SYSTEM FOR EMULSION ASPIRATION

• US 20140216579A1
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bio-Rad Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bio-Rad Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Cauley, Thomas H. III, Rose, Klint, Hamilton, James M., Bemis, Adam
• Granted Patent: US 9,388,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 137/565.23
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/104 characterised by the arrangement of the discharge opening
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/1041 the mixing chamber being vertical with the outlet tube at its upper side
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/1042 the mixing chamber being vertical and having an outlet tube at its bottom whose inlet is at a higher level than the inlet of the vortex creating jet, e.g. the jet being introduced at the bottom of the mixing chamber
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 29/40221 provided with baffles, plates or bars on the wall or the bottom
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 29/40222 provided with guide tubes on the wall or the bottom
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 29/40231 Surface characteristics, e.g. coated, rough
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0684 Venting, avoiding backpressure, avoid gas bubbles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/044 pierceable, e.g. films, membranes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/046 Function or devices integrated in the closure
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0829 Multi-well plates; Microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0851 Bottom walls
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0867 Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0275 Interchangeable or disposable dispensing tips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0279 co-operating with positive ejection means
• 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: B01L 3/5085 for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 3/00 Arrangements for supervising or controlling working operations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86083 Vacuum pump

Abstract

System, including apparatus and methods, for aspirating at least a portion of an emulsion from a well using a tip. In some embodiments, the tip may have a flat end and an inlet surrounded by the flat end. The well may have a floor with one or more surface features that prevent uninterrupted circumferential contact of the flat end of the tip with any region of the floor. In some embodiments, the tip may not have a flat end. In some embodiments, the well may have a port that guides the tip to the floor with the tip slanted with respect to the floor. Methods of making a device that includes the well are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for aspirating an emulsion, comprising:

a fluid-aspiration device including a tip having a flat end surrounding an inlet; and

a well to hold an emulsion and receive the flat end of the tip, the well including a floor having one or more surface features that prevent uninterrupted circumferential contact of the flat end of the tip with any region of the floor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the floor has a perimeter, and wherein an elevation of the floor alternately increases and decreases a plurality of times as the floor extends between opposite sides of the perimeter.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the floor defines a plane, and wherein at least a portion of each surface feature is located above and/or below the plane.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the floor defines at least one projection located at least partially above the plane.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least three of the surface features are arranged in a regular array.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the well includes a base portion having a top surface region forming the floor and a bottom surface region disposed opposite the top surface region, and wherein each of the one or more surface features has a complementary surface feature defined by the bottom surface region.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein an elevation of the floor and an elevation of the bottom surface region vary in parallel across the well.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a device including the well and a droplet generation region that is fluidically connected to the well.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the well is provided by a device including at least one other well, and wherein the at least one other well includes a floor having a copy of the one or more surface features.

10. A device for forming and holding an emulsion to be at least partially aspirated into a tip of a fluid-aspiration device, the tip having a flat end surrounding an inlet, the device comprising:

a droplet generation region configured to form droplets of an emulsion; and

a well fluidically connected to the droplet generation region and including a floor having one or more surface features that prevent uninterrupted circumferential contact of the flat end of the tip with any region of the floor.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the droplet generation region defines an orifice at which droplets are formed, wherein the orifice has a transverse dimension, and wherein each surface feature has a height or a depth of at least about one-half the transverse dimension.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the droplet generation region is configured to form droplets having an average diameter, and wherein each surface feature has a height or a depth of at least about one-half the average diameter.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the floor defines a plurality of ridges, a plurality of grooves, or both a plurality of ridges and a plurality of grooves.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the one or more surface features are positioned nonrandomly across the floor.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the well includes a base portion having a top surface region forming the floor and a bottom surface region disposed opposite the top surface region, and wherein each of the one or more surface features has a complementary surface feature defined by the bottom surface region.

16. A method of emulsion transport, the method comprising:

disposing an emulsion including droplets in a well having a floor;

disposing a flat end of a tip in the well and in contact with the emulsion and the floor;

aspirating at least a portion of the emulsion into the tip via an inlet thereof that is surrounded by the flat end,

wherein the floor defines a plane, wherein placement of the flat end of the tip against the floor parallel to the plane forms at least one passage for fluid flow under the flat end and into the tip.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the floor is patterned.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the floor defines one or more surface features having a nonrandom arrangement across the floor, and wherein at least one of the surface features forms at least part of the at least one passage.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising a step of forming the emulsion with a droplet generation region fluidically connected to the well.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one passage has a height that is greater than one-half of an average diameter of the droplets.