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US 10,766,033 B2Granted
Droplet generation in a microfluidic device having an optoelectrowetting configuration
AssigneeBerkeley Lights, Inc.
InventorsX. Robert Bao, Jason M. McEwen, Brian A. Rabkin
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described herein for improved droplet generation within microfluidic apparatuses. Electrowetting forces of varying configurations may be used to separate droplets from a fluidic reservoir in a reproducible and rapid manner. In many embodiments, separation of droplets from the fluidic reservoir is performed without the use of highly specialized surfactants.
Claims26
A method of generating a droplet in a microfluidic device comprising a substrate and an optoelectrowetting (OEW) configuration, the method comprising:
- applying a first electrowetting (EW) force to a droplet reservoir disposed within the microfluidic device, wherein the droplet reservoir comprises an aqueous fluid;
- projecting an optical droplet actuator, wherein the optical droplet actuator comprises a projected pattern of light sufficient to activate a second electrowetting force, onto a first position on a surface of the substrate of the microfluidic device, wherein the first position overlaps at least partially with a position on the surface of the substrate that is in contact with the aqueous fluid of the droplet reservoir;
- and
- moving the projection of the optical droplet actuator to a second position on the surface of the substrate of the microfluidic device, wherein the second position is a sufficient distance away from the first position so as to cause a first droplet of the aqueous fluid to separate away from the droplet reservoir,
- wherein, prior to moving the projection of the optical droplet actuator to the second position on the substrate, the droplet reservoir contains a volume of aqueous fluid equal to or greater than twice the volume of the first droplet.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.