Method And Apparatus For The Processing And/Or Analysis And/Or Selection Of Particles, In Particular Biological Particles

Method for carrying out the incubation of particles present in suspension in a first fluid by contacting said particles with a second fluid, characterised in that it comprises the phases of:

• i) Introducing, in laminar flow conditions, said particles suspended in said first fluid into a first region of at least one microchamber of an apparatus for manipulating particles;
• ii) Introducing, in laminar flow conditions, at least said one second fluid into at least one second region of said at least one microchamber, so as not to mix said at least one second fluid with said at least one first fluid;
• iii) Activating in said at least one microchamber at least one field of force (F) acting on said particles, to provoke a shift of the particles alone in a predetermined direction into said at least one second region of said at least one microchamber containing said at least one second fluid, so as to suspend said particles in said second fluid;
• and
• iv) Activating in said at least one microchamber at least one field of force (F) acting on said particles, to provoke a shift in the opposite direction to the previous one of the particles alone so as to bring them back into said at least one first region of said at least one microchamber.

Method for carrying out complex experimental protocols on particles kept suspended in a fluid, characterised in that it comprises the phases of:

• i) Suspending said particles in a first process fluid (Li) confined in a first region of space;
• ii) Selectively shifting said particles into a second process fluid (Li+1) confined in a second region of space, maintaining the first fluid and the second fluid in stationary conditions, by applying to said particles a force F obtained by activating a field of force acting exclusively on said particles;
• and
• iii) Repeating phase ii) a number n of times until said particles are suspended in a final fluid (Li+n), so as to contact with said particles a plurality of different process fluids, at least some of which are able to interact with said particles.

Method for realising particles having a complex predetermined structure starting from first particles with a simple structure characterised in that it comprises the phases of:

• i) Suspending said first particles in a first process fluid (Li) confined in a first region of space;
• ii) Selectively shifting said particles with a simple structure into a second process fluid (Li+1) confined in a second region of space, maintaining the first fluid and the second fluid in stationary conditions, by applying to said particles a force F obtained by activating a field of force acting exclusively on said particles;
• and
• iii) Repeating phase ii) a number n of times until said first particles are suspended in a final fluid (Li+n), so as to contact with said first particles a plurality of different process fluids, at least some of which are able to interact with said first particles in one of the ways chosen in the group comprising:
• coating, growing, soaking.