Patent ID: 7927797

Claim:
A method for amplifying genetic material comprising: emulsifying an aqueous fluid comprising a reaction mixture and a plurality of suspended beads in a continuous flow of oil to form a plurality of aqueous microreactors that comprise a smaller dimension relative to a cross section of the continuous flow of oil, wherein a plurality of the microreactors each encapsulate a species of nucleic acid template, a bead capable of capturing the species of nucleic acid template, and sufficient reagents to amplify the species of nucleic acid template, and wherein the step of emulsifying comprises the steps of: (i) continuously flowing the oil through a cross-flow emulsifier; (ii) injecting the aqueous fluid into an injection tee operatively coupled to a vibratory anti-clogging device; and (iii) applying a vibration to the injection tee from the vibratory anti-clogging device to prevent the suspended beads from clogging in a nozzle of the injection tee, thereby forming the aqueous microreactors; directing the continuous flow of oil comprising the aqueous microreactors across a plurality of stationary controlled temperature zones to amplify the species of nucleic acid template by polymerase chain reaction and immobilize a plurality of the amplified copies on the bead in the aqueous microreactors; and breaking the emulsion to retrieve one or more of the beads comprising the immobilized amplified species of nucleic acid template.