Rapid and continuous analyte processing in droplet microfluidic devices

摘要

The compositions and methods described herein are designed to introduce functionalized microparticles into droplets that can be manipulated in microfluidic devices by fields, including electric (dielectrophoretic) or magnetic fields, and extracted by splitting a droplet to separate the portion of the droplet that contains the majority of the microparticles from the part that is largely devoid of the microparticles. Within the device, channels are variously configured at Y- or T junctions that facilitate continuous, serial isolation and dilution of analytes in solution. The devices can be limited in the sense that they can be designed to output purified analytes that are then further analyzed in separate machines or they can include additional channels through which purified analytes can be further processed and analyzed.

主权项

1. A microfluidic device comprising:
(a) a droplet generator; (b) a substrate comprising a series of contiguous channels comprising a first channel having an initial segment and a terminal segment, wherein the initial segment extends from the droplet generator and the initial segment and droplet generator are configured to generate droplet plugs; and (c) a field generator positioned adjacent to a channel in the series of contiguous channels, wherein the force generated by the field generator is strong enough to concentrate an analyte within a portion of the droplet plug when the microfluidic device is in use and the droplet plug passes by the field generator.