| WARF: P01118US |  |
| Method and Structure For Microfluidic Flow Guiding |
| INVENTORS | • | David Beebe, Jeffrey Moore, Bin Zhao |
OVERVIEW
The invention relates to the formation and use of microfluidic devices. Microfluidic devices are miniature systems that pump, mix, monitor and control small quantities of liquids. These systems have a number of applications, including painless drug delivery and analysis of tiny liquid volumes. The present invention uses existing channel systems, made from glass, silicon, or photosensitive polymers, to create flow channels within them. A parallel combination of gas/liquid/gas or liquid/gas/liquid is flowed through the solid channels, creating a virtual wall between the phases due to lack of turbulence. Thus,
this invention uses microscale surface effects to control and direct the flow of liquids.
KEY BENEFITS
- Resistance to flow is minimized
- Flow remains laminar up to relatively high flow rates
- Allows gas-liquid reactions to take place as a function of diffusion across the interface
- Provides a method to concentrate liquids on microchips
- The microfluidically-controlled streams may be used for chemical analysis, drug research, air borne sample collection, cooling of electronic chips, implantable drug dispensing systems, chromatography, flow sensors and dialysis systems
- Flow guiding stripes may be formed by lithography and deposition of self-assembled monolayers
- Valves, which control the flow of liquid on the guiding stripes, can be formed of materials that change dimension (hydrogels) or that change over time from hydrophobic to hydrophilic
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Micro & Nanotech - Microfluidics
CONTACT INFORMATION
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