The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a dispersion in which a substance, which is poorly soluble in a dispersion medium, is dispersed with a particle size of a nano-order level. More particularly, the method includes: preparing a solution containing a good solvent and the poorly soluble substance and the surfactant dissolved in the good solvent; rapidly cooling the solution to a temperature at which the poorly soluble substance precipitates in the solution at a temperature lowering rate of 100 to 4,000° C./second to produce ultrafine particles with a particle size of a nano-order level formed of the poorly soluble substance in the good solvent; and (i) separating the good solvent from a mixed solution of the solution and the dispersion medium after mixing the solution and the dispersion medium, or (ii) mixing the dispersion medium to the solution after separating the good solvent from the solution.

The invention generally relates to systems with anti-fouling control and methods for controlling fouling within a channel of a plug flow crystallizer. In certain aspects, the invention provides a system that includes a plug flow crystallizer having a channel, one or more heating/cooling elements, each operably associated with a different segment of the channel, and a controller. The controller is operably coupled to the one or more heating/cooling elements and configured to implement a temperature profile within the channel of the plug flow crystallizer that grows crystals in a plug of fluid that flows through a first segment of the channel and dissolves encrust in a second segment of the channel while having minimal impact on crystal growth in the plug of fluid in the second segment of the channel. In certain embodiments, these segments may be cyclically alternated, in that the segment in which crystal grows in one cycle becomes the segment in which crystal dissolves in the next cycle and vice versa, to realize a fully continuous crystallization process.

Microfluidic devices and methods for investigating crystallization and/or for controlling a reaction or a phase transition are disclosed. In one embodiment, the microfluidic device includes a reservoir layer; a membrane disposed on the reservoir layer; a wetting control layer disposed on the membrane; and a storage layer disposed on the wetting control layer, wherein the wetting control layer and the storage layer define a microfluidic channel comprising an upstream portion, a downstream portion, a first fluid path in communication with the upstream and the downstream portions, and a storage well positioned within the first fluid path, wherein the wetting control layer includes a fluid passageway in communication with the storage well and the membrane, and wherein the wetting control layer wets a first fluid introduced into the microfluidic channel, the first fluid comprising a hydrophilic, lipophilic, fluorophilic or gas phase as the continuous phase in the microfluidic channel.

Microfluidic devices and methods for investigating crystallization and/or for controlling a reaction or a phase transition are disclosed. In one embodiment, the microfluidic device includes a reservoir layer; a membrane disposed on the reservoir layer; a wetting control layer disposed on the membrane; and a storage layer disposed on the wetting control layer, wherein the wetting control layer and the storage layer define a microfluidic channel comprising an upstream portion, a downstream portion, a first fluid path in communication with the upstream and the downstream portions, and a storage well positioned within the first fluid path, wherein the wetting control layer includes a fluid passageway in communication with the storage well and the membrane, and wherein the wetting control layer wets a first fluid introduced into the microfluidic channel, the first fluid comprising a hydrophilic, lipophilic, fluorophilic or gas phase as the continuous phase in the microfluidic channel.

The invention relates to an apparatus for purification of biomolecules, comprising an injection device comprising an injection channel provided with at least one inlet for a precipitation agent composition and a plurality of outlets on the external surface of the injection channel and a mixing device comprising a mixing channel with at least one main inlet for a composition to be purified and at least one main outlet, and a plurality of secondary inlets, wherein the injection device and the mixing device are coupled such that each of the plurality of outlets of the injection device is connected to a respective secondary inlet of the mixing channel. The invention further relates to a set comprising the apparatus, a composition comprising at least one biomolecule and at least one impurity, and a composition comprising at least one precipitation agent, and to a method for purification of biomolecules using the apparatus.

The invention provides a novel microfluidic platform for use in electro-crystallization and electro-crystallography experiments. The manufacturing and use of graphene as X-ray compatible electrodes allows the application of electric fields on-chip, during X-ray analysis. The presence of such electric fields can be used to modulate the structure of protein (or other) molecules in crystalline (for X-ray diffraction) or solution form (for X-ray scattering). Additionally, the presence of an electric field can be used to extend the lifetime of fragile samples by expediting the removal of reactive secondary radiation damage species.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

The disclosure relates to a microfluidic system for the screening of polymorphs, morphology, and crystallization kinetics under well-mixed, continuous-flow at controlled supersaturations. The disclosure also relates to a method for screening crystalline polymorphs and morphology, and crystallization kinetics. The microfluidic system includes a microfluidic chamber having one or more inlets, a passive mixing zone, and a trap zone. The passive mixing zone promotes mixing of solvent, solute, and optionally antisolvent under stable, controlled levels of supersaturation. The trap zone similarly has stable, controlled levels of supersaturation and correspondingly low velocity to retain solute crystals formed in the trap zone for time-dependent evaluation.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.