Focused acoustic energy method and device for generating droplets of immiscible fluids

• Main Authors: MITCHELL W. MUTZ, RICHARD N. ELLSON, JAMES K. FOOTE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.04.2006
• Subjects: APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL; ATOMISING APPARATUS; CASTING; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; LIBRARIES, e.g. CHEMICAL LIBRARIES, IN SILICOLIBRARIES; LINING MACHINES; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; METALLURGY; NOZZLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; POWDER METALLURGY; PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES; PRINTING; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; SPRAYING APPARATUS; SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; STAMPS; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS; WORKING METALLIC POWDER

A method and device for generating droplets of immiscible fluids are provided. Extremely fine droplets may be generated, on the order of 1 picoliter or less, using focused acoustic energy to eject the droplets from a reservoir containing two or more immiscible fluids. Optionally, the droplets may be ejected onto discrete sites on a substrate surface so as to form array thereon.