Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090120796 | ELECTROKINETIC CONCENTRATION DEVICE AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF - The present invention provides a device and methods of use thereof in concentrating a species of interest and/or controlling liquid flow in a device. The methods, inter-alia, make use of a device comprising a fluidic chip comprising a planar array of channels through which a liquid comprising a species of interest can be made to pass with at least one rigid substrate connected thereto such that at least a portion of a surface of the substrate bounds the channels, and an ion-selective membrane is attached to at least a portion of the surface of the substrate, which bounds said channels, or which bounds a portion of a surface of one of said channels. The device comprises a unit to induce an electric field in the channel and a unit to induce an electrokinetic or pressure driven flow in the channel. | 05-14-2009 |
20090136948 | NANOCONFINEMENT- BASED DEVICES AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF - The present invention provides a device/kit and methods of use thereof in rapid detection of target molecule binding to a cognate binding partner. The methods, inter-alia, make use of a device comprising channels or reservoirs, which are linked to nanochannels, whereby upon application of the cognate binding partner to the nanochannel comprising the target molecule under flow, a detectable change in conductance, capacitance or fluorescence or surface potential occurs. | 05-28-2009 |
20090176315 | Microfluidic pl-based molecular sorting - This invention is directed to methods and devices for separating molecules in a sample, based on differences in their isoelectric point (pI). The methods and devices make use of a diffusion potential created in a microfluidic chamber when a buffered solution comprising molecules, which differ in terms of their isoelectric point (pI) values and a second buffer, which differs from the buffered solution in terms of its pH or salt concentration are introduced in the chamber. The diffusion potential, in turn, enables charge-based separation of the molecules. Applications and permutations of the methods and devices are described. | 07-09-2009 |
20090242406 | METHODS FOR FABRICATING ELECTROKINETIC CONCENTRATION DEVICES - The present invention provides a device and methods of use thereof in concentrating a species of interest and/or controlling liquid flow in a device. The methods make use of a device comprising a fluidic chip comprising a planar array of channels through which a liquid comprising a species of interest can be made to pass with at least one rigid substrate connected thereto such that at least a portion of a surface of the substrate bounds the channels, and a high aspect ratio ion-selective membrane is embedded within the chip, attached to at least a portion of the channels. The device comprises a unit to induce an electric field in the channel and a unit to induce an electrokinetic or pressure driven flow in the channel. | 10-01-2009 |
20100187112 | NANOFLUIDIC PRECONCENTRATION DEVICE IN AN OPEN ENVIRONMENT - This invention provides a device and methods for increasing the concentration of a charged species in solution, wherein the solution containing the concentrated species is exposed to the environment. Such solution can be formed on a surface or on a tip of a measurement device. The open-environment concentration technique overcomes the disadvantages of in-channel concentration devices, especially by eliminating flow-induced delivery processes that lead to concentration losses. Combined with direct contact dispensing, methods of this invention can be used for various applications such as immunoassay and MALDI-MS. | 07-29-2010 |
20110081674 | CONTINUOUS-FLOW DEFORMABILITY-BASED CELL SEPARATION - This invention provides methods utilizing a microfluidic device that can quickly and accurately discern differences in deformability between individual cells and sets of cells and continuously fractionate populations of cells based on their deformability. This information may be important in disease diagnosis and treatment efficacy monitoring. For example such a device may be able to determine the stage of malarial infection by using red blood cell deformability. Additionally, methods of the invention may be used as a tool to screen drugs that can make cells more flexible in diseases such as sickle cell anemia that causes sickle cell crises. The relatively low manufacturing and operation costs of methods of the invention enable this device to be used in resource-limited settings to diagnose and monitor disease. | 04-07-2011 |
20110114486 | CONTINUOUS BIOMOLECULE SEPARATION IN A NANOFILTER - This invention provides a method and an apparatus for quickly continuously fractionating biomolecules, such as DNAs, proteins and carbohydrates by taking advantage of differential bidirectional transport of biomolecules with varying physico-chemical characteristics, for example size, charge, hydrophobicity, or combinations thereof, through periodic arrays of microfabricated nanofilters. The passage of biomolecules through the nanofilter is a function of both steric and electrostatic interactions between charged macromolecules and charged nanofilter walls, Continuous-flow separation through the devices of this invention are applicable for molecules varying in terms of any molecular properties (e.g., size, charge density or hydrophobicity) that can lead to differential transport across the nanofilters. | 05-19-2011 |
20110198225 | AMPLIFIED ELECTROKINETIC FLUID PUMPING SWITCHING AND DESALTING - The present invention provides a device and methods of use thereof for desalting a solution. The methods, inter-alia, make use of a device comprising microchannels, which are linked to conduits, whereby induction of an electric field in the conduit results in the formation of a space charge layer within the microchannel. The space charge layer provides an energy barrier for salt ions and generates an ion depletion zone proximal to the linkage region between the microchannel and the conduit. The method thus enables the removal of salt ions from the region proximal to the conduit and their accumulation in a region distant from the conduit, within the microchannel. | 08-18-2011 |
20110220498 | Method for Building Massively-Parallel Preconcentration Device for Multiplexed, High-Throughput Applications - A multiplexed concentration interface that can connect with a plurality of microchannels, conventional 96 well plates or other microarrays is disclosed. The interface can be used in biosensing platforms and can be designed to detect single or multiple targets such as DNA/RNA, proteins and carbohydrates/oligosaccharides. The multiplexed concentration device will provide a set of volume-matched sample preparation and detection strategies directly applicable by ordinary researchers. Furthermore, a multiplexed microfluidic concentrator without buffer channels is disclosed. | 09-15-2011 |
20110251652 | NEURAL PROSTHETICS USING A CHEMICAL HARVESTING AND STIMULATION DEVICE - A neural prosthetic device is provided that includes one or more ion-selective membranes enabling electrically-controlled local modulation of ion concentrations around a nerve so as to achieve different excitability states of the nerve for electrical stimulation or inhibition of nerve signal propagation. | 10-13-2011 |
20120064505 | MEASUREMENT OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND RELATED METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS - The invention in some aspects relates to methods, devices and compositions for evaluating material properties, such as mechanical and rheological properties of substances, particularly biological substances, such as cells, tissues, and biological fluids. In some aspects, the invention relates to methods, devices and compositions for evaluating material properties of deformable objects, such as cells. In further aspects, the invention relates to methods, devices and compositions for diagnosing and/or characterizing disease based on material properties of biological cells. | 03-15-2012 |
20120247979 | Method for Enhancing Current Throughput in an Electrochemical System - An electrochemical system with reduced limiting-current behavior is disclosed. The electrochemical system is useful for fuel cells and bio-sensors. In part, the invention relates a method of reducing or eliminating limiting-current behavior in the operation electrochemical systems, in particular those with ion-selective membrane or electrochemical electrodes, by spatially reducing the convection near the membrane or the electrode. The invention further relates to electrochemical systems in which micropores, microarrays or pillar arrays are used to reduce convection in comparison to conventional systems without microarrays, micropores or pillar arrays. | 10-04-2012 |
20120315596 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERING SUBSTANCES INTO NANOPOROUS MINERALIZED TISSUES - Methods and systems are provided for transporting a therapeutic or cosmetic substance into nanoporous mineralized tissue structures, such as teeth. The method may include contacting the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure with an ionic solution including the therapeutic or cosmetic substance; and simultaneously applying to the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure an electrical potential effective to transport the therapeutic or cosmetic substance into the nanopores of the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure. The system may include at least one pair of electrodes which includes a first electrode configured for contacting the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure and a second electrode; and a power source and control circuitry for generating an electrical potential between the first electrode and the second electrode effective to transport a therapeutic or cosmetic substance, in an ionic solution in contact with a surface of the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure, into the nanopores of the nanoporous mineralized tissue structure. | 12-13-2012 |
20130030510 | MICROFABRICATED ION-SELECTIVE ELECTRODES FOR FUNCTIONAL ELECTRICAL STIMULATION AND NEURAL BLOCKING - A neural prosthetic device is provided that includes one or more ion-selective membranes enabled by electrically-controlled local modulation of ion concentrations around a nerve so as to achieve different excitability states of the nerve for electrical stimulation or inhibition of nerve signal propagation. The local modulation is achieved by positioning the nerve in a bipolar perpendicular arrangement so as to modulate the ion concentrations of the one or more ion-selective membranes in situ to change the nerve excitability locally at the site of electrical stimulation or along the nerve for on-demand suppression of nerve propagation. | 01-31-2013 |
20130256134 | METHODS FOR FABRICATING ELECTROKINETIC CONCENTRATION DEVICES - The present invention provides a device and methods of use thereof in concentrating a species of interest and/or controlling liquid flow in a device. The methods make use of a device comprising a fluidic chip comprising a planar array of channels through which a liquid comprising a species of interest can be made to pass with at least one rigid substrate connected thereto such that at least a portion of a surface of the substrate bounds the channels, and a high aspect ratio ion-selective membrane is embedded within the chip, attached to at least a portion of the channels. The device comprises a unit to induce an electric field in the channel and a unit to induce an electrokinetic or pressure driven flow in the channel. | 10-03-2013 |
20140322630 | Method for Enhancing Current Throughput in an Electrochemical System - An electrochemical system with reduced limiting-current behavior is disclosed. The electrochemical system is useful for fuel cells and bio-sensors. In part, the invention relates a method of reducing or eliminating limiting-current behavior in the operation electrochemical systems, in particular those with ion-selective membrane or electrochemical electrodes, by spatially reducing the convection near the membrane or the electrode. The invention further relates to electrochemical systems in which micropores, microarrays or pillar arrays are used to reduce convection in comparison to conventional systems without microarrays, micropores or pillar arrays. | 10-30-2014 |
20140332386 | Method of Building Massively-Parallel Ion Concentration Polarization Separation Device - Ion Concentration Polarization (ICP) purification devices and methods for building massively-parallel implementations of the same, said devices being suitable for separation of salts, heavy metals and biological contaminants from source water. | 11-13-2014 |
20140374274 | Water Desalination/Purification and Bio-Agent Preconcentration by Ion Concentration Polarization - Between two juxtaposed similar ion exchange membranes (AEMs or CEMs), an ion depletion zone (d | 12-25-2014 |