Droplet-based surface modification and washing
AssigneesAdvanced Liquid Logic, Inc., Duke University
InventorsVamsee K. Pamula, Vijay Srinivasan, Michael G. Pollack, Richard B. Fair
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Abstract
The present invention relates to droplet-based surface modification and washing. According to one embodiment, a method of splitting a droplet is provided, the method including providing a droplet microactuator including a droplet including one or more beads and immobilizing at least one of the one or more beads. The method further includes conducting one or more droplet operations to divide the droplet to yield a set of droplets including a droplet including the one or more immobilized beads and a droplet substantially lacking the one or more immobilized beads.
Claims15
A method comprising:
- immobilizing on a surface an antibody with specificity for a target analyte, wherein the surface is a surface of one or more beads;
- washing the immobilized antibody to remove excess antibody;
- using electrowetting droplet operations of two parallel substrates separated by a gap to expose the immobilized antibody to a sample droplet, where one or both of the substrates comprise electrodes, where the electrodes are capable of conducting one or more droplet operations, where the electrodes are electronically coupled to and controlled by a controller;
- using electrowetting droplet operations to wash the immobilized antibody to remove unbound components of the sample droplet;
- using electrowetting droplet operations to expose the immobilized antibody to a droplet including a reporter antibody;
- using electrowetting droplet operations to wash away excess reporter antibody;
- and
- measuring a measurable parameter or signal facilitated by the reporter antibody.
A method comprising:
- immobilizing on a surface an antibody with specificity for a target analyte, wherein the surface is a surface of one or more beads;
- washing the immobilized antibody to remove excess antibody;
- using electrowetting droplet operations of at least one substrate to expose the immobilized antibody to a sample droplet, where the at least one substrate comprises electrodes, where the electrodes are capable of conducting one or more droplet operations, where the electrodes are electronically coupled to and controlled by a controller;
- using electrowetting droplet operations to wash the immobilized antibody to remove unbound components of the sample droplet;
- using electrowetting droplet operations to expose the immobilized antibody to a droplet including a reporter antibody;
- and
- using electrowetting droplet operations to wash away excess reporter antibody.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.