Method and device for controlling liquid flow on the surface of a microfluidic chip
First Claim
1. A method for routing a liquid comprising the steps of:
- receiving said liquid on a patterned surface comprising one or more pathways; and
individually activating one or more heating elements, wherein said heating elements are in registry with said patterned surface for selectively heating said patterned surface under conditions effective for routing said liquid on said patterned surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a method and device for routing, mixing, or reacting droplets or liquid microstreams along the surface of a flat substrate. The flow of liquid microstreams or microdroplets along designated pathways is confined by chemical surface patterning. Individually addressable heating elements, which are embedded in the substrate, can be used to generate flow via thermocapillary effects or to trigger or quench chemical reactions. The open architecture allows the liquid to remain in constant contact with the ambient atmosphere. The device can be used for microfluidic applications or as a surface reactor or biosensor, among other applications.
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Citations
101 Claims
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1. A method for routing a liquid comprising the steps of:
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receiving said liquid on a patterned surface comprising one or more pathways; and
individually activating one or more heating elements, wherein said heating elements are in registry with said patterned surface for selectively heating said patterned surface under conditions effective for routing said liquid on said patterned surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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36. A device for routing a liquid comprising:
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a patterned surface receiving said liquid, said patterned surface comprising one or more pathways;
one or more heating elements in registry with said patterned surface; and
means for individually activating one or more of said one or more heating elements, to selectively heat said patterned surface under conditions effective for routing said liquid on said patterned surface.
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68. A method for routing a liquid comprising the steps of:
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receiving said liquid on a patterned surface, said patterned surface comprises one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway; and
individually activating one or more heating elements, wherein said heating elements are in registry with said patterned surface for selectively heating said patterned surface under conditions effective for routing said liquid along said hydrophilic surface.
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69. A device for routing a liquid comprising:
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a patterned surface receiving said liquid, said patterned surface comprising one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway;
one or more heating elements in registry with said patterned surface; and
means for individually activating one or more of said one or more heating elements, for selectively heating of said patterned surface under conditions effective for routing said liquid along said hydrophilic surface.
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70. A method for dividing a stream of liquid comprising the steps of:
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receiving said stream of liquid on a patterned surface, said patterned surface comprises one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway; and
individually activating one or more heating elements, wherein said heating elements are in registry with said patterned surface for selectively heating said patterned surface under conditions effective for dividing said stream of liquid into one or more droplets.
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71. A device for dividing a stream of a liquid comprising:
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a patterned surface receiving said stream of liquid, said patterned surface comprising one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway;
one or more heating elements in registry with said patterned surface; and
means for individually activating one or more of said one or more heating elements, for selectively heating of said patterned surface under conditions effective for dividing said stream of liquid into one or more droplets.
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72. A method for mixing two or more liquids comprising the steps of:
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receiving said two or more liquid, on a patterned surface, said patterned surface comprises one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway, each of said liquids being received in one of said pathways, said pathways being interconnected; and
individually activating one or more heating elements, wherein said heating elements are in registry with said patterned surface for selectively heating said patterned surface under conditions effective for mixing said two or more liquids in at least one of said pathways.
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73. A device for mixing two or more liquids comprising:
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a patterned surface, said patterned surface comprising one or more hydrophobic portions confining a hydrophilic surface to form a pathway, each of said liquids being received in one of said pathways, said pathways being interconnected;
one or more heating elements in registry with said patterned surface; and
means for individually activating one or more of said one or more heating elements, for selectively heating of said patterned surface under conditions effective for mixing said two or more liquids in at least one of said pathways.
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74. A method for detecting an airborne material in gaseous, particulate or aerosol form comprising the steps of:
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providing a device comprising a substrate having a network of one or more pathways on an upper surface of said substrate, each said one or more pathways extending between a pair of reservoirs, a heat source coupled to a bottom surface of said substrate, a heat sink coupled to said bottom surface of said substrate opposite of said heat source;
applying a liquid to said network and allowing said liquid to flow by activation of said heating source;
applying said airborne material to said network; and
detecting said airborne material in said liquid. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 89)
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79. A device for detecting an airborne material in gaseous, particulate or aerosol form comprising:
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a substrate having a network of one or more pathways on an upper surface of said substrate, each said pathways extending between a pair of reservoirs, a heat source coupled to a bottom surface of said substrate, a heat sink coupled to said bottom surface of said substrate opposite of said heating source;
applying a liquid to said network and allowing said liquid to flow by activation of said heating source;
means for applying said airborne material to said network; and
means for detecting said airborne material in said liquid.
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84. A method for fabricating a device for controlling flow of a liquid comprising the steps of:
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a. optionally depositing a thermal and/or electrical insulator layer on said substrate;
b. depositing one or more heating elements on said substrate;
c. depositing a heater electrical insulator layer on said heating elements and said substrate or said thermal and/or electrical layer;
d. depositing a hydrophobic layer on said heater electrical insulator layer; and
e. patterning said hydrophobic layer to form one or more pathways for receiving flow of said liquid. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92)
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93. A method for forming a refreshable hydrophobic or hydrophilic surface comprising:
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evaporating a layer of Cr on said substrate;
evaporating a layer of Au on said layer of Cr;
spin coating photoresist on said layer of Au;
patterning said photoresist;
etching a pattern into said layer of Au and layer of Cr;
removing any remaining photoresist; and
coating said Au layer with a hydrophobic or hydrophilic material. - View Dependent Claims (94, 95, 96, 97)
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98. A method for storing a device, said device comprising a device for detecting an airborne material in gaseous, particulate or aerosol form including a substrate having a network of one or more pathways on an upper surface of said substrate, each said pathways extending between a pair of reservoirs, a heat source coupled to a bottom surface of said substrate, a heat sink coupled to said bottom surface of said substrate opposite of said heating source,
comprising the step of: storing said device in glycerol.
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99. A method for storing a device, said device comprising a device for detecting an airborne material in gaseous particulate or aerosol form including a substrate having a network of one or more pathways on an upper surface of said substrate, each said pathways extending between a pair of reservoirs, a heat source coupled to a bottom surface of said substrate, a heat sink coupled to said bottom surface of said substrate opposite of said heating source comprising the step of:
applying a layer of glycerol on said patterned surface.
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100. A method of storing a substrate having a hydrophobic or a hydrophilic layer comprising the step of:
applying a layer of glycerol on said substrate on said hydrophobic or hydrophilic layer.
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101. A method of storing a substrate having a hydrophobic or a hydrophilic layer comprising the step of:
storing said substrate in glycerol.
Specification