Patent ID: 8007738

Claim:
A microfluidic device for detecting one or more component of interest in a mixture of components, the device comprising: (i) a body structure with a plurality of microscale channels disposed therein, the plurality of microscale channels comprising: (a) a separation channel region for separating the mixture of components; and, (b) a binding region upstream from and fluidly connected to the separation channel region, which binding region comprises a component-binding moiety, for binding the one or more component of interest to the component-binding moiety prior to separating the mixture of components; (ii) a control system operably coupled to the body structure, which control system directs: (a) flow of the mixture of components through the binding region, thereby binding the one or more component of interest to the component binding moiety, resulting in one or more bound component of interest; (b) flow of the mixture of components through the separation channel region after flowing the mixture of components through the binding region, thereby separating the mixture of components resulting in one or more separated components; (c) release of the one or more bound component of interest from the binding channel, resulting in one or more released component of interest; and, (d) flow of the one or more released component of interest through the separation channel region.