Patent ID: 7727768
Filing Date: 2010-06-01
Classification: B82Y,G01N,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method for detecting chemical reactions using a nanocalorimeter comprising a substrate, at least one thermal isolation region residing on the substrate, at least one thermal equilibration region residing within a thermal isolation region, and at least one thermal measurement device residing within each thermal equilibration region, wherein said thermal measurement device is connected to detection electronics; for a thermal equilibration region in a thermal isolation region on the substrate, the method comprising: depositing drops of potentially reactive chemical solutions within the thermal equilibration region in the thermal isolation region; merging said potentially reactive solution drops, wherein merging said potentially reactive solution drops is accomplished by at least two drop merging electrodes residing within said thermal isolation region; and measuring a thermal change occurring within said merged solution drops, the act of depositing drops comprising: depositing first and second drops of potentially reactive chemical solutions on a surface within the thermal equilibration region; the first and second drops each having a volume of approximately 20 nL or more; the act of merging comprising: operating the drop merging electrodes to merge the first and second drops into a mixture on the surface, the mixture including less than 500 μL of volume; the act of measuring comprising: conducting temperature from the mixture on the surface to a thermal measurement device that is within the thermal isolation region and separated from the drop merging electrodes; the thermal measurement device having an electrical characteristic value that changes in response to change in temperature conducted from the mixture and that can be used to detect thermal change from chemical reaction in the mixture; the act of conducting temperature comprising one of: conducting temperature from the mixture laterally across the nanocalorimeter's substrate through a thermally conductive structure that extends over the thermal equilibration region; the thermal measurement device being laterally separated from the drop merging electrodes; and conducting temperature from the mixture through a thickness of an electrically insulating layer that, in the thermal isolation region, is between the drop merging electrodes and the thermal measurement device, the drop merging electrodes being between the surface and the thermal measurement device, the thermal measurement device being separated from the drop merging electrodes by the electrically insulating layer.