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Bead incubation and washing on a droplet actuator

  • US 10,585,090 B2
  • Filed: 09/14/2018
  • Issued: 03/10/2020
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2006
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of separating magnetically responsive beads from a droplet, the method comprising:

  • (a) providing a droplet actuator comprising;

    (i) droplet operations electrodes arranged for conducting droplet operations on a droplet operations surface; and

    (ii) a magnet positioned relative to the droplet operations surface such that a droplet controlled by one or more of the droplet operations electrodes may be positioned within or away from a first region of the magnet'"'"'s magnetic field capable of substantially attracting magnetically responsive beads in the droplet;

    (b) positioning a droplet having magnetically responsive beads therein within the first region of the magnetic field of the magnet to cause the magnetically responsive beads to be attracted to the magnet, and activating the droplet operations surface to cause the droplet to be circular in shape;

    (c) operating the droplet operations surface to cause the droplet to move away from the first region of the magnetic field to form a concentration of magnetically responsive beads in the droplet, and the droplet operations surface being operated to cause the droplet to be transported away from the magnet one droplet operations electrode at a time, to cause the geometry of the droplet to be distorted; and

    (d) continuing to transport the droplet away from the magnet to cause the concentration of magnetically responsive beads to break away from the droplet to result in a relatively small and highly concentrated magnetically responsive bead droplet left behind and held immobilized by the magnet.

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