Systems and methods for confining droplets within a microfluidic channel as well as systems and methods for packing droplets are provided. More specifically, a system and method are provided for controlling the introduction and removal of oil into a microfluidic channel in order to control where drops are allowed to flow within that channel.

The present invention lies within the field of colloidal assemblies and relates to a system for producing solid clusters of microparticles, characterized in that it comprises at least: a fluidic device comprising at least: an element for producing primary droplets, comprising an outlet of width l.sub.1 and a main channel for forming solid clusters, having a main axis, of height h.sub.2 and comprising an inlet of width l.sub.2; said element for producing primary droplets being connected to said inlet of said main channel, h.sub.1 being less than h.sub.2, so as to form a step between said element for producing primary droplets and said main channel and l.sub.1 being strictly less than l.sub.2; a system of physical initiation of polymerization capable of initiating polymerization in said main channel.

Disclosed is a reactor system that contains multiple millireactors, each including a millitube, a first feed line, a second feed line, and a third feed line. Each of the first and second feed lines has a hydraulic damper disposed therein. Also disclosed is a process for conducting in a millitube a triphasic flow reaction that requires a liquid reactant, a gas reactant, and a catalyst.

A method of crystallization is disclosed, the method comprises the steps of providing a microfluidic system comprising at least three channels having at least one junction; providing within the at least three channels a continuously flowing water-immiscible carrier-fluid, a continuously flowing first aqueous fluid comprising a crystallization target, and a continuously flowing second aqueous fluid comprising a precipitant; forming at least one plug comprising the first and second aqueous fluids by partitioning the aqueous fluids with the flowing carrier-fluid at the junction of the at least three channels, flowing the at least one plug through an outlet port into a tubing, and stopping the flow of the at least one plug in the tubing, wherein the crystallization target forms a crystal in the tubing.

A continuous flow reactor for the efficient synthesis of nanoparticles with a high degree of crystallinity, uniform particle size, and homogenous stoichiometry throughout the crystal is described. Disclosed embodiments include a flow reactor with an energy source for rapid nucleation of the procurors following by a separate heating source for growing the nucleates. Segmented flow may be provided to facilitate mixing and uniform energy absorption of the precursors, and post production quality testing in communication with a control system allow automatic real-time adjustment of the production parameters. The nucleation energy source can be monomodal, multimodal, or multivariable frequency microwave energy and tuned to allow different precursors to nucleate at substantially the same time thereby resulting in a substantially homogenous nanoparticle. A shell application system may also be provided to allow one or more shell layers to be formed onto each nanoparticle.

The invention generally relates to assemblies for displacing droplets from a vessel that facilitate the collection and transfer of the droplets while minimizing sample loss. In certain aspects, the assembly includes at least one droplet formation module, in which the module is configured to form droplets surrounded by an immiscible fluid. The assembly also includes at least one chamber including an outlet, in which the chamber is configured to receive droplets and an immiscible fluid, and in which the outlet is configured to receive substantially only droplets. The assembly further includes a channel, configured such that the droplet formation module and the chamber are in fluid communication with each other via the channel. In other aspects, the assembly includes a plurality of hollow members, in which the hollow members are channels and in which the members are configured to interact with a vessel. The plurality of hollow members includes a first member configured to expel a fluid immiscible with droplets in the vessel and a second member configured to substantially only droplets from the vessel. The assembly also includes a main channel, in which the second member is in fluid communication with the main channel. The assembly also includes at least one analysis module connected to the main channel.

Provided is a method for producing particles, the method including a particle generating step of forming a product particle flow including target product particles by heating a segmented reaction raw material liquid flow divided into segments by a gas for segmentation under applying pressure at a pressure P.sub.1 (MPa) and at a heating temperature T ( C.) to react the raw material for particle formation to generate the target product particles, in which, at the particle generating step, (V.sub.d/V.sub.c) is 0.200 to 7.00 and the pressure P.sub.1 at the particle generating step is 2.0 times or more a vapor pressure P.sub.2 (MPa) of a solvent at the heating temperature T. According to the present invention, a method for producing particles having a narrow particle size distribution with high production efficiency can be provided.