Harvard College

Universitat Augsburg

Advalytix Ag

Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Achim Wixforth

David A Weitz

Jeremy Agresti

Adam R Abate

Thomas Franke

Lothar Schmid

Christoph Gauer

Benjamin Paschke

Various aspects of the present invention relate to the control and manipulation of fluidic species, for example, in microfluidic systems. In one set of embodiments, droplets may be sorted using surface acoustic waves. The droplets may contain cells or other species. In some cases, the surface acoustic waves may be created using a surface acoustic wave generator such as an interdigitated transducer, and/or a material such as a piezoelectric substrate. The piezoelectric substrate may be isolated from the microfluidic substrate except at or proximate the location where the droplets are sorted, e.g., into first or second microfluidic channels. At such locations, the microfluidic substrate may be coupled to the piezoelectric substrate (or other material) by one or more coupling regions. In some cases, relatively high sorting rates may be achieved, e.g., at rates of at least about 1,000 Hz, at least about 10,000 Hz, or at least about 100,000 Hz, and in some embodiments, with high cell viability after sorting.

Acoustic waves in microfluidics

The invention relates to a mixing method for mixing at least one small quantity of liquid, in which a quantity of liquid is applied in a reaction region and at least one surface sound wave is reacted with the quantity of liquid. The invention relates further to a mixing device for mixing at least one quantity of liquid for performing the method of the present invention, a use of the device, and a method of analysis for bond strengths on surfaces.

Mixing device and mixing method for mixing small amounts of liquid

The invention relates to methods and devices for manipulation of small amounts of liquid on surfaces, preferably on chip surfaces. According to the present invention, a quantity of liquid held together by its surface tension is applied on an area of a surface with at least one intermediate region, which borders at least in one lateral direction on a guide strip. According to the present invention, the guide strips have different surface characteristics relative to the intermediate region, such that they are more strongly wetted by a liquid, or the intermediate region is raised relative to the guide strips, whereby the height of the step is small relative to the height of the quantity of liquid.

Method and device for manipulating small amounts of liquid on surfaces

A process for specific and direct manipulation of small quantities of matter on solid-body surfaces, in which surface waves are generated with at least one surface-wave generator and the impulse of one or more surface waves is made to interact with at least one quantity of matter, in order to cause a movement in a desired direction.

Process for manipulation of small quantities of matter

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Munich, Germany

Achim Wixforth