Precise electrokinetic delivery of minute volumes of liquid(s)
OwnerAndrew D. Sauterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Femtoliter to milliliter volumes of one or a plurality of different liquids are accurately dispensed electrokinetically without any direct electrical contact with such liquid(s). This is accomplished with apparatus which creates an electric field over dispensing receptacles to discharge such liquid(s) into receiver reservoirs or scientific apparatus. Two electrically-conductive plates are insulated from each other so that a field polarizes the liquid and forces movement without faradaic processes or joule heating. One of the plates is charged, whereas the other is grounded. Liquid to be dispensed is placed between the two plates and is dispensed on applying the charge to the charged plate.
Claims17
Apparatus which is a) useful for accurately transporting or dispensing one liquid or for accurately transporting or dispensing a plurality of the same or different liquids, in similar or different microliter to picoliter volume ranges, and, optionally, is b) useful for performing one or more other operations concurrently or sequentially on the same or different liquids and which comprises:
- one or more non-conducting receptacles, an electrically conductive dispensation plate, one or more targets, a grounded plate, insulation, a nonconductor of electricity, a high voltage supply, and an on/off switch;
- each receptacle having an outlet secured in a support and being in a position between the dispensation plate and a corresponding target;
- each target being conducting or non-conducting and being between the dispensation plate and the grounded plate;
- the insulation being between the dispensation plate and the grounded plate and insulating each of these plates from the other;
- the grounded plate being supported by the nonconductor;
- and
- the high-voltage supply being connected, through the switch, to the dispensation plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.