The present invention provides novel microfluidic devices and methods that are useful for performing high-throughput screening assays and combinatorial chemistry. Such methods can include labeling a library of compounds by emulsifying aqueous solutions of the compounds and aqueous solutions of unique liquid labels on a microfluidic device, which includes a plurality of electrically addressable, channel bearing fluidic modules integrally arranged on a microfabricated substrate such that a continuous channel is provided for flow of immiscible fluids, whereby each compound is labeled with a unique liquid label, pooling the labeled emulsions, coalescing the labeled emulsions with emulsions containing a specific cell or enzyme, thereby forming a nanoreactor, screening the nanoreactors for a desirable reaction between the contents of the nanoreactor, and decoding the liquid label, thereby identifying a single compound from a library of compounds.

Microfluidic Devices And Methods Of Use In The Formation And Control Of Nanoreactors

Surfactants (e.g., fluorosurfactants) for stabilizing aqueous or hydrocarbon droplets in a fluorophilic continuous phase are presented. In some embodiments, fluorosurfactants include a fluorophilic tail soluble in a fluorophilic (e.g., fluorocarbon) continuous phase, and a headgroup soluble in either an aqueous phase or a lipophilic (e.g., hydrocarbon) phase. The combination of a fluorophilic tail and a headgroup may be chosen so as to create a surfactant with a suitable geometry for forming stabilized reverse emulsion droplets having a disperse aqueous or lipophilic phase in a continuous, fluorophilic phase. In some embodiments, the headgroup is preferably non-ionic and can prevent or limit the adsorption of molecules at the interface between the surfactant and the discontinuous phase. This configuration can allow the droplet to serve, for example, as a reaction site for certain chemical and/or biological reactions. In another embodiment, aqueous droplets are stabilized in a fluorocarbon phase at least in part by the electrostatic attraction of two oppositely charged or polar components, one of which is at least partially soluble in the dispersed phase, the other at least partially soluble in the continuous phase. One component may provide colloidal stability of the emulsion, and the other may prevent the adsorption of biomolecules at the interface between a component and the discontinuous phase. Advantageously, surfactants and surfactant combinations of the invention may provide sufficient stabilization against coalescence of droplets, without interfering with processes that can be carried out inside the droplets.

Fluorocarbon emulsion stabilizing surfactants

The invention generally relates to droplet based digital PCR and methods for analyzing a target nucleic acid using the same. In certain embodiments, methods of the invention involve forming sample droplets containing, on average, a single target nucleic acid, amplifying the target in the droplets, excluding droplets containing amplicon from the target and amplicon from a variant of the target, and analyzing target amplicons.

Digital analyte analysis

The invention describes a method for the synthesis of compounds comprising the steps of: (a) compartmentalising two or more sets of primary compounds into microcapsules; such that a proportion of the microcapsules contains two or more compounds; and (b) forming secondary compounds in the microcapsules by chemical reactions between primary compounds from different sets; wherein one or both of steps (a) and (b) is performed under microfluidic control; preferably electronic microfluidic control The invention further allows for the identification of compounds which bind to a target component of a biochemical system or modulate the activity of the target, and which is co-compartmentalised into the microcapsules.

Compartmentalised combinatorial chemistry by microfluidic control

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods to create stable emulsions with low rates of exchange of molecules between microdroplets.

Microfluidic systems and methods for reducing the exchange of molecules between droplets

Digital signal processing circuit for video camera

A digital detecting or charge-discharge control circuit is useful in a video camera as a peak detector in an automatic iris control circuit, as a reference voltage generator in an automatic white balance control circuit and/or as a low pass filter in an automatic black balance control circuit. The digital detecting circuit includes multipliers for multiplying by first and second coefficients which determine charging and discharging times, respectively, and the value of such first and second coefficients are controlled or varied in accordance with the selected operating mode of the camera so that broad ranges of iris, white balance and/or black balance control can be achieved.

Digital signal processing circuit for digital camera

PURPOSE:To realize precise white balance correction by changing reference voltage generating a gate pulse for fetching a white part from an object CONSTITUTION:As a reference voltage generation circuit 5 generating the reference voltage based on R, G and B addition signals from an adder 3, digital first and second multiplication coefficient alpha and beta corresponding to charge time constant and discharge time constant can be changed and set By changing these first and second coefficient, the reference voltage being the fetching level near the peak level of the R, G and B addition signals can be varied and set Therefore, even when the proportion of the white part in the object is different, the reference voltage is switched and controlled by executing mode switching operation and the like Thus, the most proper white part can be detected and the accuracy of the white balance correction is improved

White balance correction circuit

PURPOSE:To take out only the whitest part excluding the periphery of the white part of an objected and to improve an accuracy in the correction of a white balance by excluding the edge part of a level discriminating output and forming a gate pulse CONSTITUTION:A 2H delay circuit 13, an AND gate 14, 1H delay elements 16R, 16G, 16B are used, thereby, both the edge parts of the level discriminating output pulse in the vertical direction of a screen are respectively equivalently shortened by one line to form the gate pulse Therefore, an improper part for correcting the white balance as the high brightness part of a small area can be removed and an unsteady part such as the edge part of the level discriminating pulse is also removed and the gate pulse for taking out only the substantially completely white part can be obtained Accordingly, only the whitest part excluding the periphery of the white part of the object is taken out to improve the accuracy of the white balance correction

Takashi Nakamura

Papers

Digital signal processing circuit for video camera

Digital signal processing circuit for digital camera

White balance correction circuit

White balance correcting circuit

Steuerschaltung fuer eine farbvideokamera