Electronic control of fluidic species

摘要

Various aspects of the present invention relates to the control and manipulation of fluidic species, for example, in microfluidic systems. In one aspect, the invention relates to systems and methods for making droplets of fluid surrounded by a liquid, using, for example, electric fields, mechanical alterations, the addition of an intervening fluid, etc. The invention also relates to systems and methods for fusing droplets according to another aspect of the invention, for example, through charge and/or dipole interactions. In some cases, the fusion of the droplets may initiate or determine a reaction. In still another aspect, the invention relates to systems and methods for sorting droplets, e.g., by causing droplets to move to certain regions within a fluidic system. Examples include using electrical interactions (e.g., charges, dipoles, etc.) or mechanical systems (e.g., fluid displacement) to sort the droplets.

主权项

1. A method of coalescing droplets in a controlled manner in a microfluidic device, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a microfluidic device having at least one microchannel comprising a first region and a coalescence region, the coalescence region comprising an electric field; providing a first droplet and a second droplet to the microchannel, wherein the first and second droplets comprise a surfactant that stabilizes the droplets and inhibits coalescence between the first and second droplets outside of the coalescence region; and flowing the first and second droplets into the coalescence region, wherein the electric field is adapted to coalesce the first and second droplets into one combined droplet.