Patent ID: 7198813

Claim:
A method for manipulation of small quantities of liquid on surfaces, in particular, chip surfaces, in which at least one small quantity of liquid ( 1 ) held together by its surface tension is applied onto an area of the surface with at least one intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ), which borders on and is disposed between at least two guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ) in a lateral spatial direction, whereby the small quantity of liquid ( 1 ) contacts said at least one intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ) and guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ), and the at least one intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ) and guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ) have different surface characteristics, which are selected with the guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ) being more wettable than the intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ), such that a surface with the surface characteristic of a guide strip ( 5 , 6 , 50 ) is wetted more strongly by the small amount of liquid ( 1 ) than a surface with the surface characteristic of the at least one intermediate region( 3 , 4 ), and when the quantity of liquid ( 1 ) is placed upon the intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ) between the guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ), the liquid quantity ( 1 ) disperses in the direction of the guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ) and is held upon the intermediate region ( 3 , 4 ) by surface tension of liquid within the guantity ( 1 ) in which the small quantity of liquid ( 1 ) on the at least one intermediate layer ( 3 , 4 ) is moved along the guide strips ( 5 , 6 , 50 ).