Shaping of microparticles in electric-field cages
First Claim
1. Process for shaping at least one microparticle, comprising:
- providing at least two spatially disposed electrodes thereby defining a reaction space fillable with a surrounding liquid, the electrodes having a width, a height and defining an interspace between the electrodes;
driving the electrodes with varying electrical voltages;
providing at least one of;
at least one small particle;
an aggregate of small particles;
a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle suspended therein;
a surrounding liquid with a dispersed phase; and
a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle and a dispersed phase, at least one of a relative dielectric constant and a specific conductivity of the small particle and the dispersed phase, respectively, at a selected varying electrical voltage of said electrodes being lower than that of said surrounding liquid;
at least partially immersing the electrodes in the surrounding liquid thereby filling the reaction space with surrounding liquid;
wherein forces due to the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes act on one of said at least one small particle and said dispersed phase, the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes being adjusted such that at least one of said at least one small particle suspended in said surrounding liquid and said dispersed phase is formed as a differently shaped microparticle and at least partially permanently shaped by one of cross-linking, hardening and solidifying.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In the method proposed, microparticles suspended in a liquid or droplets suspended in a liquid with which they are immiscible are shaped by high-frequency electric fields in a three-dimensional electrode array of a size in the micrometer or submicrometer range and subsequently consolidated by prior art chemical bonding procedures or by physical methods. The disposition, geometry and control of the electrodes determine the shape of the particles. The particles themselves must have a conductivity and/or relative dielectric constant lower than the solution surrounding them. For some, this can be achieved only at certain frequencies in the kHz and MHz band which are determined by the passive electrical properties of the particles and the surrounding solution. The particles or droplets are repelled by the electrodes so that they are shaped in the free solution without making contact with any surface and can then be consolidated. This makes it possible to shape micrometer and submicrometer size particles of the kind required in chromatography, affinity biochemistry and medicine, as well as for filter systems.
-
Citations
48 Claims
-
1. Process for shaping at least one microparticle, comprising:
-
providing at least two spatially disposed electrodes thereby defining a reaction space fillable with a surrounding liquid, the electrodes having a width, a height and defining an interspace between the electrodes; driving the electrodes with varying electrical voltages; providing at least one of;
at least one small particle;
an aggregate of small particles;
a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle suspended therein;
a surrounding liquid with a dispersed phase; and
a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle and a dispersed phase, at least one of a relative dielectric constant and a specific conductivity of the small particle and the dispersed phase, respectively, at a selected varying electrical voltage of said electrodes being lower than that of said surrounding liquid;at least partially immersing the electrodes in the surrounding liquid thereby filling the reaction space with surrounding liquid; wherein forces due to the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes act on one of said at least one small particle and said dispersed phase, the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes being adjusted such that at least one of said at least one small particle suspended in said surrounding liquid and said dispersed phase is formed as a differently shaped microparticle and at least partially permanently shaped by one of cross-linking, hardening and solidifying. - 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, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A process for shaping at least one microparticle, comprising:
-
providing at least two spatially disposed electrodes thereby defining a reaction space fillable with a surrounding liquid, the electrodes having a width, a height and defining an interspace between the electrodes; driving the electrodes with varying electrical voltages; providing at least one of;
at least one small particle;
an aggregate of small particles;
a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle suspended therein;
a surrounding liquid with a dispersed phase; and
, a surrounding liquid with at least one small particle and a dispersed phase, at least one of a relative dielectric constant and a specific conductivity of the small particle and the dispersed phase, respectively, at a selected varying electrical voltage of said electrodes being lower than that of said surrounding liquid;at least partially immersing the electrodes in the surrounding liquid thereby filling the reaction space with surrounding liquid; wherein forces due to the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes act on one of said at least one small particle and said dispersed phase, the varying electrical voltages driving the electrodes being adjusted such that at least one of said at least one small particle suspended in said surrounding liquid and said dispersed phase is formed as a differently shaped microparticle and at least partially permanently shaped by one of cross-linking, hardening and solidifying; and
,wherein the forces due to the varying electrical voltages driving the spatially disposed electrodes form a field cage and a plurality of adjacent spatially disposed electrodes are provided defining a plurality of adjacent field cages and a plurality of microparticles are formed adjacent to each other in the plurality of adjacent field cages, the adjacent spatially disposed electrodes being arranged to form a channel as the reaction space and a microparticle in a form of one of a band and a chain of predeterminable length is formed in the plurality of adjacent field cages along the reaction space channel, the reaction space being defined by a plurality of electrode multipoles disposed along said reaction space, the multipoles being arranged in a plane perpendicular an extension of the elongated reaction space. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48)
-
Specification