Patent ID: 8465706

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a microfluidic chip including a microchannel that includes a microchannel inlet and a microchannel outlet and a first reagent chamber that includes a first chamber inlet, a first reagent chamber outlet configured to provide fluid communication between the first reagent chamber and the microchannel, and a first compliant wall, wherein the first chamber inlet is separated from the first chamber outlet and the microchannel by a portion of the first reagent chamber that includes the first compliant wall; a first actuator coupled to the first compliant wall of the first reagent chamber and configured to actuate a volume change of the first reagent chamber in response to a first control signal; and a controller configured to apply the first control signal to the first actuator to perform the actuating of the first compliant wall of the first reagent chamber to controllably and individually dispense a first fluid particle on-demand from the first reagent chamber into an immiscible fluid in the microchannel.