US 12,186,746 B2
Methods and devices for mixing in a microfluidic system
Aathavan Karunakaran, Berkeley, CA (US); Arnaud Rival, Saint Nazaire les Eymes (FR); Ali Agah, Menlo Park, CA (US); Fabien Abeille, Grenoble (FR); Steven Barnard, Del Mar, CA (US); Craig Ciesla, Mountain View, CA (US); Murali Venkatesan, San Bruno, CA (US); Pargol Gheissari, San Diego, CA (US); Jennifer Wang, San Francisco, CA (US); and Dietrich Dehlinger, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to ILLUMINA, INC., San Diego, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/255,819
Filed by ILLUMINA, INC., San Diego, CA (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 7, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IB2020/050979
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 23, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/161674, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 13, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/803,233, filed on Feb. 8, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2023366 (NL), filed on Jun. 24, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0362151 A1, Nov. 25, 2021
Int. Cl. B01L 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC B01L 3/502715 (2013.01) [B01L 2300/0645 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0877 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0896 (2013.01); B01L 2400/0415 (2013.01); B01L 2400/06 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
loading an analyte of interest into a microfluidic device, wherein the microfluidic device comprises:
a flow cell including an inlet port, an outlet port, and at least one flow channel extending between the inlet port and the outlet port, the flow channel to receive the analyte of interest and one or more reagents; and
at least one electrothermal mixing device coupled to the flow cell and positioned proximate to the at least one flow channel, the electrothermal mixing device comprising a passivation layer positioned between the flow channel and an electrode array of the electrothermal mixing device, the electrode array embedded within the passivation layer;
loading a reagent into the flow cell; and
actively mixing the reagent with the analyte of interest in said flow channel via electrothermal mixing by the electrothermal mixing device.
 
10. A method comprising:
loading an analyte of interest into a microfluidic device, wherein the microfluidic device comprises:
a flow cell including an inlet port, an outlet port, and at least one flow channel extending between the inlet port and the outlet port, the flow channel to receive the analyte of interest and one or more reagents; and
at least one electrothermal mixing device coupled to the flow cell and positioned proximate to the at least one flow channel, the electrothermal mixing device comprising a dielectric material and an electrode array embedded within the dielectric material;
loading a reagent into the flow cell; and
actively mixing the reagent with the analyte of interest in said flow channel via electrothermal mixing by the electrothermal mixing device.