Capillary valve, connector, and router

Abstract

A capillary valve, connector and router where one or more cylindrical fibers, which may be capillaries, plugged capillaries, optical fibers, or the like, including at least one capillary tube are contained in a first cylindrical bundle of fibers that terminates at a first face. A second cylindrical bundle of fibers also containing one or more fibers including at least one capillary tube terminates in a second face abutting the first face. A fastener or adapter holds the members together with faces in mutually biased alignment, allowing relative rotation of the two cylindrical bundles which terminate in rotatable ferrules. Various functions achieved by rotation include a zero dead volume slide valve, a fluid router and a manifold. The fibers in each sleeve are preferably of uniform size for close symmetrical packing, but could be of disparate sizes, allowing connection of macroscale tubes to capillary tubes. A single connector member may be attached by a fastener to a reservoir or other macroscale device to bring one or more capillary tubes into fluid communication with a macroscale device. A plurality of fibers in one ferrule could allow dispensing of fluid from a single fiber in the other ferrule so that a single fiber could feed a plurality of wells through the plurality of fibers. Connection of a plurality of macroscale pumps enables push-pull fluid motion, with routing, in a capillary system formed by a plurality of fibers coupled by switches, connectors and routers. Chemical reactions, separations and analysis may be carried out with microliter volumes and smaller.