Patent ID: 7798164
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: B01L,F04B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of microfluidic control via localized heating, the method comprising: providing a microchannel structure with a base region, the microchannel structure being partially filled with a volume of liquid and a gas at an ambient temperature, the volume of liquid and the gas being separated by a liquid-gas interface region within the microchannel structure, the base region including one or more physical structures comprising a nanometer scale patterned metal film embedded on the base region and associated with a plasmon resonance absorption band; supplying energy input to a portion of the one or more physical structures within the volume of liquid in a vicinity of the liquid-gas interface region to cause localized heating of the portion of the one or more physical structures; transferring heat from the portion of the one or more physical structures to surrounding liquid in the vicinity of the liquid-gas interface region; and generating an interphase mass transport at the liquid-gas interface region in the microchannel structure, wherein the volume of liquid and the gas remain to be substantially at the ambient temperature.