Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Incorporated

Kawamura Institute of Chemical Research

Other

Kuraray Co., Ltd.

Kawamura Inst. of Chemical Res.

Takanori Anazawa

Husheng Zhang

Atsushi Teramae

Yoshiyuki Ono

Yasuko Watanabe

Hideki Watanabe

Tetsuo Takada

Hiroyuki Akasu

Kazunari Sakai

Hiroshi Ebato

Rishichi Mimura

Kazuo Hasumi

Miyuki Miyajima

Kazutaka Murata

Arihito Fujiwara

Masaaki Masui

The object of the present invention is to provide a production process of a microfluidic device in which a porous resin layer, which is capable of optimally fixing a large amount of enzyme, antigen or other protein or catalyst on the inner surface of a minute channel of a microfluidic device without obstructing said channel, is formed at a uniform thickness on the surface of said channel. In the present invention, by preliminarily forming a porous resin layer having a large number of pores in its surface on a substrate, and forming an indentation having a porous resin layer on its bottom surface by using an activating energy beam-curable composition on said porous resin layer, followed by forming a channel by adhering a member serving as a cover to said indentation, a porous resin layer can easily be formed at a uniform thickness on the surface of said channel.

Microfluidic device

There is provided a micro chemical device with a valve function for which the pressure resistance is high and the channel cross-sectional area does not depend on the fluid pressure, and which furthermore enables the suppression of the adsorption of biological matter and yet is easy to produce, as well as a flow regulation method using such a device. This has a valve function, in which a member (B) is bonded to a member (A) with a groove in the surface thereof, via the surface of the member (A) in which the groove is formed, a capillary type channel of width from 1 to 1000 &#x3bc;m and height from 1 to 1000 &#x3bc;m is formed by the groove of the member (A) and the member (B) at the bonding surface between the member (A) and the member (B), a cavity section is formed partway along the channel and the width of this cavity section is from 0.5 to 100 fold the width of the capillary type channel and the ratio of maximum height/maximum width for the cavity section is no more than 1, and either one of the member (A) and the member (B) is formed from a soft material with a tensile modulus of elasticity within a range from 0.1 MPa to 700 MPa, at least within the portion which corresponds with the position of the cavity section, wherein by selectively compressing the cavity section from the external surface of the member (A) and/or the member (B), the volume of the cavity section can be reduced in a reversible manner.

Very small chemical device and flow rate adjusting method therefor

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a microdevice having a fine capillary cavity formed as a cut portion of a very thin layer which is likely to be broken, particularly a method of manufacturing a microdevice having complicated passages formed in three dimensions with high productivity. Also, the present invention provides a multi-functional microdevice which has a fine capillary passage formed by laminating plural resin layers, fine capillary cavities piercing through the respective layers to communicate and intersect three-dimensionally with each other, a space which should serve as a reaction chamber, a diaphragm valve, and a stopper structure. The method includes the steps of forming a semi-cured coating film having a cut portion made of an active energy ray curable composition on a coating substrate, laminating the semi-cured coating film with another member and removing the substrate, irradiating the semi-cured coating film again with an active energy ray before and/or after the removal of the substrate, thereby curing the coating film and bonding with said another member. The microdevice has a multi-layered structure wherein a member (J') {selected from a member having a cut portion piercing through the member, a member having a recessed cut portion on the surface, and a member having a cut portion piercing through the member and a recessed cut portion on the surface}, a member (K&#x2032;) and one or more active energy ray curable resin layers (X&#x2032;) having a cut portion at a portion of the layer, the cut portion having a minimum width within a range from 1 to 1000 &#x3bc;m, are laminated and two or more cut portions in the members are connected to form a cavity.

Method of manufacturing microdevice having laminated structure

A porous material is disclosed, made of a semi IPN type polymer alloy of a crosslinked polymer (A) obtained by the crosslinking polymerization of a crosslinking-polymerizable vinyl monomer and/or oligomer (a) with a non-crosslinked polymer (D) which is soluble in a solvent (B) capable of dissolving said monomer and/or oligomer (a) therein and subjecting said crosslinked polymer (A) to gelation but is insoluble in a coagulating solution (C) which is compatible with said solvent (B) but doesn't subject said crosslinked polymer (D) to gelation. A porous material excellent in mechanical strength as well as in heat resistance can be prepared. Various functional groups can be introduced into the surface of the porous material. Further, the pore diameter can be easily controlled. The porous material of the present invention is excellent in physical properties such as strength, hardness and heat resistance as well as in chemical and biological properties such as non-adsorptivity and selective adsorptivity of protein.

Process for the preparation of porous material and porous material

Disclosed is a process for producing a material having hydrophilic surface which comprises forming a hydrophobic photopolymerizable composition comprising a hydrophobic compound (a) having two or more polymerizable unsaturated double bonds per molecule and a photopolymerization initiator into a desired form and irradiating the resultant shape (b) with actinic rays while keeping the surface of the shape (b) in contact with a hydrophilic liquid (d) containing a hydrophilic compound (c) having one or more polymerizable unsaturated double bonds under such conditions that a photopolymerization reaction is prevented from occurring in the hydrophilic liquid (d) except at the interface between the liquid (d) and the shape (b), whereby the shape (b) is cured and, at the same time, the hydrophobic compound (a) is copolymerized with the hydrophilic compound (c) at the interface between the shape (b) and the hydrophilic liquid (d) to chemically bond molecules of the hydrophilic compound (c) to the surface of the hydrophobic shape (b). The process is advantageous in that the kind and density of hydrophilic groups can be easily controlled and the structure and properties inherent in the material formed from the photopolymerizable composition are not impaired.

Process for producing material with hydrophilic surface

A method for producing a high-quality crop is described, which comprises irrigating soil with oxygen-removed water or water supersaturated with a non-oxygen gas, and the water is preferably drenched into the soil and/or irrigated onto the soil surface which is coated with a substantially air non-permeable sheet.

Method for producing high quality crop

A diaphragm for gas-liquid contact comprising a membrane having two surfaces, at least one surface of the membrane is hydrophilic and surfaces of micropores present in the membrane are hydrophobic. The diaphragm is used in contact apparatus in which a liquid is contacted with the hydrophilic surface of the membrane and a gas is contacted with the other surface. The diaphragm is used in a process for producing a liquid containing a gas dissolved therein, which comprises introducing a liquid into contact with the hydrophilic surface of the membrane and a gas into contact with the other surface of the membrane and having the gas pass through the membrane and dissolve in the liquid.

Diaphragm for gas-liquid contact, gas-liquid contact apparatus and

An asymmetric polymer membrane is disclosed characterized by being formed by irradiating a monomer and/or an oligomer polymerizable with an energy ray and having a pore diameter distribution in the thickness direction of the membrane, a ratio of a permeability flux of oxygen to nitrogen of 0.9-1.1, and communicating pores.

Asymmetric polymer membrane and preparation thereof

A membrane-type artificial lung adapted to perform exchange of gases between blood and a gas through a membrane by passing blood over one side of the membrane and oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas over the other side, said membrane being a hollow fiber membrane which is composed mainly of a polyolefin, has an inside diameter of 10 to 500 micrometers, a thickness of 5 to 100 micrometers, a porosity of 7 to 50% and an oxygen flux, Q(O.sub.2), of at least 1.times.10.sup.-6 [cm.sup.3 (STP)/(cm.sup.2.sec.cmHg)] and is substantially impermeable to ethanol.

Artificial lung and method of using it

Method for producing a gas separation membrane comprising a microporous support having provided thereon a non-porous coating layer. The method comprises melt extruding a thermoplastic crystalline polymer under particular melt-extrusion conditions to form a precursor in the form of a hollow fiber or flat film, coating the precursor as a support with a coating substance composed of a natural or synthetic substance capable of forming a polymeric layer which does not form pinholes upon subsequent drawing after solidification to form a coating layer on the surface of the support, and solidifying the coating layer. The support is annealed either before or after the cooling process, and this is followed by cold drawing and heat setting the support to form the gas separation membrane.

Process for producing membranes for use in gas separation

A heterogeneous membrane of a thermoplastic crystalline polymer composed of a microporous layer and a nonporous layer and having excellent properties, for example as a diaphragm for separating a gaseous mixture; and a process for production thereof. The heterogeneous membrane is in the form of, for example, a flat film or a tubular film (preferably a hollow fiber). The microporous layer contains pores with a diameter of 0.01 to 50 microns, whereas the nonporous layer does not substantially contain pores having a diameter of at least 30 .ANG. and has a thickness of 0.01 to 1 micron. The heterogeneous membrane is characterized by having at least 3 times as high an apparent oxygen permeability coefficient P(O.sub.2) at 25.degree. C. as a nonporous homogeneous membrane of the same material and an oxygen-nitrogen separation coefficient .alpha. (O.sub.2 /N.sub.2) at 25.degree. C., i.e. the ratio of the apparent oxygen permeability coefficient P(O.sub.2) to the apparent nitrogen permeability coefficient P(N.sub.2), of at least 1.2. The heterogeneous membrane can be industrially produced easily and conveniently with a high efficiency by a melt-extrusion film-forming step, a stretching step and a heat-setting step under specified conditions.

Growing community of inventors

Sakura, Japan

Takanori Anazawa