US 12,064,761 B2
Flow cell with flexible connection
Cyril Delattre, San Diego, CA (US); Minsoung Rhee, San Diego, CA (US); Jeffrey Liu, San Diego, CA (US); Wesley Cox-Muranami, San Diego, CA (US); Paul Crivelli, San Diego, CA (US); Jennifer Foley, San Diego, CA (US); Darren Segale, San Diego, CA (US); Jay Taylor, San Diego, CA (US); Matthew Hage, San Diego, CA (US); Philip Paik, San Diego, CA (US); Erik Allegoren, San Diego, CA (US); David Hertzog, San Diego, CA (US); Alex Moroz-Smietana, San Diego, CA (US); Xiaoxiao Ma, San Diego, CA (US); Tsukasa Takahashi, San Diego, CA (US); and Brandon Westerberg, San Diego, CA (US)
Assigned to Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed by Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA (US)
Filed on May 2, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/401,805.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/671,481, filed on May 15, 2018.
Claims priority of application No. 2021147 (NL), filed on Jun. 18, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2019/0351413 A1, Nov. 21, 2019
Int. Cl. B01L 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC B01L 3/502715 (2013.01) [B01L 3/527 (2013.01); B01L 2200/027 (2013.01); B01L 2200/06 (2013.01); B01L 2200/16 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0887 (2013.01)] 31 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An instrument comprising:
a reagent management system, operable to be positioned in the instrument, the reagent management system comprising a plurality of reagent wells, each reagent well operable to contain a reagent of a plurality of reagents positioned therein, the reagent management system operable to select a flow of reagent from one of the plurality of reagent wells;
a flexible connection comprised of a laminate stack and operable to be positioned in the instrument, the flexible connection comprising a first channel inlet via and a first channel outlet via connected therebetween by a first flexible channel, the first channel inlet via in fluid communication with the reagent management system, the first flexible channel operable to route the flow of reagent therethrough, wherein the laminate stack of the flexible connection comprises a top layer, a bottom layer and an intermediate layer therebetween, the intermediate layer comprises a laminate stack of alternating intermediate sublayers and adhesive layers through which the first flexible channel passes, wherein, within the intermediate layer, the ratio of volume of the adhesive layers to the total volume of the adhesive layers plus the intermediate sublayers is between about 50 percent to 25 percent, wherein the first flexible channel has a burst pressure of 40 psig or greater, wherein the burst pressure of the first flexible channel is the pressure at which leaks will develop in the first flexible channel, wherein the flexible connection comprises a sinuous shape of a letter S, and the flexible connection comprises a flexibility, the flexibility defined as enabling a second distal end of the flexible connection to be moved a distance of about 20 percent of the overall length of the flexible connection in an X direction toward a first distal end of the flexible connection and, thereafter, move the second distal end of the flexible connection a distance of four millimeters in a direction perpendicular to the X direction with less than 0.1 newtons of force;
a flow cell, operable to be positioned in the instrument, the flow cell comprising an inlet port and an outlet port connected therebetween by a flow channel, the inlet port of the flow cell connected to the first channel outlet via of the flexible connection, the flow channel in fluid communication with the first flexible channel, the flow channel operable to route the flow of reagent over analytes positioned in the flow channel; and
a detection module;
wherein the reagent management system and the flow cell are mechanically and flexibly connected together by the flexible connection; and
wherein the flow cell is moveable by the instrument relative to a fixed reference point in the instrument and relative to the reagent management system due to a movement of the flexible connection that occurs while the flow cell is moved.