Claims

1. A method of reducing or eliminating precipitate blockage in a microfluidic channel, the method comprising: a) flowing a first fluidic material through a first microchannel, wherein the microchannel comprises a first region upstream of one or more second region, which second region is upstream of one or more third region, which second region comprises a greater cross-sectional area than the first region or the third region; b) flowing at least a second fluidic material through at least a second microchannel, wherein the second microchannel fluidly intersects with the second region of the first microchannel, thereby mixing the first fluidic material and the second fluidic material in the greater cross-sectional area of the second region of the first microchannel, resulting in formation of a dilute precipitate, thereby reducing or eliminating precipitate blockage in the first microchannel; and, c) flowing the mixture of the first fluidic material, the second fluidic material, and the precipitate into the third region of the microchannel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first fluidic material comprises DMSO.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel wherein the second region is at least 2 times or more greater in cross-sectional area than the first or third region of the first microchannel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel wherein the second region is at least 5 times or more greater in cross-sectional area than the first or third region of the first microchannel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel wherein the second region is at least 10 times or more greater in cross-sectional area than the first or third region of the first microchannel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel wherein the second region is at least 15 times or more greater in cross-sectional area than the first or third region of the first microchannel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel wherein the second region is at least 20 times or more greater in cross-sectional area than the first or third region of the first microchannel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein flowing the first fluidic material comprises transporting the material through the second region of the first microchannel, wherein the cross-sectional area of the second region is great enough to prevent precipitate blockage of the microchannel by the dilute precipitate.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second fluidic material comprises a buffer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the second fluidic material comprises water.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein an AC electric field is applied orthogonal to a direction of fluid flow in the first microchannel.