Products
Technology
All Deerac Fluidics products use the patented* spot-on™ technology to aspirate and dispense liquids.
At the core of the spot-on™ technology is a pipetting tip which acts as a fast-actuating valve which is connected to a pressure or vacuum source. There is no system liquid within the pipettor – only air, and the sample liquid which is aspirated and dispensed through the tip.
The tip consists of a PEEK body in which is contained a “boss” made of a magnet coated with a chemically inert material. The boss when resting against the capillary creates a seal and can be used as a valve.
This valve is opened by raising the boss, which creates an opening to the capillary for the flow of the fluid. The boss is raised by the passage of a current through an electronic coil which surrounds the lower section of the tip body (as shown in the diagram). The opening time for each aspirate and dispense is determined by the spot-on™ electronic controller from the supplied liquid properties, the required volume and other system parameters.
Real Time Feedback
Precise control of the dispensation volume is further enabled by sensing the level of magnet actuation, using a sensing coil, and processing this information into a real time feedback. This feedback allows for the prospect of measuring the viscosity and flow of the liquid to be dispensed, adding a significant advantage to the spot-on™ technology
Furthermore, as the coil assemblies are separated from the fluid path, this minimises the contamination risk to fluids moving through the system. Further benefit is derived from the fact that no system liquids or air gaps are required thus allowing a reduced risk of contamination while maintaining a high degree of control and reliability.
*Issued patents
- US patent 6,669,909 B2 Liquid droplet dispensing.
- US patent 6,713,021 B1 Dispensing method and assembly for liquid droplets.
- European patent 1379332 Liquid droplet dispensing.
