Patent ID: 8083915

Claim:
A device for the manipulation of liquid phase materials, comprising: a substrate; a channel disposed in said substrate and containing a material, said channel having first and second ends; an electrode made of an electrically conducting material, said electrode being in electrical contact with said channel at a location along said channel that is intermediate the first and second ends thereof; a coverplate; said coverplate and said substrate being mated together such that the coverplate seals the channel wherein either said substrate or said coverplate is formed of a gas permeable material that is selected to facilitate the removal of electrochemically generated gases from said channel; and means for applying an electric potential in a first segment of the channel between the first end of said channel and said electrode such that an electric field-free region is created in a second segment of said channel between said electrode and the second end, whereby transport of the material can be induced in the first and second segments of the channel.