Thermally-actuated high speed droplet manipulation platform

A novel thermally-actuated liquid platform for droplet manipulation platform is presented. Droplets are transported on a thin layer of a chemically-inert and thermally stable liquid (carrier liquid) by means of creating and controlling localized deformations on the free surface of the liquid platform using thermal gradients. By creating appropriate spatio-temporal thermal gradient maps, droplets can be transported on predetermined pathways with a high level of controllability and speed. It is shown that droplets carrying different chemicals can be brought in contact and merged together to complete a reaction.