Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090304944 | Surface Assisted Fluid Loading and Droplet Dispensing - The present invention relates to surface assisted fluid loading and droplet dispensing on a droplet micro actuator. A droplet actuator is provided and includes one or more electrodes configured for conducting one or more droplet operations on a droplet operations surface of the substrate. The droplet actuator further includes a wettable surface defining a path from a fluid reservoir into a locus which is sufficiently near to one or more of the electrodes that activation of the one or more electrodes results in a droplet operation. Methods and systems are also provided. | 12-10-2009 |
20100190263 | Bubble Techniques for a Droplet Actuator - The present invention is directed to a droplet actuator and methods of making and using the droplet actuator including one or more substrates configured to form a droplet operations gap and including a physical or chemical feature that may be provided at a predetermined locus within or exposed to the droplet operations gap and configured to retain a bubble in position within the droplet operations gap. | 07-29-2010 |
20100270156 | Droplet Actuator Configurations and Methods of Conducting Droplet Operations - A droplet actuator with a droplet formation electrode configuration associated with a droplet operations surface, wherein the electrode configuration comprises one or more electrodes configured to control volume of a droplet during formation of a sub-droplet on the droplet operations surface. Methods of making and using the droplet actuator are also provided. | 10-28-2010 |
20100282608 | Droplet Actuator with Improved Top Substrate - The invention provides a droplet actuator comprising a base substrate and a top substrate separated to form a gap, wherein: (a) the base substrate comprises electrodes configured for conducting droplet operations in the gap; and (b) the top substrate comprises a first portion coupled to second portion, where the second portion comprises one or more openings establishing a fluid path extending from an exterior of the droplet actuator and into the gap. The invention also provides related methods of manufacturing the droplet actuator, methods of using the droplet actuator, and methods of loading the droplet actuator. | 11-11-2010 |
20100307917 | Droplet Actuator Configurations and Methods - Droplet actuators for conducting droplet operations, such as droplet transport and droplet dispensing, are provided. In one embodiment, the droplet actuator may include a substrate including, droplet operations electrodes arranged for conducting droplet operations on a surface of the substrate; and reference electrodes associated with the droplet operations electrodes and extending above the surface of the substrate. Other embodiments of droplet actuators and methods of loading and using such droplet actuators are also provided. | 12-09-2010 |
20110076692 | Detection of Cardiac Markers on a Droplet Actuator - The present invention provides for the detection of cardiac markers on a droplet actuator. An aspect provides a method of assaying a cardiac marker in a biological sample from a subject, the method including providing a droplet actuator, loading the biological sample and assay reagents on the droplet actuator, executing droplet operations to create sample droplets from the sample and reagent droplets from the reagents on the droplet actuator, and executing droplet operations using the sample droplets and reagent droplets to produce a detectable signal indicative of the quantity of the cardiac marker in the biological sample. Still other aspects are provided. | 03-31-2011 |
20110091989 | Method of Reducing Liquid Volume Surrounding Beads - The invention provides droplet actuators and droplet actuator techniques. Among other things, the droplet actuators and methods are useful for manipulating beads on a droplet actuator, such as conducting droplet operations using bead-containing droplets on a droplet actuator. For example, beads may be manipulated on a droplet actuator in the context of executing a sample preparation protocol and/or an assay protocol. An output of the methods of the invention may be beads prepared for execution of an assay protocol. Another output of the methods of the invention may be results of an assay protocol executed using beads. Among the methods described herein are methods of concentrating beads in droplets, methods of washing beads, methods of suspending beads, methods of separating beads, methods of localizing beads within a droplet, methods of forming emulsions in which droplets include beads, methods of loading beads into a droplet operations gap of a droplet actuator, methods of organizing beads in a monolayer, and methods of capturing, trapping or restraining beads. | 04-21-2011 |
20110104747 | Method of Concentrating Beads in a Droplet - Methods of concentrating beads in a droplet and/or loading beads on a fluidic device are provided, including among other things, a method of concentrating beads in a droplet, the method comprising: (a) providing a droplet actuator comprising: (i) an interior droplet operations volume; and (ii) a reservoir exterior to the interior volume; (iii) a droplet established in a liquid path extending from the reservoir into the interior volume; (b) providing magnetically responsive beads in the portion of the droplet which is in the reservoir; (c) magnetically attracting the magnetically responsive beads through the liquid path into the portion of the droplet which is in the interior volume; and (d) forming a droplet comprising one or more of the magnetically responsive beads in the interior volume. | 05-05-2011 |
20110180571 | Droplet Actuators, Modified Fluids and Methods - The present invention provides droplet actuators, modified fluids and methods relating to droplet operations. An aspect includes a droplet actuator including a droplet operations substrate; an oil based filler fluid on the droplet operations substrate comprising an oil soluble additive in the filler fluid; and a droplet in contact with the oil based filler fluid. Still other aspects are provided. | 07-28-2011 |
20110203930 | Bead Incubation and Washing on a Droplet Actuator - The present invention relates to bead incubating and washing on a droplet actuator. Methods for incubating magnetically responsive beads that are labeled with primary antibody, a sample (i.e., analyte), and secondary reporter antibodies on a magnet, on and off a magnet, and completely off a magnet are provided. Also provided are methods for washing magnetically responsive beads using shape-assisted merging of droplets. Also provided are methods for shape-mediated splitting, transporting, and dispensing of a sample droplet that contains magnetically responsive beads. The apparatuses and methods of the invention provide for rapid time to result and optimum detection of an analyte in an immunoassay. | 08-25-2011 |
20120261264 | Droplet Operations Device - The invention provides droplet actuators with droplet operations surfaces for manipulating droplets, e.g., by conducting droplet operations. The droplet operations surfaces are typically exposed to a droplet operations gap. One or more regions of a droplet operation surface may include patterned topographic features. The invention also provides a droplet actuator in which one or both gap-facing droplet operations surfaces is formed using a removable film. The removable film may, in various embodiments, also include other components ordinarily associated with the droplet actuator substrate, such as the dielectric layer and the electrodes. Further, the invention provides droplet actuator devices and methods for coupling and/or sealing substrates of a droplet actuator, such as techniques for self-aligning assembly of droplet actuator substrates. The invention provides droplet actuators and methods of disassembling the droplet actuator in order to provide access for cleaning and/or recycling of droplet actuator surfaces. | 10-18-2012 |
20130288254 | Droplet Actuator and Droplet-Based Techniques - The invention is directed to certain droplet actuated molecular techniques. In one embodiment, the invention provides droplet actuator methods for detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a DNA sequence using digital microfluidics, including droplet actuator-based sample preparation and SNP analysis. In another embodiment, the invention provides droplet actuator devices and methods for providing integrated sample preparation and multiplexed detection of an infectious agent, such as HIV. In yet another embodiment, the invention provides droplet actuator devices and techniques for PCR amplification and detection of specific nucleic acid sequences using digital microfluidics, including droplet actuator-based sample preparation and target nucleic acid analysis. In yet another embodiment the invention provides methods for performing hot-start PCR on a droplet actuator. In yet another embodiment, the method of the invention combines PCR amplification with pyrosequencing to investigate specific sequences. | 10-31-2013 |
20140014517 | Droplet Actuator - Droplet actuator for conducting droplet operations, such as droplet transport and droplet dispensing, is provided. In one embodiment, the droplet actuator may include an electrode that is rotationally but not reflectively symmetrical. | 01-16-2014 |
20140057363 | Method of Reducing Liquid Volume Surrounding Beads - The invention provides droplet actuators and droplet actuator techniques. Among other things, the droplet actuators and methods are useful for manipulating beads on a droplet actuator, such as conducting droplet operations using bead-containing droplets on a droplet actuator. For example, beads may be manipulated on a droplet actuator in the context of executing a sample preparation protocol and/or an assay protocol. An output of the methods of the invention may be beads prepared for execution of an assay protocol. Another output of the methods of the invention may be results of an assay protocol executed using beads. Among the methods described herein are methods of concentrating beads in droplets, methods of washing beads, methods of suspending beads, methods of separating beads, methods of localizing beads within a droplet, methods of forming emulsions in which droplets include beads, methods of loading beads into a droplet operations gap of a droplet actuator, methods of organizing beads in a monolayer, and methods of capturing, trapping or restraining beads. | 02-27-2014 |
20140069812 | BEAD INCUBATION AND WASHING ON A DROPLET ACTUATOR - The present invention relates to bead incubating and washing on a droplet actuator. Methods for incubating magnetically responsive beads that are labeled with primary antibody, a sample (i.e., analyte), and secondary reporter antibodies on a magnet, on and off a magnet, and completely off a magnet are provided. Also provided are methods for washing magnetically responsive beads using shape-assisted merging of droplets. Also provided are methods for shape-mediated splitting, transporting, and dispensing of a sample droplet that contains magnetically responsive beads. The apparatuses and methods of the invention provide for rapid time to result and optimum detection of an analyte in an immunoassay. | 03-13-2014 |
20140174933 | Bead Manipulations on a Droplet Actuator - A droplet actuator comprising: (a) a base substrate comprising electrodes configured for conducting droplet operations on a droplet operations surface thereof; (b) a droplet comprising one or more beads situated on the droplet operations surface; (c) a barrier arranged in relation to the droplet and the electrodes such that a droplet may be transported away from the beads using one or more droplet operations mediated by one or more of the electrodes while transport of the beads is restrained by a barrier. Related methods and kits are also provided | 06-26-2014 |
20140190830 | MICROFLUIDIC FEEDBACK USING IMPEDANCE DETECTION - Methods comprising measuring the impedance of the electrode produced by the excitation signal, wherein the impedance indicates presence of liquid at the electrode are disclosed. Computer readable mediums storing processor executable instructions for performing the method, and systems are also disclosed. The systems comprise a processor, memory and code stored in the memory that when executed cause the processor at least to: receive an output voltage signal, superimpose an excitation signal onto the output voltage signal to produce a superimposed signal, connect the superimposed signal to an electrode in a droplet actuator, suppress the output voltage signal, when detecting an impedance of the electrode, and measure the impedance of the electrode produced by the excitation signal, wherein the impedance indicates presence of liquid at the electrode. | 07-10-2014 |
20140193807 | BEAD MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES - The invention provides a method of redistributing magnetically responsive beads in a droplet. The method may include providing a droplet including magnetically responsive beads. The droplet may be provided within a region of a magnetic field having sufficient strength to attract the magnetically responsive beads to an edge of the droplet or towards an edge of the droplet, or otherwise regionalize or aggregate beads within the droplet. The method may also include conducting on a droplet operations surface one or more droplet operations using the droplet without removing the magnetically responsive beads from the region of the magnetic field. The droplet operations may in some cases be electrode-mediated. The droplet operations may redistribute and/or circulate the magnetically responsive beads within the droplet. In some cases, the droplet may include a sample droplet may include a target analyte. The redistributing of the magnetically responsive beads may cause target analyte to bind to the magnetically responsive beads. In some cases, the droplet may include unbound substances in a wash buffer. The redistributing of the magnetically responsive beads causes unbound substances to be freed from interstices of an aggregated set or subset of the magnetically responsive beads. | 07-10-2014 |