10785 results about "Liquid drop" patented technology

Methods are provided for forming a dispersion of substantially uniform droplets. An internal phase that includes a plurality of particles suspended in a first fluid is provided and an external phase including a second fluid is provided. The internal phase is vibrated and the internal phase is applied to the external phase. Either the internal phase or a combination of the internal and external phases form a series of droplets or complex droplets of substantially uniform size.

A two-phase electrophoretic medium comprises a continuous phase and a discontinuous phase. The discontinuous phase comprises a plurality of droplets, each of which comprises a suspending fluid and at least one particle disposed within the suspending fluid and capable of moving through the fluid upon application of an electric field to the electrophoretic medium. The continuous phase surrounds and encapsulates the discontinuous phase. To reduce the humidity sensitivity of the medium, a non-ionizable or crystalline polymer may be used as the continuous phase.

A medicine ejection device is provided allowing a medicine with a desired droplet diameter to be inhaled at a constant rate. The medicine ejection device has a decision part at which the ejection operating conditions of a medicine ejection part for ejecting the medicine are decided in accordance with at least one of an open-air environment or a state of the medicine during use of the device. The device ejects the medicine according to the ejection operating conditions decided by the decision part.

The present invention provides control methods, control systems, and control software for microfluidic devices that operate by moving discrete micro-droplets through a sequence of determined configurations. Such microfluidic devices are preferably constructed in a hierarchical and modular fashion which is reflected in the preferred structure of the provided methods and systems. In particular, the methods are structured into low-level device component control functions, middle-level actuator control functions, and high-level micro-droplet control functions. Advantageously, a microfluidic device may thereby be instructed to perform an intended reaction or analysis by invoking micro-droplet control function that perform intuitive tasks like measuring, mixing, heating, and so forth. The systems are preferably programmable and capable of accommodating microfluidic devices controlled by low voltages and constructed in standardized configurations. Advantageously, a single control system can thereby control numerous different reactions in numerous different microfluidic devices simply by loading different easily understood micro-droplet programs.

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods of forming particles and, in certain aspects, to systems and methods of forming particles that are substantially monodisperse. Microfluidic systems and techniques for forming such particles are provided, for instance, particles may be formed using gellation, solidification, and / or chemical reactions such as cross-linking, polymerization, and / or interfacial polymerization reactions. In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a plurality of particles having an average dimension of less than about 500 micrometers and a distribution of dimensions such that no more than about 5% of the particles have a dimension greater than about 10% of the average dimension, which can be made via microfluidic systems. In one set of embodiments, at least some of the particles may comprise a metal, and in certain embodiments, at least some of the particles may comprise a magnetizable material. In another set of embodiments, at least some of the particles may be porous. In some embodiments, the invention includes non-spherical particles. Non-spherical particles may be formed, for example, by urging a fluidic droplet into a channel having a smallest dimension that is smaller than the diameter of a perfect mathematical sphere having a volume of the droplet, and solidifying the droplet, and / or by exposing at least a portion of a plurality of particles to an agent able to remove at least a portion of the particles.

Multi-component particles comprising inorganic nanoparticles distributed in an organic matrix and processes for making and using same. A flowing aerosol is generated that includes droplets of a precursor medium dispersed in a gas phase. The precursor medium contains a liquid vehicle and at least one precursor. At least a portion of the liquid vehicle is removed from the droplets of precursor medium under conditions effective to convert the precursor to the nanoparticles or the matrix and form the multi-component particles.

A printed circuit board based digital or droplet microfluidic system and method for producing such microfluidic system are disclosed. The digital microfluidic device comprises a printed circuit board having a substrate and a plurality of electrode pads disposed on the top surface of the substrate in a rectangular array. A via extends from each electrode pad through the substrate to other locations on the substrate . A dielectric layer is disposed on the electrode pads. Droplets may be manipulated using electrowetting principles and others by applying a voltage to the desired electrodes. Each electrode pad can be controlled directly and independently from the other electrode pads to modify the surface wettability of the dielectric layer in the vicinity of the electrode pad by applying a voltage to the desired electrode pad(s). In this way, droplets may be formed, moved, mixed, and / or divided or other small objects manipulated while in air or immersed in a liquid on the dielectric surface.

A system, including method and apparatus, for generating droplets suitable for droplet-based assays. The disclosed systems may include either one-piece or multi-piece droplet generation components configured to form sample-containing droplets by merging aqueous, sample-containing fluid with a background emulsion fluid such as oil, to form an emulsion of sample-containing droplets suspended in the background fluid. In some cases, the disclosed systems may include channels or other suitable mechanisms configured to transport the sample-containing droplets to an outlet region, so that subsequent assay steps may be performed.

The present invention relates to droplet-based surface modification and washing. According to one embodiment, a method of providing a droplet in contact with a surface with a reduced concentration of a substance is provided, wherein the method includes: (a) providing a droplet microactuator comprising a surface in contact with a droplet comprising a starting concentration and starting quantity of the substance and having a starting volume; (b) conducting one or more droplet operations to merge a wash droplet with the droplet provided in step (a) to yield a combined droplet; and (c) conducting one or more droplet operations to divide the combined droplet to yield a set of droplets comprising: (i) a droplet in contact with the surface having a decreased concentration of the substance relative to the starting concentration; and (ii) a droplet which is separated from the surface.

A printhead device for transferring liquid droplets from a nozzle includes a liquid source coupled to a nozzle via a microchannel. The nozzle is formed from an orifice having an inner circumferential surface, wherein at least a portion of the inner circumferential surface is serrated. Liquid droplets are transported from the source to the nozzle using a liquid droplet driver (e.g., employing a plurality of driving electrodes). Transfer of droplets to another surface can be accomplished by contacting a bulging droplet in the nozzle with a printing surface. The surface and / or nozzle are then moved relative to one another to effectuate complete transfer of the liquid drop from the nozzle.

Methods of utilizing magnetic particles or beads (MBs) in droplet-based (or digital) microfluidics are disclosed. The methods may be used in enrichment or separation processes. A first method employs the droplet meniscus to assist in the magnetic collection and positioning of MBs during droplet microfluidic operations. The sweeping movement of the meniscus lifts the MBs off the solid surface and frees them from various surface forces acting on the MBs. A second method uses chemical additives to reduce the adhesion of MBs to surfaces. Both methods allow the MBs on a solid surface to be effectively moved by magnetic force. Droplets may be driven by various methods or techniques including, for example, electrowetting, electrostatic, electromechanical, electrophoretic, dielectrophoretic, electroosmotic, thermocapillary, surface acoustic, and pressure.

The present invention comprises passing a solution of a soluble material, preferably a protein, in a solvent through a continuum of supercritical antisolvent fluid and precipitating the soluble material. This can be conducted by passing the solution through the continuum of supercrital fluid in the form of droplets, which can be sprayed through the supercritical fluid. The plurality of droplets can be passed cocurrently or countercurrently with respect to a stream of antisolvent fluid. Alternatively, the solution can be passed through the continuum of supercritical antisolvent fluid in the form of a thin film or a plurality of fine streams.

The present invention relates to droplet-based surface modification and washing. According to one embodiment, a method of providing a droplet in contact with a surface with a reduced concentration of a substance is provided, wherein the method includes: (a) providing a droplet microactuator comprising a surface in contact with a droplet comprising a starting concentration and starting quantity of the substance and having a starting volume; (b) conducting one or more droplet operations to merge a wash droplet with the droplet provided in step (a) to yield a combined droplet; and (c) conducting one or more droplet operations to divide the combined droplet to yield a set of droplets comprising: (i) a droplet in contact with the surface having a decreased concentration of the substance relative to the starting concentration; and (ii) a droplet which is separated from the surface.

A chemical analysis apparatus is equipped with analysis sections having openings, means for supplying samples or reagents from the openings, means for combining and mixing samples with reagents to obtain droplets as liquids to be measured, and means for measuring the physical properties of the liquids to be measured during reaction or after completion of reaction. Furthermore, plate members are provided facing each other in analysis sections and a plurality of electrodes are provided on the plate member faces that face each other. Voltage is applied from the plurality of electrodes to the droplets of the samples and the reagents.

The present invention is generally related to systems and methods for producing a plurality of droplets. The droplets may contain varying species, e.g., for use as a library. In some cases, the fluidic droplets may be rigidified to form rigidified droplets (e.g., gel droplets). In certain embodiments, the droplets may undergo a phase change (e.g., from rigidified droplets to fluidized droplets), as discussed more herein. In some cases, a species may be added internally to a droplet by exposing the droplet to a fluid comprising a plurality of species.

The present invention relates to filler fluids for droplet operations. According to one embodiment of this aspect, a droplet microactuator is provided and includes: (a) a first substrate comprising electrodes configured for conducting droplet operations on a surface of the substrate; (b) a second substrate spaced from the surface of the substrate by a distance sufficient to define an interior volume between the first substrate and second substrate, wherein the distance is sufficient to contain a droplet disposed in the space on the first substrate; and (c) a droplet arranged in the interior volume and arranged with respect to the electrodes in a manner which permits droplet operations to be effected on the droplet using the electrodes.

The present invention relates to droplet-based washing. According to one embodiment, a method of providing a droplet in contact with a surface with a reduced concentration of a substance is provided, wherein the method includes: (a) providing a surface in contact with a droplet comprising a starting concentration and starting quantity of the substance and having a starting volume; (b) conducting one or more droplet operations to merge a wash droplet with the droplet provided in step (a) to yield a combined droplet; and (c) conducting one or more droplet operations to divide the combined droplet to yield a set of droplets comprising: (i) a droplet in contact with the surface having a decreased concentration of the substance relative to the starting concentration; and (ii) a droplet which is separated from the surface.

A liquid atomizing device for dispensing liquid droplets includes a container for holding a liquid, the container having a porous wick positioned to communicate the liquid from the container, and an orifice plate with apertures, the orifice plate being vibrated by a piezoelectric element to cause liquid communicated from the container to be atomized and dispensed as liquid droplets through the apertures. The device employs a unique placement and design of heaters or fans to promote evaporation and dispersion of the atomized liquid while the liquid is airborne.

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for the control of fluids and, in some cases, to systems and methods for flowing a fluid into and / or out of other fluids. As examples, fluid may be injected into a droplet contained within a fluidic channel, or a fluid may be injected into a fluidic channel to create a droplet. In some embodiments, electrodes may be used to apply an electric field to one or more fluidic channels, e.g., proximate an intersection of at least two fluidic channels. For instance, a first fluid may be urged into and / or out of a second fluid, facilitated by the electric field. The electric field, in some cases, may disrupt an interface between a first fluid and at least one other fluid. Properties such as the volume, flow rate, etc. of a first fluid being urged into and / or out of a second fluid can be controlled by controlling various properties of the fluid and / or a fluidic droplet, for example curvature of the fluidic droplet, and / or controlling the applied electric field.

A droplet deposition-based freeform fabrication method for making a three-dimensional object from a design created on a computer, including (a) providing a support member; (b) operating a droplet dispensing head for dispensing droplets of a material composition in a fluent state at a first temperature onto the support member, the material composition including a reactive prepolymer with a melting point above 23° C. and the first temperature being greater than the prepolymer melting point; (c) operating material treatment devices for causing the material composition to rapidly achieve a rigid state in which the material composition is substantially solidified to build up the 3-D object, the material treatment devices also working to convert the reactive prepolymer to a higher molecular weight thermoplastic resin; and (d) operating control devices for generating control signals in response to coordinates of the object design to control the movement of the dispensing head relative to the support member and for controlling the droplet dispensing of the material composition to construct the 3-D object.

A heatable droplet device is used to embody real-time detection by means of the device's temperature control and surface treated and trimmed. A temperature causing internal stability disturbed is immediately detected with a designed sensor while affecting a specific area.

The present invention relates to surface assisted fluid loading and droplet dispensing on a droplet micro actuator. A droplet actuator is provided and includes one or more electrodes configured for conducting one or more droplet operations on a droplet operations surface of the substrate. The droplet actuator further includes a wettable surface defining a path from a fluid reservoir into a locus which is sufficiently near to one or more of the electrodes that activation of the one or more electrodes results in a droplet operation. Methods and systems are also provided.

Systems and methods that control the size and composition of emulsified droplets, multi-lamellar and asymmetric vesicles, encapsulation of reagents, membrane proteins, and sorting of vesicles / droplets. More particularly, microfluidic devices for controlled viscous shearing of oil-water emulsions of micro- and nano-scale droplets, the subsequent formation of amphiphilic vesicles such as liposomes, polymer vesicles, micelles, and the like, the post-assembly and post-processing of the droplets including splitting, fusing, sorting and the like, polymer emulsions, and the integration of amphiphilic vesicle production-line on a single microfluidic chip. Preferably, the microfluidic device enables oil-water co-flows with tunable viscous shear forces higher than the immiscible interfacial tension forces that generate favorable conditions for droplet formation.

Method and apparatus of spectrophotometry or the like on extremely small liquid samples in which a drop is held between two opposing surfaces by surface tension and one surface is controllably moved toward and away from the other. To provide and transmit exciting energy through the drop for measurement, the optical fibers go through a surface and are finished flush with its surface. One of the surfaces can be swung clear of the other for easy cleaning between tests.

A method for forming monodisperse lipoplex assemblies includes providing a microfluidic device having a main microfluidic channel coupled to first and second reactant inlet channels. The first inlet channel is used to deliver a cationic lipid to the main channel while the second channel is used to deliver a nucleic acid. A droplet generation zone is provided in the main channel at the intersection of first and second carrier channels that contain a hydrophobic fluid. The cationic lipid, nucleic acid, and the hydrophobic fluid are then pumped through the device. In the droplet generation zone, shear force from the hydrophobic fluid pinches off droplets. The cationic lipid and nucleic acid are mixed in the generated droplets as the droplets move within a mixing region. A plurality of splitting channels may be coupled to the outlet of the device to produce smaller, monodisperse droplets having picoliter volumes.

An electrophoretic medium comprises discrete droplets of an electrophoretic internal phase comprising a fluid and carbon black particles in the fluid. The droplets are surrounded by a polyurethane binder formed by a diisocyanate and a polyether diol, at least 20 mole per cent of the diisocyanate being an aromatic diisocyanate.

An exhaust aftertreatment system comprises an injector for injecting urea water into an exhaust duct, and a denitration catalyst disposed downstream of the injector with respect to a flow of exhaust gas. The exhaust aftertreatment system reduces nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas by the denitration catalyst while using ammonia produced from the urea water injected from the injector. The urea water is injected along a direction of the flow of the exhaust gas within the exhaust duct, and a porous plate is disposed in multiple stages in a space of the exhaust duct such that droplets of the injected urea water impinge against the porous plate before reaching a wall surface of the exhaust duct. A surface of the porous plate subjected to the impingement of the droplets is arranged to face downstream with respect to the flow of the exhaust gas. Deposition of the urea water is prevented by causing film boiling when the droplets impinge against the porous plate, and the urea water reflected by the porous plate is uniformly dispersed into the exhaust gas. Thus, the urea water is uniformly dispersed into the exhaust gas without increasing a pressure loss of the exhaust gas. The urea water is prevented from depositing on the wall surface and producing a precipitate in the form of a solid.