Method and apparatus for programmable fluidic processing
AssigneeBoard of Regents, The University of Texas System
InventorsFrederick F. Becker, Peter Gascoyne, Xiaobo Wang, Jody Valentine Vykoukal, Giovanni De Gasperis
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for microfluidic processing by programmably manipulating a packet. A material is introduced onto a reaction surface and compartmentalized to form a packet. A position of the packet is sensed with a position sensor. A programmable manipulation force is applied to the packet at the position. The programmable manipulation force is adjustable according to packet position by a controller. The packet is programmably moved according to the programmable manipulation force along arbitrarily chosen paths.
Claims16
A method for manipulating a packet, comprising:
- positioning a packet on a reaction surface that is coupled to a force generator, the reaction surface and force generator configured to generate dielectrophoretic forces capable of moving a packet about the reaction surface along arbitrarily chosen paths;
- reading machine-executable manipulation instructions for a specific fluid processing test from stored data;
- executing the manipulation instructions to generate a dielectrophoretic force that moves the packet upon the reaction surface according to the fluid processing test;
- and
- sensing with a position sensor a position of the packet, the position sensor configured to track the position of a packet along arbitrarily chosen paths about the reaction surface.
A system for manipulating a packet, comprising:
- a programmable dielectrophoretic array (PDA);
- a computer;
- a library interface coupled to the computer and configured to store subroutines for programmably manipulating packets within the PDA;
- a software interface coupled to the computer and configured to allow custom programming of instructions for programmably manipulating packets within the PDA;
- a position tracking agent coupled to the computer and configured to store, process, and track positions of packets within the PDA;
- and
- a low-level control agent coupled to the computer and configured to provide instructions to the computer;
- where the system is configured to generate dielectrophoretic forces capable of moving the packet about the reaction surface along arbitrarily chosen paths;
- and
- where the position tracking agent is configured to track the position of a packet along arbitrarily chosen paths about the reaction surface.
An apparatus for manipulating a packet, comprising:
- a fluidic device comprising a reaction surface, driving electrodes that generate a dielectrophoretic force on a packet upon the reaction surface, and sensing electrodes that detect a position of the packet upon the reaction surface;
- and
- an integrated circuit coupled to the fluidic device and configured to control the driving and sensing electrodes, the fluidic device configured to generate dielectrophoretic forces capable of moving a packet about the reaction surface along arbitrarily chosen paths, and the fluidic device configured to track the position of a packet along arbitrarily chosen paths about the reaction surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.