US 12,239,984 B2
Method of manipulating droplets in a channel
Amel Bendali, Courbevoie (FR); and Julien Autebert, Le Kremlin Bicetre (FR)
Assigned to INOREVIA, Paris (FR)
Appl. No. 17/256,219
Filed by INOREVIA, Paris (FR)
PCT Filed Jun. 24, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/066610
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 27, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/002196, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 2, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 18305818 (EP), filed on Jun. 27, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0229100 A1, Jul. 29, 2021
Int. Cl. B01L 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC B01L 3/502784 (2013.01) [B01L 2200/0673 (2013.01); B01L 2300/08 (2013.01); B01L 2300/0838 (2013.01); B01L 2300/161 (2013.01); B01L 2400/088 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of inducing merging between droplets in a channel area, comprising:
providing a flow of carrier fluid in the channel area;
providing at least one droplet of a first fluid and at least one droplet of a second fluid within the carrier fluid, the first fluid and the second fluid being immiscible with the carrier fluid;
displacing the droplet of first fluid and the droplet of second fluid along the channel area, successively
(a) by flowing the carrier fluid in a first direction and at a first flow rate, wherein the droplet of the first fluid travels ahead the droplet of the second fluid, the droplet of the first fluid has a first relative velocity, the droplet of the second fluid has a second relative velocity, and
(i) the first relative velocity is greater than the second relative velocity or
(ii) the second relative velocity is greater than the first relative velocity but the length of the channel area is insufficient for the droplet of second fluid to merge with the droplet of first fluid by flowing the carrier fluid in the first direction and at the first flow rate; and
(b) by flowing the carrier fluid in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and at a second flow rate different from the first flow rate,
wherein the droplet of first fluid and the droplet of second fluid merge during step (b).