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US 9,733,168 B2Granted
Manipulation of microfluidic droplets
AssigneeRaindance Technologies, Inc.
InventorsBenjamin Miller, Brian Hutchison, Andrew Wilson, Jonathan William Larson, Qun Zhong, Yevgeny Yurkovetsky, Darren Link, Mark Weary
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Abstract
The invention provides methods for assessing one or more predetermined characteristics or properties of a microfluidic droplet within a microfluidic channel, and regulating one or more fluid flow rates within that channel to selectively alter the predetermined microdroplet characteristic or property using a feedback control.
Claims14
A method of merging droplets, comprising
- flowing a first plurality of fluidic droplets within a microfluidic channel at a first frequency;
- providing a second plurality of fluidic droplets within the microfluidic channel at a second frequency;
- capturing an image of the first plurality and/or second plurality of fluidic droplets over a plurality of pulses of illumination;
- assessing the first frequency and/or the second frequency from the captured image;
- transmitting the assessment of the first and/or the second frequencies to a feedback controller, wherein the feedback controller adjusts a flow rate of one or more fluids to provide a desired frequency ratio of the first plurality of fluidic droplets to said second plurality of fluidic droplets;
- and
- merging at least one of the first plurality of fluidic droplets with at least one of the second plurality of fluidic droplets within the microfluidic channel.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.