Methods for forming mixed droplets

• US 9,364,803 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bio-Rad Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Raindance Technologies Incorporated (Bio-Rad Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Yurkovetsky, Yevgeny, Link, Darren Roy, Larson, Jonathan William
• Primary Examiner(s): FORMAN, BETTY J
• Application Number:
  US13/371,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20120219947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2101/23 Mixing of laboratory samples e.g. in preparation of analysing or testing properties of materials
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/405 Methods of mixing liquids with liquids B01F23/4105 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/451 by injecting one liquid into another
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/14 Mixing drops, droplets or bodies of liquid which flow together or contact each other micromixers using where the materials to be mixed are in the form of droplets B01F33/302
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/314 wherein additional components are introduced at the circumference of the conduit
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/3141 with additional mixing means other than injector mixers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/3011 using a sheathing stream of a fluid surrounding a central stream of a different fluid, e.g. for reducing the cross-section of the central stream or to produce droplets from the central stream
• 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: B01L 2200/0652 Sorting or classification of particles or molecules
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0673 Handling of plugs of fluid surrounded by immiscible fluid
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0867 Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0415 electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• 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 7/525 with physical movement of samples between temperature zones

Abstract

The invention generally relates to methods for forming mixed droplets. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve forming a droplet, and contacting the droplet with a fluid stream, wherein a portion of the fluid stream integrates with the droplet to form a mixed droplet.

Claims

1. A method for forming a mixed droplet, the method comprising:

forming a droplet of a first fluid;

flowing the droplet of the first fluid in a first channel comprising a drop track thereby flowing the droplet of the first fluid away from center streamline and toward a bolus of a fluid stream; and

contacting the droplet of the first fluid with the bolus of the fluid stream wherein a portion of the bolus segments from the fluid stream and integrates with the droplet of the first fluid to form a mixed droplet.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fluid stream is delivered via a second channel oriented perpendicular to the first channel.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising applying an electric field to the droplet of the first fluid and the bolus of the fluid stream.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the electric field is a high-frequency electric field.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the droplet of the first fluid is surrounded by an immiscible carrier fluid.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the immiscible carrier fluid is an oil.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the oil comprises a surfactant.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the surfactant is a fluorosurfactant.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mixed droplet is surrounded by an immiscible carrier fluid.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the droplets of the first fluid are monodispersive.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the drop track forces the droplet of the first fluid into a lower energy conformation.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the bolus protrudes into a first stream comprising the droplet of the first fluid.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the drop track has a channel height smaller than the diameter of the droplet.

14. A method for forming a mixed droplet, the method comprising:

forming a droplet of a first fluid surrounded by an immiscible carrier fluid;

flowing the droplet of the first fluid through a first channel comprising a drop track thereby flowing the droplet of the first fluid away from center streamline and toward a bolus of a fluid stream from a second channel; and

contacting the droplet of the first fluid in the first channel with the bolus of the fluid stream from the second channel, wherein a portion of the bolus that segments from the fluid stream integrates with the droplet of the first fluid to form a mixed droplet.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the drop track has a channel height smaller than the diameter of the droplet.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the first and second channels are oriented perpendicular to each other.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the contacting step occurs in the presence of an electric field, and the electric field is a high-frequency electric field.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the mixed droplet is surrounded by an immiscible carrier fluid.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the an immiscible carrier fluid is an oil.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the oil comprises a surfactant.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the surfactant is a fluorosurfactant.