A microfluidic device for performing physical, chemical or biological treatment to at least one packet without contamination.

A microfluidic device for performing physical, chemical or biological treatment to at least one packet without contamination.

A flow reactor system and methods having tubing useful as polymerization chamber. The flow reactor has at least one inlet and at least one mixing chamber, and an outlet. The method includes providing two phases, an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase and forming an emulsion for introduction into the flow reactor.

A microfabricated sheath flow structure for producing a sheath flow includes a primary sheath flow channel for conveying a sheath fluid, a sample inlet for injecting a sample into the sheath fluid in the primary sheath flow channel, a primary focusing region for focusing the sample within the sheath fluid and a secondary focusing region for providing additional focusing of the sample within the sheath fluid. The secondary focusing region may be formed by a flow channel intersecting the primary sheath flow channel to inject additional sheath fluid into the primary sheath flow channel from a selected direction. A sheath flow system may comprise a plurality of sheath flow structures operating in parallel on a microfluidic chip.

A catalytic microscale reactor with spiral reactor geometry may have a high surface area to volume ratio, high catalytic surface area, high heat transfer surface area, long residence time, and high single pass conversion. The catalytic surface may be treated with microsphere spacer particles which serve to maintain the space between them at an engineered distance without the need for precise manufacturing techniques. The design of the reactor may allow for a catalyst surface to be removed, uncoiled, refurbished, and recoiled in an automated continuous process. An automated continuous process may be suitable both for initially preparing a new catalytic surface as well as refurbishing a fouled catalytic surface and may the time and cost to prepare a new surface.

A microfabricated sheath flow structure for producing a sheath flow includes a primary sheath flow channel for conveying a sheath fluid, a sample inlet for injecting a sample into the sheath fluid in the primary sheath flow channel, a primary focusing region for focusing the sample within the sheath fluid and a secondary focusing region for providing additional focusing of the sample within the sheath fluid. The secondary focusing region may be formed by a flow channel intersecting the primary sheath flow channel to inject additional sheath fluid into the primary sheath flow channel from a selected direction. A sheath flow system may comprise a plurality of sheath flow structures operating in parallel on a microfluidic chip.

A microscale method for the characterization of one or more reaction variables that influence the formation or dissociation of an affinity complex comprising a ligand and a binder, which have mutual affinity for each other. The method is characterized in comprising the steps of: (i) providing a microfluidic device comprising a microchannel structures that are under a common flow control, each microchannel structure comprising a reaction microactivity; (ii) performing essentially in parallel an experiment in each of two or more of the plurality of microchannel structures, the experiment in these two or more microchannel structures comprising either a) formation of an immobilized form of the complex and retaining under flow conditions said form within the reaction microactivity, or b) dissociating, preferably under flow condition, an immobilized form of the complex which has been included in the microfluidic device provided in step (i), at least one reaction variable varies or is uncharacterized for said two or more microchannel structures while the remaining reaction variables are kept essentially constant; (iii) measuring the presentation of the complex in said reaction microactivity in said two or more microchannel structures; and (iv) characterizing said one or more reaction variables based on the values for presentation obtained in step (iii).

A flow reactor system and methods having tubing useful as polymerization chamber. The flow reactor has at least one inlet and at least one mixing chamber, and an outlet. The method includes providing two phases, an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase and forming an emulsion for introduction into the flow reactor.

The present invention provides control methods, control systems, and control software for microfluidic devices that operate by moving discrete micro-droplets through a sequence of determined configurations. Such microfluidic devices are preferably constructed in a hierarchical and modular fashion which is reflected in the preferred structure of the provided methods and systems. In particular, the methods are structured into low-level device component control functions, middle-level actuator control functions, and high-level micro-droplet control functions. Advantageously, a microfluidic device may thereby be instructed to perform an intended reaction or analysis by invoking micro-droplet control function that perform intuitive tasks like measuring, mixing, heating, and so forth. The systems are preferably programmable and capable of accommodating microfluidic devices controlled by low voltages and constructed in standardized configurations. Advantageously, a single control system can thereby control numerous different reactions in numerous different microfluidic devices simply by loading different easily understood micro-droplet programs.

A microfabricated sheath flow structure for producing a sheath flow includes a primary sheath flow channel for conveying a sheath fluid, a sample inlet for injecting a sample into the sheath fluid in the primary sheath flow channel, a primary focusing region for focusing the sample within the sheath fluid and a secondary focusing region for providing additional focusing of the sample within the sheath fluid. The secondary focusing region may be formed by a flow channel intersecting the primary sheath flow channel to inject additional sheath fluid into the primary sheath flow channel from a selected direction. A sheath flow system may comprise a plurality of sheath flow structures operating in parallel on a microfluidic chip.