The present invention relates generally to flow-focusing-type technology, and also to microfluidics, and more particularly the invention relates to microfluidic systems arranged to control a dispersed phase within a dispersant, and the size, and size distribution, of a dispersed phase in a multi-phase fluid system.
The manipulation of fluids to form fluid streams of desired configuration, discontinuous fluid streams, particles, dispersions, etc., for purposes of fluid delivery, product manufacture, analysis, and the like, is a relatively well-studied art. For example, highly monodisperse gas bubbles, less than 100 microns in diameter, have been produced using a technique referred to as capillary flow focusing. In this technique, gas is forced out of a capillary tube into a bath of liquid, the tube is positioned above a small orifice, and the contraction flow of the external liquid through this orifice focuses the gas into a thin jet which subsequently breaks into equal-sized bubbles via a capillary instability. In a related technique, a similar arrangement was used to produce liquid droplets in air
Microfluidics is an area of technology involving the control of fluid flow at a very small scale. Microfluidic devices typically include very small channels, within which fluid flows, which can be branched or otherwise arranged to allow fluids to be combined with each other, to divert fluids to different locations, to cause laminar flow between fluids, to dilute fluids, and the like. Significant effort has been directed toward “lab-on-a-chip” microfluidic technology, in which researchers seek to carry out known chemical or biological reactions on a very small scale on a “chip,” or microfluidic device. Additionally, new techniques, not necessarily known on the macro scale, are being developed using microfluidics. Examples of techniques being investigated or developed at the microfluidic scale include high-throughput screening, drug delivery, chemical kinetics measurements, combinatorial chemistry (where rapid testing of chemical reactions, chemical affinity, and micro structure formation are desired), as well as the study of fundamental questions in the fields of physics, chemistry, and engineering.
The field of dispersions is well-studied. A dispersion (or emulsion) is a mixture of two materials, typically fluids, defined by a mixture of at least two incompatible (immiscible) materials, one dispersed within the other. That is, one material is broken up into small, isolated regions, or droplets, surrounded by another phase (dispersant, or constant phase), within which the first phase is carried. Examples of dispersions can be found in many industries including the food and cosmetic industry. For example, lotions tend to be oils dispersed within a water-based dispersant. In dispersions, control of the size of droplets of dispersed phase can effect overall product properties, for example, the “feel” of a lotion.
Formation of dispersions typically is carried out in equipment including moving parts (e.g., a blender or device similarly designed to break up material), which can be prone to failure and, in many cases, is not suitable for control of very small dispersed phase droplets. Specifically, traditional industrial processes typically involve manufacturing equipment built to operate on size scales generally unsuitable for precise, small dispersion control. Membrane emulsification is one small scale technique using micron-sized pores to form emulsions. However, polydispersity of the dispersed phase can in some cases be limited by the pore sizes of the membrane.
While many techniques involving control of multi-phase systems exists, there is a need for improvement in control of size of dispersed phase, size range (polydispersity), and other factors.
An article entitled “Generation of Steady Liquid Microthreads and Micron-Sized Monodisperse Sprays and Gas Streams,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 80:2, Jan. 12, 1998, 285-288 (Ganan-Calvo) describes formation of a microscopic liquid thread by a laminar accelerating gas stream, giving rise to a fine spray.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,666, issued Sep. 19, 2000, describes a micofabricated device having a fluid focusing chamber for spatially confining first and second sample fluid streams for analyzing microscopic particles in a fluid medium, for example in biological fluid analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,516, issued Sep. 12, 2000, describes formation of a capillary microjet, and formation of a monodisperse aerosol via disassociation of the microjet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,214, issued Feb. 13, 2001, describes atomized particles in a size range of from about 1 to about 5 microns, produced by the interaction of two immiscible fluids.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,378, issued Jun. 19, 2001, describes production of particles for introduction into food using a microjet and a monodisperse aerosol formed when the microjet dissociates.
An articled entitled “Dynamic Pattern Formation in a Vesicle-Generating Microfluidic Device,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 86:18, Apr. 30, 2001 (Thorsen, et al.) describes formation of a discontinuous water phase in a continuous oil phase via microfluidic cross-flow, specifically, by introducing water, at a “T” junction between two microfluidic channels, into flowing oil.
Microfluidic systems have been described in a variety of contexts, typically in the context of miniaturized laboratory (e.g., clinical) analysis. Other uses have been described as well. For example, International Patent Publication No. WO 01/89789, published Nov. 29, 2001 by Anderson, et al., describes multi-level microfluidic systems that can be used to provide patterns of materials, such as biological materials and cells, on surfaces. Other publications describe microfluidic systems including valves, switches, and other components.
While the production of discontinuous fluids, aerosols, and the like are known, very little is known about discontinuous fluid production in microfluidic systems, i.e. the production of liquid-liquid and gas-liquid dispersions and emulsions. This may be due to the fact that precise control of fluid flow in microfluidic systems can be challenging.
The present invention involves a series of devices, systems, and techniques for manipulations of fluids. In one aspect, the invention provides a series of methods. One method of the invention involves providing a microfluidic interconnected region having an upstream portion and a downstream portion connecting to an outlet, and creating discontinuous sections of a subject fluid in the interconnected region upstream of the outlet, at least some of the discontinuous sections having a maximum dimension of less than 20 microns.
Another embodiment involves providing a microfluidic interconnected region having an upstream portion and a downstream portion connecting to an outlet, introducing a subject fluid into an interior portion of the interconnected region, and creating discontinuous sections of the subject fluid in the interconnected region.
In another embodiment, a method involves joining a flow of subject fluid with a dispersing fluid that does not completely axially surround the flow of subject fluid, and creating discontinuous sections of the subject fluid at least in part by action of the dispersing fluid.
Another method of the invention involves focusing the flow of a subject fluid by exposing the subject fluid to two separate streams of a second fluid, and allowing the two separate streams to join and to completely circumferentially surround the subject fluid stream.
In another embodiment, the invention involves passing a flow of a subject fluid and a dispersing fluid through a dimensionally-restricted section, having a mean cross-sectional dimension, that is dimensionally restricted relative to a channel that delivers either the subject fluid or the dispersing fluid to the dimensionally-restricted section, and creating a subject fluid stream or discontinuous portions of subject fluid stream having a mean cross-sectional dimension or mean diameter, respectively, no smaller than the mean cross-sectional dimension of the dimensionally-restricted section.
In another embodiment, the invention involves forming at least portions of both a subject fluid channel and a focusing fluid channel of a flow focusing device from a single material.
In another embodiment, the invention involves forming at least portions of both a subject fluid channel and a focusing fluid channel of a flow focusing device in a single molding step.
In another aspect, the invention involves a series of systems. One system of the invention includes a microfluidic interconnected region, and a subject fluid microfluidic channel surrounded at least in part by the microfluidic interconnected region.
In another embodiment, a system of the invention includes a microfluidic interconnected region having an upstream portion and a downstream portion connecting to an outlet, and a non-valved, dimensionally-restricted section upstream of the outlet.
A device of the invention includes an interconnected region for carrying a focusing fluid, and a subject fluid channel for carrying a fluid to be focused by the focusing fluid surrounded at least in part by the interconnected region, wherein at least a portion defining an outer wall of the interconnected region and a portion defining an outer wall of the subject fluid channel are portions of a single integral unit.
According to another embodiment, a flow focusing device includes a fluid channel for carrying a fluid to be focused by the device, and at least two, separate, focusing fluid channels for simultaneously delivering focusing fluid to and focusing the subject fluid.
In another aspect, the present invention provides devices and methods involving breakup of dispersed fluids into smaller parts. In most specific embodiments of the invention, a dispersion of discrete, isolated portions of one fluid within another incompatible fluid is further broken up by either being urged against an obstruction in a confined channel, or diverged into at least two different channels at a channel junction.
In one embodiment, a method involves urging discontinuous sections of a fluid, within a confined channel, against an obstruction and causing the obstruction to separate at least some of the discontinuous sections into further-dispersed sections.
In another embodiment, a method of the invention involves separating at least one discontinuous section of a fluid into further-dispersed sections by separating the sections into at least two separate channels at a channel junction of a fluidic system. In another embodiment a method of the invention involves flowing a dispersed phase and a dispersant within a channel intersection and, at the channel intersection, further dispersing the dispersed phase into at least two further-dispersed phases each having an average size, wherein the average sizes of the at least two further-dispersed phases are set by at least two different backpressures experienced by the dispersed phase at the channel intersection.
In another aspect the invention provides a series of devices. One device of the invention includes a confined channel having an inlet connectable to a source of a first fluid and a second fluid incompatible with the first fluid, an outlet connectable to a reservoir for receiving a dispersed phase of the first fluid in the second fluid, and an obstruction within the confined channel between the inlet and the outlet.
The subject matter of this application may involve, in some cases, interrelated products, alternative solutions to a particular problem, and/or a plurality of different uses of a single system or article.
Other advantages, features, and uses of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are schematic and which are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures typically is represented by a single numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure, nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention. In cases where the present specification and a document incorporated by reference include conflicting disclosure, the present specification shall control.
The following documents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,131, issued Apr. 30, 1996 to Kumar, et al.; International Patent Publication WO 96/29629, published Jun. 26, 1996 by Whitesides, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,198, issued Mar. 12, 2002 to Kim, et al.; and International Patent Publication WO 01/89787, published Nov. 29, 2001 to Anderson, et al.
The present invention provides microfluidic techniques for causing interactions of and between fluids, in particular the formation of discontinuous portions of a fluid, e.g. the production of dispersions and emulsions. The invention differs in several ways from most known techniques for formation of disperse fluids.
The present invention in part involves appreciation for a need in many areas of technology for improvement in dispersion formation and/or control, and for applications of improved dispersions. Improvement in dispersion formation in accordance with the invention can find application in accurate delivery of, e.g., small fluid volumes (nanoliter, picoliter, and even femtoliter or smaller quantities) for a variety of uses. For example, one possible route for the systematic delivery of small fluid volumes is to form liquid drops of controlled size, which may serve as convenient transporters of a specific chemical or may themselves be small chemical reactors. Since a droplet containing one picoliter of volume has a radius of under 10 microns, the controlled formation of very small droplets is very important. Specified volumes of more than one size can also be provided by the invention, for example in order to precisely control the stoichiometry of different chemical reactants. That is, in a lab-on-a-chip device where delivery of reactants at specified quantities to various locations is required, this can be achieved by controlling the drop size of a fluid reactant and then controlling its delivery route through the device. This can be achieved in accordance with the invention. While to some degree control of drop size and drop size range in dispersions exists, the present invention provides techniques for achieving better control of small fluid drop size and/or improved techniques for achieving control. The invention provides the ability to easily and reproducibly control fluid drop size and size range, and divert fluid drops of one size or size range to one location and drops of another size or size range to another location.
Specifically, the present invention involves devices and techniques associated with manipulation of multiphase materials. While those of ordinary skill will recognize that any of a wide variety of materials including various numbers of phases can be manipulated in accordance with the invention, the invention finds use, most generally, with two-phase systems of incompatible fluids. A “fluid,” as used herein, means any substance which can be urged to flow through devices described below to achieve the benefits of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize which fluids have viscosity appropriate for use in accordance with the invention, i.e., which substances are “fluids.” It should be appreciated that a substance may be a fluid, for purposes of the invention, under one set of conditions but may, under other conditions, have viscosity too high for use as a fluid in the invention. Where the material or materials behave as fluids under at least one set of conditions compatible with the invention, they are included as potential materials for manipulation via the present invention.
In one set of embodiments, the present invention involves formation of drops of a dispersed phase within a dispersant, of controlled size and size distribution, in a flow system (preferably a microfluidic system) free of moving parts to create drop formation. That is, at the location or locations at which drops of desired size are formed, the device is free of components that move relative to the device as a whole to affect drop formation or size. For example, where drops of controlled size are formed, they are formed without parts that move relative to other parts of the device that define a channel within the drops flow. This can be referred to as “passive control” of drop size, or “passive breakup” where a first set of drops are broken up into smaller drops.
The following definitions will assist in understanding certain aspects of the invention. Also included, within the list of definitions, are sets of parameters within which certain embodiments of the invention fall.
“Channel”, as used herein, means a feature on or in an article (substrate) that can at least partially confine and direct the flow of a fluid, and that has an aspect ratio (length to average cross sectional dimension) of at least 2:1, more typically at least 3:1, 5:1, or 10:1. The feature can be a groove or other indentation of any cross-sectional shape (curved, square or rectangular) and can be covered or uncovered. In embodiments where it is completely covered, at least one portion of the channel can have a cross-section that is completely enclosed, or the entire channel may be completely enclosed along its entire length with the exception of its inlet and outlet. An open channel generally will include characteristics that facilitate control over fluid transport, e.g., structural characteristics (an elongated indentation) and/or physical or chemical characteristics (hydrophobicity vs. hydrophilicity) or other characteristics that can exert a force (e.g., a containing force) on a fluid. The fluid within the channel may partially or completely fill the channel. In some cases where an open channel is used, the fluid may be held within the channel, for example, using surface tension (i.e., a concave or convex meniscus). The channel may be of any size, for example, having a largest dimension perpendicular to fluid flow of less than about 5 or 2 millimeters, or less than about 1 millimeter, or less than about 500 microns, less than about 200 microns, less than about 100 microns, or less than about 50 or 25 microns. In some cases the dimensions of the channel may be chosen such that fluid is able to freely flow through the reactor. The dimensions of the channel may also be chosen, for example, to allow a certain volumetric or linear flowrate of fluid in the channel. Of course, the number of channels and the shape of the channels can be varied by any method known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying figures, all channels are completely enclosed. “Channel”, as used herein, does not include a space created between a channel wall and an obstruction. Instead, obstructions, as defined herein, are understood to be contained within channels. Larger channels, tubes, etc. can be used in microfluidic device for a variety of purposes, e.g., to store fluids in bulk and to deliver fluids to components of the invention.
Different components can be fabricated of different materials. For example, a base portion of a microfluidic device, indulging a bottom wall and side walls, can be fabricated from an opaque material such as silicon or PDMS, and a top portion, or cover, can be fabricated from a transparent material such as glass or a transparent polymer for observation and control of the fluidic process. Components can be coated so as to expose a desired chemical functionality to fluids that contact interior channel walls, where base supporting material does not have the precise, desired functionality. For example, components can be fabricated as illustrated, with interior channel walls coated with another material.
Referring now to
System 26 includes a series of walls defining regions of the microfluidic system via which the system will be described. A microfluidic interconnected region 28 is defined in the system by walls 29, and includes an upstream portion 30 and a downstream portion 32, connected to an outlet further downstream which is not shown in
Referring again to
In the embodiments illustrated, the dimensionally-restricted section is an annular orifice, but it can take any of a varieties of forms. For example, it can be elongate, ovoid, square, or the like. Preferably, it is shaped in any way that causes the dispersing fluid to surround and constrict the cross-sectional shape of the subject fluid. The dimensionally-restricted section is non-valved in preferred embodiments. That is, it is an orifice that cannot be switched between an open state and a closed state, and typically is of fixed size.
Although not shown in
In some, but not all embodiments, all components of system 26 are microfluidic. “Microfluidic”, as used herein, refers to a device, apparatus or system including at least one fluid channel having a cross-sectional dimension of less than 1 millimeter (mm), and a ratio of length to largest cross-sectional dimension of at least 3:1, and “Microfluidic channel” is a channel meeting these criteria. Cross-sectional dimension is measured perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow. Most fluid channels in components of the invention have maximum cross-sectional dimensions less than 2 millimeters, and preferably 1 millimeter. In one set of embodiments, all fluid channels, at least at regions at which one fluid is dispersed by another, are microfluidic or of largest cross sectional dimension of no more than 2 millimeters. In another embodiment, all fluid channels associated with fluid dispersion, formed in part by a single component (e.g. an etched substrate or molded unit) are microfluidic or of maximum dimension of 2 millimeters. Of course, larger channels, tubes, etc. can be used to store fluids in bulk and to deliver fluids to components of the invention.
A “microfluidic interconnected region,” as used herein, refers to a portion of a device, apparatus or system including two or more microfluidic channels in fluid communication.
In one set of embodiments, the maximum cross-sectional dimension of all active fluid channels, that is, all channels that participate in fluid dispersion, is less than 500 microns or 200, 100, 50, or 25 microns. For example, cross-section 50 of interconnected region 28, as well as the maximum cross-sectional dimension 52 of subject fluid channel 34, can be less than any of these dimensions. Upstream sections 30 of interconnected region 28 can be defined by any of these maximum cross-sectional boundaries as well. Devices and systems may include channels having non-microfluidic portions as well.
“Channel”, as used herein, means a feature on or in an article (substrate) that at least partially directs the flow of a fluid. The feature can be a groove of any cross-sectional shape (curved, square or rectangular as illustrated in the figures, or the like) and can be covered or uncovered. In embodiments where it is completely covered, at least one portion of the channel can have a cross-section that is completely enclosed, or the entire channel may be completely enclosed along its entire length with the exception of its inlet and outlet. Unless otherwise indicated, in the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying figures, all channels are completely enclosed.
One aspect of the invention involves simplified fabrication of microfluidic fluid-combining systems, and resulting systems defined by fewer components than typical prior art systems. For example, in the arrangement illustrated in
A variety of materials and methods can be used to form components of system 26. In some cases various materials selected lend themselves to various methods. For example, components of the invention can be formed from solid materials, in which the channels can be formed via micromachining, film deposition processes such as spin coating and chemical vapor deposition, laser fabrication, photolithographic techniques, etching methods including wet chemical or plasma processes, and the like. See, for example, Angell, et al., Scientific American 248:44-55 (1983). In one embodiment, at least a portion of the system (for example, bottom wall 36 and walls 29 and 31) is formed of silicon by etching features in a silicon chip. Technology for precise and efficient fabrication of devices of the invention from silicon is known. In another embodiment, the section (or other sections) can be formed of a polymer, and can be an elastomeric polymer, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; Teflon®), or the like.
Different components can be fabricated of different materials. For example, a base portion including bottom wall 36 and side walls 29 and 34 can be fabricated from an opaque material such as silicon or PDMS, and top portion 38 can be fabricated from a transparent material such as glass or a transparent polymer, for observation and control of the fluidic process. Components can be coated so as to expose a desired chemical functionality to fluids that contact interior channel walls, where base supporting material does not have the precise, desired functionality. For example, components can be fabricated as illustrated, with interior channel walls coated with another material.
Material used to fabricate devices of the invention, or material used to coat interior walls of fluid channels, may desirably be selected from among those materials that will not adversely affect or be affected by fluid flowing through the device, e.g., material(s) that is chemically inert in the presence of fluids at working temperatures and pressures that are to be used within the device.
In one embodiment, components of the invention are fabricated from polymeric and/or flexible and/or elastomeric materials, and can be conveniently formed of a hardenable fluid, facilitating fabrication via molding (e.g. replica molding, injection molding, cast molding, etc.). The hardenable fluid can be essentially any fluid art that can be induced to solidify, or that spontaneously solidifies, into a solid capable of containing and transporting fluids contemplated for use in and with the microfluidic network structures. In one embodiment, the hardenable fluid comprises a polymeric liquid or a liquid polymeric precursor (i.e. a “prepolymer”). Suitable polymeric liquids can include, for example, thermoplastic polymers, thermoset polymers, or mixture of such polymers heated above their melting point; or a solution of one or more polymers in a suitable solvent, which solution forms a solid polymeric material upon removal of the solvent, for example, by evaporation. Such polymeric materials, which can be solidified from, for example, a melt state, by solvent evaporation or by catalysis, are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. A variety of polymeric materials, many of which are elastomeric, are suitable, and are also suitable for forming molds or mold masters, for embodiments where one or both of the mold masters is composed of an elastomeric material. A non-limiting list of examples of such polymers includes polymers of the general classes of silicone polymers, epoxy polymers, and acrylate polymers. Epoxy polymers are characterized by the presence of a three-membered cyclic ether group commonly referred to as an epoxy group, 1, 2-epoxide, or oxirane. For example, diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A can be used, in addition to compounds based on aromatic amine, triazine, and cycloaliphatic backbones. Another example includes the well-known Novolac™ polymers. Examples of silicone elastomers suitable for use according to the invention include those formed from precursors including the chlorosilanes such as methylchlorosilanes, ethylchlorosilanes, and phenylchlorosilanes, and the like.
Silicone polymers are preferred in one set of embodiments, for example, the silicone elastomer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Exemplary polydimethylsiloxane polymers include those sold under the trademark Sylgard® by Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., and particularly Sylgard 182, Sylgard 184, and Sylgard 186. Silicone polymers including PDMS have several beneficial properties simplifying fabrication of the microfluidic structures of the invention. First, such materials are inexpensive, readily available, and can be solidified from a prepolymeric liquid via curing with heat. For example, PDMSs are typically curable by exposure of the prepolymeric liquid to temperatures of about, for example, 65° C. to about 75° C. for exposure times of about, for example, 1 hour. Second, silicone polymers, such as PDMS, are elastomeric and are thus useful for forming very small features with relatively high aspect ratios, necessary in certain embodiments of the invention. Flexible (e.g. elastomeric) molds or masters can be advantageous in this regard.
Another advantage of forming microfluidic structures of the invention from silicone polymers, such as PDMS, is the ability of such polymers to be oxidized, for example by exposure to an oxygen-containing plasma such as an air plasma, so that the oxidized structures contain at their surface chemical groups capable of cross-linking to other oxidized silicone polymer surfaces or to the oxidized surfaces of a variety of other polymeric and non-polymeric materials. Thus, components can be fabricated and then oxidized and essentially irreversibly sealed to other silicone polymer surfaces, or to the surfaces of other substrates reactive with the oxidized silicone polymer surfaces, without the need for separate adhesives or other sealing means. In most cases, sealing can be completed simply by contacting an oxidized silicone surface to another surface without the need to apply auxiliary pressure to form the seal. That is, the pre-oxidized silicone surface acts as a contact adhesive against suitable mating surfaces. Specifically, in addition to being irreversibly sealable to itself, oxidized silicone such as oxidized PDMS can also be sealed irreversibly to a range of oxidized materials other than itself including, for example, glass, silicon, silicon oxide, quartz, silicon nitride, polyethylene, polystyrene, glassy carbon, and epoxy polymers, which have been oxidized in a similar fashion to the PDMS surface (for example, via exposure to an oxygen-containing plasma). Oxidation and sealing methods useful in the context of the present invention, as well as overall molding techniques, are described in Duffy et al., Rapid Prototyping of Microfluidic Systems and Polydimethylsiloxane, Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 70, pages 474-480, 1998, incorporated herein by reference.
Another advantage to forming microfluidic structures of the invention (or interior, fluid-contacting surfaces) from oxidized silicone polymers is that these surfaces can be much more hydrophilic than the surfaces of typical elastomeric polymers (where a hydrophilic interior surface is desired). Such hydrophilic channel surfaces can thus be more easily filled and wetted with aqueous solutions than can structures comprised of typical, unoxidized elastomeric polymers or other hydrophobic materials. Thus, devices of the invention can be made with surfaces that are more hydrophilic than unoxididized elastomeric polymers.
In one embodiment, bottom wall 36 is formed of a material different from one or more of walls 29 or 31, or top wall 38, or other components. For example, the interior surface of bottom wall 36 can comprise the surface of a silicon wafer or microchip, or other substrate. Other components can, as described above, be sealed to such alternative substrates. Where it is desired to seal a component comprising a silicone polymer (e.g. PDMS) to a substrate (bottom wall) of different material, it is preferred that the substrate be selected from the group of materials to which oxidized silicone polymer is able to irreversibly seal (e.g., glass, silicon, silicon oxide, quartz, silicon nitride, polyethylene, polystyrene, epoxy polymers, and glassy carbon surfaces which have been oxidized). Alternatively, other sealing techniques can be used, as would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including, but not limited to, the use of separate adhesives, thermal bonding, solvent bonding, ultrasonic welding, etc.
The invention provides for formation of discontinuous, or isolated, regions of a subject fluid in a dispersing fluid, with these fluids optionally separated by one or more intermediate fluids. These fluids can be selected among essentially any fluids (liquids, gases, and the like) by those of ordinary skill in the art, by considering the relationship between the fluids. For example, the subject fluid and the dispersing fluid are selected to be immiscible within the time frame of formation of the dispersed portions. Where the dispersed portions remain liquid for a significant period of time, the fluids should be significantly immiscible. Where, after formation of dispersed portions, the dispersed portions are quickly hardened by polymerization or the like, the fluids need not be as immiscible. Those of ordinary skill in the art can select suitable immiscible fluids, using contact angle measurements or the like, to carry out the techniques of the invention.
Subject fluid dispersion can be controlled by those of ordinary skill in the art, based on the teachings herein, as well as available teachings in the field of flow-focusing. Reference can be made, for example, to “Generation of Steady Liquid Microthreads and Micron-Sized Monodispersed Sprays and Gas Streams,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 80:2, Jan. 12, 1998, Ganan-Calvo, as well as numerous other texts, for selection of fluids to carry out the purposes of the invention. As will be more fully appreciated from the examples below, control of dispersing fluid flow rate, and ratio between the flow rates of dispersing and subject fluids, can be used to control subject fluid stream and/or dispersion size, and monodispersity versus polydispersity in fluid dispersions. The microfluidic devices of the present invention, coupled with flow rate and ratio control as taught herein, allow significantly improved control and range. The size of the dispersed portion can range down to less than one micron in diameter.
Many dispersions have bulk properties (e.g. rheology; how the dispersion(s) flows, and optionally other properties such as optical properties, taste, feel, etc., influenced by the dispersion size and the dispersion size distribution. Typical prior art techniques, such as prior art flow focusing techniques, most commonly involve monodisperse systems. The present invention also involves control of conditions that bidisperse and polydisperse discontinuous section distributions result, and this can be useful when influencing the bulk properties by altering the discontinuous size distribution, etc.
The invention can be used to form a variety of dispersed fluid sections or particles for use in medicine (e.g., pharmaceuticals), skin care products (e.g. lotions, shower gels), foods (e.g. salad dressings, ice cream), ink encapsulation, paint, micro-templating of micro-engineered materials (e.g., photonic crystals, smart materials, etc.), foams, and the like. Highly monodisperse and concentrated liquid crystal droplets produced according to the invention can self-organize into two and three dimensional structures, and these can be used in, for example, novel optical devices.
One advantage of the present invention is increased control over size of discontinuous portions of subject fluid. This is in contrast to many prior art techniques in which, typically, an inner fluid is drawn into a stream or set of drops of size smaller than an orifice through which the fluid is forced. In the present invention, some embodiments involve formation of a subject fluid stream and/or discontinuous portions having a mean cross-sectional dimension or mean diameter, respectively, no smaller than the mean cross-sectional dimension of the dimensionally-restricted section. The invention involves control over these mean cross-sectional dimensions or diameters by control of the flow rate of the dispersing fluid, subject fluid, or both, and/or control of the ratios of these flow rates, alternatively in conjunction with the microfluidic environment. In other embodiments, the subject fluid stream and/or discontinuous portions have a mean cross-sectional dimension or mean diameter, respectively, no smaller than 90% of the mean cross-sectional dimension of the dimensionally-restricted section, or in other embodiments no smaller than 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, or 30% of the mean cross-sectional dimension of the dimensionally-restricted section. This can be advantageous in that the system of the invention can operate over a range of flow rates and produce essentially the same stream or discontinuous section size at those varying flow rates (the size being set, e.g., by the dimension of the dimensionally-restricted section) up to a threshold flow rate, at which point increasing the flow rate causes a corresponding decrease in subject fluid stream and/or discontinuous portion mean cross-sectional dimension or mean diameter, respectively.
In some embodiments, a gas-liquid dispersion may be formed to create a foam. As the volume percent of a gas in a gas-liquid dispersion increases, individual gas bubbles may lose their spherical shape as they are forced against each other. If constrained by one or more surfaces, these spheres may be compressed to disks, but will typically maintain a circular shape pattern when viewed through the compressing surface. Typically, a dispersion is called a foam when the gas bubbles become non-spherical, or polygonal, at higher volume percentages. Although many factors, for example, dispersion size, viscosity, and surface tension may affect when a foam is formed, in some embodiments, foams form (non-spherical bubbles) when the volume percent of gas in the gas-liquid dispersion exceeds, for example, 75, 80, 85, 90 or 95.
Formation of initial, subject fluid droplets (or dispersed phases), which can be broken up into smaller droplets in accordance with some aspects of the invention, will be described. It is to be understood that essentially any technique, including those described herein, for forming subject fluid droplets can be employed. One technique for forming subject fluid droplets can be done using a device such as that shown in
Another technique for subject fluid droplet formation is by employing the device of
Referring now to
In one set of embodiments, subject fluid droplets have the largest cross-sectional dimension of no more than 5 millimeters, or 1 millimeter, 500 microns, 250 microns, 100 microns, 60 microns, 40 microns, 20 microns, or even 10 microns. Where the droplets are essentially spherical, the largest cross-sectional dimension will be the diameter of the sphere. Resultant further-dispersed droplets 64 can have the same largest cross-sectional dimensions as those recited immediately above but, of course, will be smaller in cross-sectional dimension than those of droplets 60. Typically, the largest cross-sectional dimension of further-dispersed droplets 64 will be no more than 80% of the largest cross-sectional dimensional of initial subject droplets 60 or no more than 60%, 40%, or 20% the largest cross-sectional dimension of droplets 60.
Referring to
The arrangements of
Referring now to
In an alternate arrangement, rather than forming dispersed phase represented by droplet 96 at a T-junction as shown in
The obstructions can be of essentially any size and cross-sectional configuration. They also can be positioned anywhere within a channel carrying a dispersed phase desirably broken down into a more dispersed phase. For ease of fabrication, the obstructions will typically span the channel from a bottom surface to a top surface thereof (where
Referring now to
Channel 112 delivers, in the direction of arrow 114, a dispersed fluid phase within a dispersant fluid phase, formed in any convenient manner (such as those described herein with reference to
When using the T-junction geometry, the formation of small drops generally requires high shear rates in the continuous phase and consequently small drops tend to be associated with small volume fractions of the dispersed phase. At lower shear rates, on the other hand, the dispersed phase forms more elongated shapes which, in turn, implies high dispersed phase volume fractions.
The function and advantage of these and other embodiments of the present invention will be more fully understood from the examples below. The following examples are intended to illustrate the benefits of the present invention, but do not exemplify the full scope of the invention.
The following examples demonstrate the use of microfluidic channel geometry to form drops of a subject fluid in a continuous phase of a second, immiscible dispersing fluid. For the experiments described here, a flow-focusing-like geometry has been fabricated in a planar microchannel design using soft lithography fabrication methods; i.e. the example demonstrates the ability to rapidly produce an integrated microchannel prototype in essentially a single step. The first group of examples used oil and water as two immiscible fluids. Using oil as the continuous phase liquid (dispersing fluid) and water as the dispersed phase (subject fluid), a wide range of drop formation patterns (discontinuous sections) was realized, depending on the flow rates applied to each liquid inlet stream. Variation in size of the resulting discontinuous sections as a function of the oil flow rate, Qoil, and the ratio of the oil flow rate to the water flow rate, R=Qoil/Qwater was determined. The droplets observed span over three decades in diameter, with the smallest droplets in the range of hundreds of nanometers.
The microfluidic device shown in
The fluids used were distilled water (subject fluid) and silicone oil (dispersing fluid; Silicone Oil AS 4, Fluka). The viscosity of the silicone oil as reported by the manufacturer was 6 mPa·sec. The silicone oil contained 0.67 wt % of Span 80 surfactant (Sorbitan monooleate, Aldrich). The surfactant solution was prepared by mechanically mixing surfactant with silicone oil for approximately 30 minutes and then filtering to eliminate aggregates and prevent clogging of the microchannel.
The fluids were introduced into the microchannel through flexible tubing (Clay Adams Intramedic PE60 Polyethylene Tubing) and the flow rate was controlled using separate syringe pumps for each fluid (Braintree Scientific BS8000 Syringe Pump). In the embodiment of the invention demonstrated here, the flow rate of the dispersing fluid (oil), Qo, was always greater than the flow rate of the subject fluid (water), Qi. Three different flow rate ratios were chosen, Qo/Qi=4, 40, and 400, where the oil flow rate given corresponded to the total flow rate in both oil inlet streams. For each Qo/Qi oil flow rates spanning more than two orders of magnitude were chosen (4.2×10−5 ml/sec<=Qo, <=8.3×10−3 ml/sec). At each value of Qo and Qi, drop formation inside and just downstream of the orifice was visualized using an inverted microscope (Model DM IRB, Leica Microsystems) and a high-speed camera (Phantom V5.0, Photo-Sonics, Inc.; up to 6000 frames/sec). Image processing was used to measure drop sizes, which are reported as an equivalent sphere diameter.
Another device was made to further disperse fluid portions that formed a dispersion in an immiscible fluid. A series of microchannels were fabricated from polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) using known soft lithography fabrication techniques (see, for example, Xia et al., Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl., Vol. 37, p. 550, 1998, incorporated by reference; WO 96/29629, referenced above). For each of the examples described herein, original drop formation occurs at a T-junction and flow rates are chosen to maintain drops of nearly uniform size. Channel heights were 30 microns, and at the T-junction where drops were first formed, channel widths were also 30 microns. In the case of obstruction-assisted breakup, the obstruction had a cross-section of a square, 60 microns across, and the channel widths varied from 120 to 240 microns depending upon the placement within the channel of the obstruction (relative ratios of (a) to (b) as illustrated in
a) shows a single column of drops, with size comparable to the channel, flowing past an obstruction placed in the middle of the channel. The drops deform as they flow in the gaps surrounding the obstruction and break into further dispersed drops just down stream of the obstruction.
In each of
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that auxiliary components, not shown or described in detail herein, are useful in implementing the invention. For example, sources of various fluids, means for controlling pressures and/or flow rates of these fluids as delivered to channels shown herein, etc. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and structures for performing the functions and/or obtaining the results or advantages described herein, and each of such variations or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. More generally, those skilled in the art would readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations will depend upon specific applications for which the teachings of the present invention are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. The present invention is directed to each individual feature, system, material and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, materials and/or methods, if such features, systems, materials and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present invention.
In the claims (as well as in the specification above), all transitional phrases such as “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, “composed of”, “made of”, “formed of” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e. to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, section 2111.03.
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/024,228, filed Dec. 28, 2004 which is a continuation of PCT/US03/20542, filed Jun. 30, 2003, which was published in English and designates the United States and which claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 60/392,195, filed Jun. 28, 2002, and of U.S. provisional application No. 60/424,042, filed Nov. 5, 2002. Each of these documents is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention was made with government support under the National Institutes of Health Grant Number GM065364, Department of Energy Grant Number DE-FG02-00ER45852, and National Science Foundation Grant Number ECS-0004030. The government has certain rights in the invention.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11024228 | Dec 2004 | US |
Child | 12726223 | US | |
Parent | PCT/US03/20542 | Jun 2003 | US |
Child | 11024228 | US |