury is included in the sample, and a case wherein the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when lead is included in the sample.

In addition, <FIG> illustrates a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when chrome is included in the sample, a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when cadmium is included in the sample, and a case wherein the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when cobalt is included in the sample.

In addition, <FIG> illustrates a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when manganese is included in the sample, a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when silver is included in the sample, and a case wherein the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part <NUM> when arsenic is included in the sample.

<FIG> illustrates an experimental example of screening the reactivity between organic ligands and heavy metal ions when the sample including the plurality of kinds of heavy metals among the twelve kinds of heavy metals is injected into the high speed screening analysis system <NUM> of <FIG>. It shows a case where the reaction occurs in the No. <NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM> of the twelve reactant-coating parts <NUM>, which appears pink, green, and red, respectively. This is because that nickel and DMG react selectively to form a pink chelate in the No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part, iron and Bphen react selectively to form red chelate in the No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part, and copper and DTO react selectively to form a green chelate in the No. <NUM> of reactant-coating part. That is, it can be confirmed that the sample contains nickel, iron and copper by observing the color change according to the reaction with heavy metals in No.<NUM>, No. <NUM> and No. <NUM>.

According to the present invention, since the reactions are carried out simultaneously in the twelve reactant-coating parts <NUM> connected with one sample injection part <NUM>, there is an advantage that it can detect at the same time the case of including the plurality of kinds of heavy metals as well as the case of including one heavy metal among the above-described twelve kinds of heavy metals in the sample.

<FIG> and <FIG> show the detection part before reaction of twelve kinds of heavy metals (<FIG>) and the detection part after reaction of twelve kinds of heavy metals (<FIG>), among the detection parts coated with the chelating agent in Table <NUM> for reaction for detecting twelve kinds of heavy metals according to the prior art. According to the conventional heavy metal detection method, in order to identify reactions between twelve kinds of heavy metals and twelve kinds of organic ligands, the reactions are performed by injecting substances one by one into the reaction zones of <NUM> x <NUM> array. Such a conventional method has a disadvantage that the reaction takes a long time, and experimental errors may occur due to the complex method, which leads to a deviation in the experimental result.

It will be appreciated that the technical configuration of the present invention described above may be embodied in other specific forms by those skilled in the art without changing essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. In addition, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims to be described later rather than the detailed description above.

Claim 1:
A high speed screening analysis system (<NUM>) for reaction optimization, comprising:
a sample injection part (<NUM>) for introducing a sample;
a plurality of reactant-coating parts (<NUM>) disposed radially around the sample injection part (<NUM>) and coated with a substance reacting with the sample;
a plurality of injecting micro channels (<NUM>) connecting the sample injection part (<NUM>) and the plurality of reactant-coating parts (<NUM>), each of the injecting micro channels (<NUM>) being connected with each of the reactant-coating parts (<NUM>); and
characterized in that it comprises:
an absorbing part (<NUM>) connected with the reactant-coating parts (<NUM>) and for absorbing remaining sample after reaction in the reactant-coating parts (<NUM>),
wherein other parts than the sample injection part (<NUM>), the reactant-coating parts (<NUM>), the injecting micro channels (<NUM>), and the absorbing part (<NUM>) on a plate-shaped material are formed by coating with hydrophobic wax, and
a plurality of discharging micro channels (<NUM>) connecting the plurality of reactant-coating parts (<NUM>) and the absorbing part (<NUM>), each of the discharging micro channels (<NUM>) being connected with each of the reactant-coating parts (<NUM>),
wherein each of the injecting micro channels (<NUM>) and the discharging micro channels (<NUM>) has a micropillar structure (<NUM>, <NUM>), and wherein the micropillar structure (<NUM>, <NUM>) is comprised of dots patterned with wax and having a regular arrangement.