CPC G06K 7/02 (2013.01) [B01L 3/502761 (2013.01); G01N 15/10 (2013.01); G16C 20/20 (2019.02); B01L 2200/0652 (2013.01); B01L 2200/0663 (2013.01); B01L 2300/023 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0627 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0861 (2013.01); B01L 2400/0421 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1081 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1087 (2013.01); G01N 2015/1093 (2013.01)] | 27 Claims |
1. A microfluidic reader device adapted to authenticate the integrity of a product having a physical code embedded therein, the device comprising:
a micro/nanofluidic chip that incorporates a series of nano-Deterministic Lateral Displacement (DLD) arrays, which are adapted to separate colloids based upon size and shape;
an interface for loading into said chip a fluid containing said physical code that has been extracted from said product;
at least one detector embedded in said chip and/or interfaced to said chip;
a housing for protecting said chip and providing said interface;
an electrophoretic driving mechanism for moving said fluid through said chip;
a power source selectably connected to the electrophoretic driving mechanism;
a wireless transceiver for sending/receiving data; and
a controller, which is adapted by stored instructions to:
receive physical condition instructions from an authentication service via said wireless transceiver;
obtain at least one of a Tier 1 result and a Tier 2 result from said detector by operating said electrophoretic driving mechanism according to said physical condition instructions, thereby moving through said micro/nanofluidic chip said fluid containing said physical code, while electrically interrogating said detector;
transmit said at least one of said Tier 1 result and said Tier 2 result via said wireless transceiver; and
provide a user interface for operating and monitoring the authentication process.
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