Acoustic Droplet Dispensing

PARC’s acoustic droplet dispensing technology uses a focused acoustic beam to eject a controlled droplet from an open pool of liquid. When the acoustic beam strikes the liquid surface, the pressure causes the fluid to rise up and a droplet breaks off. This technology can be used for liquid-handling applications in life sciences, materials synthesis, and drug delivery.

Acoustic dispensing offers several advantages over other methods. One advantage is that droplets are ejected without a nozzle, which means that the ejector is much less susceptible to clogging. Another advantage is the extremely small (less than one picoliter) drop size that can be achieved through this technology. A third advantage is that acoustic dispensing systems can be used with many different kinds of fluids. Also, with acoustic dispensing, drops can be fired at a very-high ejection rate.

PARC’s acoustic ejection technologies include single ejectors and combinations of single ejectors.

Applications
PARC’s acoustic dispensing system was initially developed for high-speed, high-quality printing applications. Other potential applications include micro-pipetting, direct printing from well plates, combinatorial chemistry, drug screening, medical inhalers, introduction of fluid samples into analytical instruments, and materials processing.

PARC has more than 100 patents on the underlying technology and diverse application domains.

Features:

• Nozzleless droplet ejection from open reservoirs of fluid (e.g. well-plates)
• Droplet volumes from 1 femtoliter (aerosol mist) to 10 nanoliters, with control of ± 2%
• High ejection rate -- for example, 2 picoliter drops at 50 kHz firing rate
• Ejection of aqueous and non-aqueous fluids, including molten materials

16 picoliters 25 kHz firing rate

2 picoliters 50 kHz firing rate

mist of 1 femtoliter drops 2 kHz firing rate

Scott Elrod
Manager, Hardware Systems Laboratory
650-812-5060