1. A microchip comprising:
a substrate;
an inlet channel in said substrate;
an outlet channel in said substrate for guiding fluid below a fluid level;
a plurality of test channels in said substrate for guiding fluid flow from said inlet channel to said outlet channel, each one of said test channels having an inlet for fluid communication with said inlet channel and an outlet for fluid communication with said outlet channel, said inlet elevated from said outlet for inhibiting back flow through said inlet, said outlet elevated from said fluid level for inhibiting back flow through said outlet; and
one test site in each one of said test channels, for detection of at least one of a specific molecule and a molecular interaction at said test site.
2. The microchip of claim 1, wherein each one of said channels has a substantially flat bottom, said bottom of said inlet channel elevated from bottoms of said test channels, said bottoms of said test channels elevated from said bottom of said outlet channel.
3. The microchip of claim 1, wherein at least one of said test channels comprises a well for holding fluid therein.
4. The microchip of any one of claim 1, wherein said inlet and outlet channels are adapted to allow a liquid to flow at a greater rate in said outlet channel than in said inlet channel.
5. The microchip of any one of claim 1, wherein each one of said test sites comprises a surface suitable for immobilizing specific molecules thereon.
6. The microchip of any one claim 1, further comprising probe molecules immobilized at each one of said test sites, said probe molecules having specific affinity to selected target molecules.
7. The microchip of claim 6, wherein different probe molecules are immobilized at different ones of said test sites for detecting different target molecules.
8. The microchip of any one of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electrodes, one of said electrodes at each one of said test sites.
9. The microchip of claim 8, wherein at least one of said test channels comprises a narrowed section proximate said test site in said at least one test channel for guiding fluid towards said test site.
10. The microchip of claim 8, wherein said plurality of electrodes are first electrodes, said microchip further comprising a plurality of second electrodes, one of said second electrodes in each one of said test channels.
11. The microchip of claim 10, wherein said first electrodes are interconnected and said second electrodes are interconnected, such that each pair of said electrodes in each one of said test channels is uniquely addressable.
12. The microchip of claim 10, further comprising probe molecules immobilized proximate said first electrodes.
13. The microchip of any one of claim 1, wherein said test channels extend substantially in parallel.
14. The microchip of any one of claim 1, further comprising a dilution channel formed in said substrate, said dilution channel in fluid communication with said inlet channel and having a first inlet for reception of a first fluid and at least one second inlet for reception of a second fluid to dilute said first fluid.
15. The microchip of claim 14, wherein said at least one second inlet comprises a plurality of second inlets.
16. The microchip of any one of claim 1, wherein said substrate comprises polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).
17. The microchip of claim 16, wherein a PDMS surface in each one of at least one of said plurality of test sites is coated with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), thus forming a PDMS-APTES surface.
18. The microchip of claim 17, wherein probe molecules are covalently immobilized on said PDMS-APTES surface through cross-linkers.
19. The microchip of claim 18, wherein said cross-linkers comprise at least one of glutaraldehyde and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodi-imide.
20. The microchip of any one of claim 1, wherein at least one of said channels is adapted for connection to at least one of a pump and a valve for regulating fluid flow.
21. A method of detecting molecules or molecular interaction, comprising:
providing a microchip having a substrate, an inlet channel in said substrate, an outlet channel in said substrate, a plurality of test channels in said substrate each having an inlet for fluid communication with said inlet channel and an outlet for fluid communication with said outlet channel, said inlet elevated from said outlet, and one test site in each one of said plurality of test channels;
introducing a fluid to said test channels through said inlet channel;
inhibiting back flow of said fluid through said inlets and outlets by allowing overflow of said fluid from said test channels to said outlet channel through said outlets and maintaining the fluid level in said outlet channel below said outlets, thus inhibiting diffusion of molecules in said fluid from one of said test sites to another one of said test sites; and
after said fluid has been introduced to said test channels, detecting at least one of a molecule and a molecular interaction at a test site within said plurality of test sites.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein said detecting comprises detecting a signal indicative of at least one of the presence of said molecule and the occurrence of said molecular interaction, said signal comprising at least one of optical, electrical, magnetic, radiation, and electromagnetic signals.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein probe molecules are immobilized at said test site for selectively capturing at least one of target molecules and reporter molecules.
24. The method of any one of claim 21, wherein said at least one of said molecule and molecular interaction is detected at said test site by enzyme immunoassaying (EIA).
25. The method of claim 24, wherein said EIA comprises enzyme-linked immunosorbent assaying (ELISA).
26. The method of claim 24, wherein said EIA comprises electrochemical EIA (EIA-EC).
27. The method of any one of claim 26, wherein said EIA comprises one of direct EIA, competitive EIA, competitive inhibition EIA, and sandwich EIA:
28. The method of claim 27, wherein said detecting comprises detecting an electrical signal and said microchip comprises a plurality of electrodes, at least one of said electrodes at each one of said test sites for detecting said electric signal.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein said electric signal comprises at least one of a current, a voltage, and impedance.
30. The method of any one of claim 29, wherein said microchip further comprises a dilution channel in fluid communication with said inlet channel and having a first inlet and at least one second inlet, said introducing a fluid comprising feeding said fluid into said dilution channel through said first inlet and feeding a dilution fluid into said dilution channel through said at least one second inlet so that a diluted fluid is received in said inlet channel and thus said test channels.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A keyboard comprising:
a key;
a magnetic element fixed in the key;
a support sheet;
a resilient element connecting the key and the support sheet to restore the key after the key is pressed towards the support sheet and released;
a sensing board disposed beneath the support sheet; and
an induction coil mounted on the sensing board and aligned with the magnetic element to generate an electrical signal when the key is pressed.
2. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the key comprises an upper surface for being pressed, an opposite bottom surface, a blind hole, a pair of first joining members, and a pair of second joining members; the blind hole, the first joining member, and the second joining member are defined on the bottom surface; the magnetic element is fixed in the blind hole; the support sheet comprises a connecting surface, a through hole, and a limiting member disposed on the connecting surface; the resilient member comprises a first supporting rack, a second supporting rack and a pair of fastening members; the first supporting rack and the second supporting rack are coupled to each other by the fastening members; the first supporting rack is rotatablely connected to the first joining member by one end and rotatablely connected to the limiting member by the other end, and the second supporting rack is rotatablely connected to the second joining member by one end and rotatablely connected to the limiting member by the other end.
3. The keyboard as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the first and second joining members is semi-cylindrical extending from the bottom surface and defines a pivot hole therethrough.
4. The keyboard as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the first and second supporting racks is rectangular in shape and comprises a middle portion, two side portions, and two ends, the two side portions extended from two ends of the middle portion correspondingly and being substantially perpendicular to the middle portion, the ends extended from the two side portions correspondingly towards each other and being substantially perpendicular to the side portions; each of the side portions defines a joining hole at the middle thereof, the joining holes aligned with each other; the first supporting rack and the second supporting rack are coupled to each other by inserting a fastening member through the joining holes correspondingly; and the first and second supporting racks are rotatablely connected to the key via rotatably inserting the ends through the pivot holes.
5. The keyboard as claimed in claim 2, wherein the limiting member comprises two parallel slots and two limiting blocks corresponding to the slots, the slots defined on the connecting surface at opposite sides of the through hole; and each of the slots is bounded by an inner edge near to the through hole and an outer edge away from the through hole, the limiting blocks fixed at the outer edge correspondingly and partially covering the slots.
6. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element is cylindrical and comprises an upper end having a first magnetic polarity and a bottom end having a second magnetic polarity opposite to the first magnetic polarity, the magnetic polarity direction of the magnetic element being perpendicular to the sensing board.
7. The keyboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support sheet can be made of non-magnetic material.
8. A system for generating electrical energy, the system comprising:
a plurality of keys;
a plurality of magnetic elements fixed in each of the keys;
a support sheet;
a plurality of resilient elements connected to each of the keys and the support sheet for providing a return action of the keys;
a printed circuit board disposed beneath the support sheet; and
a plurality of induction coils mounted on the printed circuit board and aligned with each of the magnetic elements for generating electrical energy when the key is pressed; and
an energy storage device connected to the printed circuit board for storing the electrical energy generated by the induction coils.
9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the key comprises an upper surface for being pressed, an opposite bottom surface, a blind hole, a pair of first joining members, and a pair of second joining members; the blind hole, the first joining member, and the second joining member are defined on the bottom surface; the magnetic element is fixed in the blind hole; the support sheet comprises a connecting surface, a plurality of through holes, and a plurality of limiting members disposed on the connecting surface; the resilient member comprises a first supporting rack, a second supporting rack and a pair of fastening members; the first supporting rack and the second supporting rack are coupled to each other by the fastening members; the first supporting rack is rotatablely connected to the first joining member by one end and rotatablely connected to the limiting member by the other end, and the second supporting rack is rotatablely connected to the second joining member by one end and rotatablely connected to the limiting member by the other end.
10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the first and second joining members is semi-cylindrical extending from the bottom surface and defines a pivot hole therethrough.
11. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the first and second supporting racks is rectangular in shape and comprises a middle portion, two side portions, and two ends, the two side portions extended from two ends of the middle portion correspondingly and being substantially perpendicular to the middle portion, the ends extended from the two side portions correspondingly towards each other and being substantially perpendicular to the side portions; each of the side portions defines a joining hole at the middle thereof, the joining holes aligned with each other; the first supporting rack and the second supporting rack are coupled to each other by inserting the fastening member through the joining holes correspondingly; and the first and second supporting racks are rotatablely connected to the key via rotatably inserting the ends through the pivot holes.
12. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the limiting members comprises two parallel slots and two limiting blocks corresponding to the slots, the slots defined on the connecting surface at opposite sides of the through hole; and each of the slots is bounded by an inner edge near to the through hole and an outer edge away from the through hole, the limiting blocks fixed at the outer edge correspondingly and partially covering the slots.
13. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the magnetic element is cylindrical and comprises an upper end having a first magnetic polarity and a bottom end having a second magnetic polarity opposite to the first magnetic polarity, the magnetic polarity direction of the magnetic element being perpendicular to the sensing board.
14. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the support sheet can be made of non-magnetic material.
15. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the energy storage device comprises a charge pump connected to the printed circuit board and a battery connected to the charge pump, the charge pump amassing the electrical power generated by each of the induction coils for charging the battery.