Method, system, and program product for controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system

• US 20060021875A1
• Filed: 07/07/2005
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Original Assignee: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Inventors: Akella, Srinivas, Griffith, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/451
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/3021 the components to be mixed being combined in a single independent droplet, e.g. these droplets being divided by a non-miscible fluid or consisting of independent droplets
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/3031 using electro-hydrodynamic [EHD] or electro-kinetic [EKI] phenomena to mix or move the fluids
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/2209 Controlling the mixing process as a whole, i.e. involving a complete monitoring and controlling of the mixing process during the whole mixing cycle
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/143 Quality control, feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0819 Microarrays; Biochips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/089 Virtual walls for guiding liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0427 Electrowetting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502784 specially adapted for droplet or plug flow, e.g. digital microfluidics automatic analysis using a stream of discrete samples in a tube system G01N35/08
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

The present invention provides, in a first aspect, a method, system, and program product for controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system that include logically partitioning cells of a digital microfluidic system array into a plurality of virtual components wherein at least one of the virtual components is capable of handling droplets of reactants associated with distinct chemical reactions concurrently. In a second aspect, a respective next cell is determined for each of a plurality of chemical droplets in the digital microfluidic system array, which may include droplets of reactants associated with distinct chemical reactions. In another aspect, a method, system, and program product for controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system in accordance with the present invention induce a chemical droplet of the plurality of chemical droplets in the digital microfluidic system array to move to the respective next cell determined for the chemical droplet.

Claims

1. A method of controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system, the method comprising:

(i) logically partitioning cells of a digital microfluidic system array into a plurality of virtual components, at least one of the plurality of virtual components being capable of handling droplets of reactants associated with distinct chemical reactions concurrently;

(ii) determining a respective next cell for each of a plurality of chemical droplets in the digital microfluidic system array, the plurality of chemical droplets comprising the droplets of reactants; and

(iii) inducing a chemical droplet of the plurality of chemical droplets to move to the respective next cell determined for the chemical droplet by said determining step.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises dynamically allocating at least one virtual component of the plurality of virtual components to process an instance of a type of chemical reaction, the type being selected from at least one chemical reaction defined by a representation readable by the digital microfluidic system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining step comprises selecting a destination virtual component for the chemical droplet from the plurality of virtual components if the chemical droplet is not currently assigned a destination.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selecting selects a waiting work area virtual component if there is at least one waiting work area virtual component, the waiting work area virtual component comprising a work unit currently waiting for a requested droplet having a requested droplet type, and if the chemical droplet is the requested droplet of the requested droplet type.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the selecting chooses a work area virtual component having an empty work unit as the destination virtual component if the chemical droplet is not a requested droplet having a requested droplet type wherein at least one waiting work area component comprises a work unit waiting for the requested droplet having the requested droplet type.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said determining step further comprises ascertaining whether the chemical droplet can be moved to a cell in a direction toward an exit of a present virtual component of the plurality of virtual components, the present virtual component comprising a cell in which the chemical droplet is currently located.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said determining step further comprises querying whether an adjacent virtual component can accept the chemical droplet, the adjacent virtual component being located adjacent to a present virtual component of the plurality of virtual components, the present virtual component comprising a cell in which the chemical droplet is currently located.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a shortest path to the destination virtual component comprises the adjacent virtual component.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the inducing comprises applying a control signal to at least one electrode of the digital microfluidic system array.

10. A system for controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system, the system comprising:

(i) means for logically partitioning cells of a digital microfluidic system array into a plurality of virtual components, at least one of the plurality of virtual components being capable of handling droplets of reactants associated with distinct chemical reactions concurrently;

(ii) means for determining a respective next cell for each of a plurality of chemical droplets in the digital microfluidic system array, the plurality of chemical droplets comprising the droplets of reactants; and

(iii) means for inducing a chemical droplet of the plurality of chemical droplets to move to the respective next cell determined for the chemical droplet by said means for determining.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the system further comprises means for dynamically allocating at least one virtual component of the plurality of virtual components to process an instance of a type of chemical reaction, the type being selected from at least one chemical reaction defined by a representation readable by the digital microfluidic system.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said means for determining comprises means for selecting a destination virtual component for the chemical droplet from the plurality of virtual components if the chemical droplet is not currently assigned a destination.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the means for selecting selects a waiting work area virtual component if there is at least one waiting work area virtual component, the waiting work area virtual component comprising a work unit currently waiting for a requested droplet having a requested droplet type, and if the chemical droplet is the requested droplet of the requested droplet type.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the means for selecting chooses a work area virtual component having an empty work unit as the destination virtual component if the chemical droplet is not a requested droplet having a requested droplet type, wherein at least one waiting work area component comprises a work unit currently waiting for the requested droplet having the requested droplet type.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said means for determining further comprises means for ascertaining whether the chemical droplet can be moved to a cell in a direction toward an exit of a present virtual component of the plurality of virtual components, the present virtual component comprising a cell in which the chemical droplet is currently located.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein said means for determining further comprises means for querying whether an adjacent virtual component can accept the chemical droplet, the adjacent virtual component being located adjacent to a present virtual component of the plurality of virtual components, the present virtual component comprising a cell in which the chemical droplet is currently located.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein a shortest path to the destination virtual component comprises the adjacent virtual component.

18. The system of claim 10 wherein the means for inducing comprises means for applying a control signal to at least one electrode of the digital microfluidic system array.

19. At least one program storage device readable by a machine embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of controlling chemical reactions in a digital microfluidic system, the method comprising:

(i) logically partitioning cells of a digital microfluidic system array into a plurality of virtual components, at least one of the plurality of virtual components being capable of handling droplets of reactants associated with distinct chemical reactions concurrently;

(ii) determining a respective next cell for each of a plurality of chemical droplets in the digital microfluidic system array, the plurality of chemical droplets comprising the droplets of reactants; and

(iii) inducing a chemical droplet of the plurality of chemical droplets to move to the respective next cell determined for the chemical droplet by said determining step.

20. The at least one program storage device of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises dynamically allocating at least one virtual component of the plurality of virtual components to process an instance of a type of chemical reaction, the type being selected from at least one chemical reaction defined by a representation readable by the digital microfluidic system.

21. The at least one program storage device of claim 19, wherein said determining step comprises selecting a destination virtual component for the chemical droplet from the plurality of virtual components if the chemical droplet is not currently assigned a destination.

22. The at least one program storage device of claim 21, wherein the selecting selects a waiting work area virtual component if there is at least one waiting work area virtual component, the waiting work area virtual component comprising a work unit currently waiting for a requested droplet having a requested droplet type, and if the chemical droplet is the requested droplet of the requested droplet type.

23. The at least one program storage device of claim 21, wherein the selecting chooses a work area virtual component having an empty work unit as the destination virtual component if the chemical droplet is not a requested droplet having a requested droplet type wherein at least one waiting work area component comprises a work unit waiting for the requested droplet having the requested droplet type.