Self-tuning system for manipulating complex fluids using electrokinectics

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017102016-A1
Application number	US-201514878800-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 8, 2015
Priority date	Oct 8, 2015
Publication date	Apr 13, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A system for manipulating electric fields within a microscopic fluid channel includes a fluid channel with an inlet and an outlet to support fluid flow, at least one controllable electric field producer that applies a non-uniform and adjustable electric field to one or more regions of the fluid channel, one or more sensors that measure one or more parameters of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel, and a controller with hardware and software components that receives signals from the one or more sensors representative of values of the one or more parameters and, based on the parameter values, drives one or more actuators to adjust the electric field produced by the plurality of electric field producers. A complex fluid including at least two components flows through the fluid channel, where at least one of the at least two components comprises

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for manipulating electric fields within a microscopic fluid channel, comprising:
a fluid channel with at least one inlet and at least one outlet to support fluid flow; at least one controllable electric field producer that applies a non-uniform and adjustable electric field to one or more regions of the fluid channel; one or more sensors that measure one or more parameters of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel; and a controller with hardware and software components that receives signals from the one or more sensors representative of values of the one or more parameters and, based on the parameter values, drives one or more actuators to adjust the electric field produced by the plurality of electric field producers, wherein a complex fluid comprising at least two components flows through the fluid channel, wherein at least one of the at least two components comprises particles controllable by the non-uniform and adjustable electric field.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more actuators comprise one of an electric field actuator, a heater, and a mechanical mixer.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the software component of the controller uses an optimization algorithm to control the one or more actuators via the hardware component to adjust the electric field to control flow of the complex fluid through the fluid channel according to a pre-determined criteria.

4 . The system of claim 3 , where the optimization algorithm is one of a genetic algorithm, a Monte Carlo algorithm, a particle swarm optimization algorithm, a conjugate gradient algorithm, a gradient descent algorithm, a Newton's method, a heuristic algorithm, a simulated annealing algorithm, a combinatorial optimization method, and a stochastic optimization method.

5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the optimization algorithm optimizes output of an objective function, that is a function of one of differences between electrical, optical, or magnetic properties of the complex fluid, differences in particle flow rates or particle flow speeds at two or more locations in the fluid channel or at one location relative to a reference value, or differences in particle positions when crossing one or more locations in the fluid channel relative to a reference location.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the hardware component of the controller controls the one or more actuators based on output of a feedback control loop of the software component to adjust the electric field to maintain the flow of the complex fluid through the fluid channel in a reference state.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the parameters include one or more of a particle size, a chemical composition, a chemical reaction rate, a morphology, a surface functionalization, a particle mass, an impedance at a single frequency, an impedance within a frequency range, a temperature, a viscosity, a flow speed, and an image pattern.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the software component of the controller calculates transfer functions based on sensor signals that describe system responses to input from the actuators.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electric field producers include one or more of a pair of parallel electrically conductive plates, a 2-dimensional array of individually controllable electrodes, and an electromagnetic energy source with a diffractive optical element.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electric field is adjusted to separate different types of particles within the complex fluid.

11 . A system for manipulating electric fields within a microscopic fluid channel, comprising:
a fluid channel with at least one inlet and at least one outlet to support fluid flow; a 2-dimensional (2D) array of individually controllable electrodes that apply a non-uniform and adjustable electric field to one or more regions of the fluid channel; an electric field actuator that drives the array of individually addressable electrodes; one or more sensors that measure one or more parameters of a fluid flowing through the fluid channel; and a controller with hardware and software components that receives signals from the one or more sensors representative of values of the one or more parameters and, based on the parameter values, drives the electric field actuator to adjust the electric field produced by the plurality of electric field producers, wherein a complex fluid comprising at least two components flows through the fluid channel, wherein at least one of the at least two components comprises particles controllable by the non-uniform and adjustable electric field, and the electric field is adjusted to manipulate different types of particles within the complex fluid.

12 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of actuators controllable by the controller to affect physical properties of the complex fluid, wherein the actuators include a heater and a mechanical mixer.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the software component of the controller uses a result of an optimization algorithm to drive the electric field actuator to adjust the electric field to manipulate the flow of the complex fluid through the fluid channel according to a pre-determined criteria, wherein the optimization algorithm optimizes a value of an objective function that relates a configuration of the 2D array of individually controllable electrodes and other actuators to values of the one or more parameters measured by the one or more sensors.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the software component of the controller uses a feedback control loop to control the electric field actuator to adjust the electric field to maintain the flow of the complex fluid through the fluid channel in a reference state, based on values of the one or more parameters measured by the one or more sensors.

15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the parameters include one or more of a particle size, a chemical composition, a chemical reaction rate, a morphology, a surface functionalization, a particle mass, an impedance at a single frequency, an impedance within a frequency range, a temperature, a viscosity, a flow speed, and an image pattern.

16 . A non-transitory program storage device readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executed by the computer to perform the method steps for optimizing an electrical field distribution in a microfluidics-based device, the method comprising:
receiving values of one or more operation parameters of a complex fluid flowing in a microchannel, the values measured by one or more sensors in the microchannel, the complex fluid including at least two components, wherein at least one of the at least two components comprises particles controllable by an electric field; adjusting electric field generation parameters to control an electric field in the complex fluid based on said received operation parameter values; and repeating said steps of receiving values of one or more operation parameters and adjusting electric field generation parameters until a predetermined flow pattern is achieved.

17 . The computer readable program storage device of claim 16 , the method further comprising using electric field generation parameters that correspond to operation parameters of an optimized value of an objective function to control electrode fabrication on a substrate of a microchannel in a microfluidics device.

18 . The computer readable program storage device of claim 16 , wherein repeating said steps of receiving values of on

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Azpiroz Jaione Tirapu
• Bryant Peter William
• Giro Ronaldo
• Barros Ferreira Rodrigo Neumann
• Ohta Ricardos Luis

Classifications

• B01L2200/0652

  Sorting or classification of particles or molecules · CPC title

• B01L2200/147

  Employing temperature sensors · CPC title

• B01L2200/143

  Quality control, feedback systems · CPC title

• B01L2300/0663

  Whole sensors · CPC title

• B01L2300/0645

  Electrodes · CPC title