Method and apparatus for gradient generation
AssigneePresident and Fellows of Harvard College
InventorsNoo Li Jeon, Stephan K. W. Dertinger, Daniel T. Chiu, Insung S. Choi, George M. Whitesides
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for treating a fluid. A method for treating a fluid may include combining two or more separate streams into a common stream and then splitting the common stream into a new set of separate streams wherein the separate streams may possess different properties. The separate streams may be combined to produce a gradient, such as a concentration gradient or shear gradient. The apparatus of the invention may provide a network of fluidic channels that may be used to manipulate a fluid to produce, for example, a gradient or a series of solutions containing a substance at varying concentrations.
Claims15
A method of treating a surface comprising:
- passing a fluid along a portion of a surface under conditions of substantially laminar flow wherein the fluid comprises a concentration gradient of at least one substance, the concentration gradient being substantially perpendicular to the direction of flow and being substantially continuous across the fluid;
- and
- treating differentially a plurality of sections of the portion of the surface exposed to different concentrations of the substance.
A method of producing a series of solutions comprising:
- contacting a concentrated solution of a substance and a less concentrated solution of the substance under conditions of substantially laminar flow to form a combined fluid;
- and
- separating the combined fluid, without using a membrane, into a plurality of separate streams wherein at least one of the separate streams comprises the substance at a concentration that is substantially different than the concentration of the substance in another of the separate streams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.