Microfluidic free interface diffusion techniques
First Claim
1. A method of mixing two fluids comprising:
- disposing a first static fluid;
disposing a second fluid proximate to the first static fluid to form a fluidic interface;
suppressing convective flow of the first and second fluids such that mixing between the first and second fluids across the interface occurs substantially exclusively by diffusion.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A static fluid and a second fluid are placed into contact along a microfluidic free interface and allowed to mix by diffusion without convective flow across the interface. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the fluids are static and initially positioned on either side of a closed valve structure in a microfluidic channel having a width that is tightly constrained in at least one dimension. The valve is then opened, and no-slip layers at the sides of the microfluidic channel suppress convective mixing between the two fluids along the resulting interface. Applications for microfluidic free interfaces in accordance with embodiments of the present invention include, but are not limited to, protein crystallization studies, protein solubility studies, determination of properties of fluidics systems, and a variety of biological assays such as diffusive immunoassays, substrate turnover assays, and competitive binding assays.
95 Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A method of mixing two fluids comprising:
-
disposing a first static fluid; disposing a second fluid proximate to the first static fluid to form a fluidic interface; suppressing convective flow of the first and second fluids such that mixing between the first and second fluids across the interface occurs substantially exclusively by diffusion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
Specification