Phaseguide patterns for liquid manipulation

Phaseguide pattern for guiding a flow of a liquid contained within a compartment,

• wherein at least one phaseguide of said phaseguide pattern is shaped such that it has an engineered local change in capillary force along said phaseguide for controlling a position,
• where an overflow of the phaseguide by a liquid phase occurs, wherein said position along the phaseguide where said overflow by the liquid over the phaseguide is provoked, is located at the position of the local change in capillary force and represents the weakest point of the phaseguide, thus defining a stability of the phaseguide,
• wherein, for the case that said liquid is advancing, said change in capillary force is an increase of capillary force, and
• wherein, on a far side with respect to the advancing liquid, said phaseguide pattern encloses a first angle with a first wall of said compartment and a second angle with a second wall of said compartment, said first angle being smaller than said second angle, thus provoking overflow at this smaller angle, or wherein a bending of the phaseguide is introduced with a bending angle on the far side with respect to the advancing liquid, that is smaller than any angle enclosed by the phaseguide and first and second walls of said compartment, or
• wherein a branching structure is provided on the far side of the phaseguide with respect to the advancing liquid, such that an angle which is enclosed by the phaseguide and said branching structure is smaller than any angle enclosed by the phaseguide and first and second walls of said compartment.