Injection of multiple volumes into or out of droplets

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9861979-B2
Application number	US-201214008998-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2012
Priority date	Mar 30, 2011
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

The present invention generally pertains to a system for performing injection of multiple substantially controlled volumes into or out of a droplet, and methods and kits comprising the same. The system of the present invention comprises at least one microfluidic channel, one or more injection channels, an injection inlet associated with each of the one or more injection channels, and a mechanism for disrupting an interface between a droplet and a fluid and/or emulsion, wherein the at least one microfluidic channel comprises one or more droplets are flowing therein, and wherein each of the one or more injection channels comprises at least one fluid and/or emulsion therein.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for injecting multiple volumes into droplets, comprising
at least one microfluidic channel intersected by two or more injection channels, wherein each injection channel forms an injection inlet at an injection interface where each injection channel intersects the microfluidic channel, wherein the microfluidic channel and injection interfaces are configured such that droplets within the microfluidic channel can be flowed from a first location to a second location in the microfluidic channel past the injection interfaces and
one single pair of electrodes positioned to disrupt interfaces between droplets and a fluid and/or emulsion at the injection inlets of the two or more injection channels,
wherein the at least one microfluidic channel comprises one or more droplets flowing therein, and wherein each of the two or more injection channels comprises at least one fluid and/or emulsion therein.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the two or more injection channels further comprise one or more subchannels.

3. A system according to claim 2 , wherein the one or more subchannels comprises a fluid and/or emulsion therein.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electrodes has a first electrode and a second electrode and the first electrode and second electrode are on one side of the microfluidic channel and injection interfaces are on a substantially opposite side of the microfluidic channel.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electrodes has a first electrode and a second electrode, and wherein the first electrode and a first injection interface are on one side of the microfluidic channel and the second electrode and a second injection interface are on a substantially opposite side of the microfluidic channel.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electrodes has a first electrode and a second electrode, and wherein the first electrode and second electrode and a first injection interface are on one side of the microfluidic channel and a second injection interface is on a substantially opposite side of the microfluidic channel.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electrodes has a first electrode and a second electrode and the microfluidic channel comprises a bend, wherein the first electrode is on one side of the microfluidic channel and the second electrode and a first injection interface and a second injection interface are on a substantially opposite side of the microfluidic channel, and wherein the first injection interface and a second injection interfaces are located substantially at the bend in the microfluidic channel.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pair of electrodes has a first electrode and a second electrode and the microfluidic channel comprises a first bend and a second bend, wherein the first electrode is on one side of the microfluidic channel and the second electrode is on a substantially opposite side of the microfluidic channel between the first bend and the second bend and a first injection interface is located substantially at the first bend and a second injection interface is located substantially at the second bend.

Assignees

• Abate Adam
• Kiani Sepehr
• Hung Tony
• Mary Pascaline
• Esmail Adnan Moez
• Bio Rad Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Abate Adam
• Kiani Sepehr
• Hung Tony
• Mary Pascaline
• Esmail Adnan Moez

Classifications

• F16K99/0019

  Valves using a microdroplet or microbubble as the valve member · CPC title

• F04B19/006

  Micropumps (F04B43/043 and F04B43/095 take precedence) · CPC title

• B01L2400/0442

  thermal energy, e.g. vaporisation, bubble jet · CPC title

• B01L2400/0436

  acoustic forces, e.g. surface acoustic waves [SAW] · CPC title

• B01L2300/0867

  Multiple inlets and one sample wells, e.g. mixing, dilution · CPC title