Determination of dynamic contact angles within microfluidic devices

Here, we report a single-point detection method for the determination of dynamic surface conditions inside microfluidic channels. The proposed method is based on monitoring fluorescence amplitude as a function of the convolution of a laser beam with segmented flow consisting of two immiscible liquids, one containing fluorescent dye. The fluorescence amplitude is determined by the flow rate and the droplet shape, which is affected by the channel surface properties. We modeled the interaction of a droplet and a laser beam via computer-aided design software, using the laser beam location in relation to the droplet shape as a parameter. The method was applied to fused silica capillaries with both unmodified and modified surfaces, with segmented flow exhibiting water contact angles of ≈?30° and ≈?100°, respectively. The method allows discrimination between hydrophillic and hydrophobic surfaces, as well as the quality of the treatment. The results were verified using fluorescence imaging of the droplets via a stroboscopic technique. We also applied this method to the analysis of microfabricated channels with non-circular cross sections. We demonstrated that the technique enables the determination of the hydrophobicity of channel surfaces, a crucial property required for the generation of segmented flow or emulsions for applications such as digital PCR.     

Micro-optofluidic switch realized by 3D printing technology

This paper presents a PDMS micro-optofluidic chip that allows a laser beam to be driven directly toward a two-phase flow stream in a micro-channel while at the same time automatically, detecting the slug’s passage and stirring the laser light, without the use of any external optical devices. When the laser beam interacts with the microfluidic flow, depending on the fluid in the channel and the laser angle of incidence, a different signal level is detected. So a continuous air–water segmented flow will generate a signal that switches between two values. The device consists of a T-junction, which generates the two-phase flow, and three optical fiber insertions, which drive the input laser beam toward a selected area of the micro-channel and detects the flow stream. Three micro-channel sections of different widths were considered: 130, 250, 420 μm and the performance of the models was obtained by comparing ray-tracing simulations. The master of the device has been realized by 3D printing technology and a protocol which realizes the PDMS chip is presented. The static and dynamic characterizations, considering both single flows and two-phase flows, were carried out, and in spite of the device’s design simplicity, the sensitivity of the system to capture changes in the segmented flows and to stir the laser light in different directions was fully confirmed. The experimental tests show the possibility of obtaining satisfactory results with channel diameters in the order of 200 μm.     

Scalable microbeam flowsensors with electronic readout

In this paper, we present a scalable microchannel-embedded cantilever flowsensor with electronic readout. The scalable nature of the sensor addresses the need to realize arrays of flowsensors to characterize localized flow patterns. The electronic readout addresses the need to integrate flowsensors in microfluidic channels for closed-loop flow control. The in-channel nature of the flowsensor provides a wide choice for the cap material (e.g., PDMS, glass, silicon, etc.) enabling division of labor between integrated circuit (IC) and microfluidic foundries. This also holds promise for large-scale integrated microfluidic systems. The cantilever beam is placed inside a microfluidic channel in such a way that it utilizes drag forces to cause a flow-induced stress underneath the beam anchor. A Wheatstone bridge of piezoresistors placed directly under the anchor converts the flow-induced stress into a differential output voltage. We present an analytical model and 3-D simulations for the proposed flowsensor. Flowsensors fabricated by standard photolithography were tested to experimentally verify the validity of the model and simulation results. A flow sensitivity (unamplified) of 0.5 ppm/(/spl mu/L/s) was measured with first generation devices with water flow from 10 /spl mu/L/min to 100 /spl mu/L/min. Through experimental results, it is also shown that scaling down the size of the flowsensor results in higher sensitivity. We present a prediction on the noise-floor of flow measurement based on the results obtained using these prototype flowsensors.     

“From microtiter plates to droplets” tools for micro-fluidic droplet processing

Droplet-based microfluidic allows high throughput experimentation in with low volume droplets. Essential fluidic process steps are on the one hand the proper control of the droplet composition and on the other hand the droplet processing, manipulation and storage. Beside integrated fluidic chips, standard PTFE-tubings and fluid connectors can be used in combination with appropriate pumps to realize almost all necessary fluidic processes. The segmented flow technique usually operates with droplets of about 100–500 nL volume. These droplets are embedded in an immiscible fluid and confined by channel walls. For the integration of segmented flow applications in established research workflows—which are usually base on microtiter plates—robotic interface tools for parallel/serial and serial/parallel transfer operations are necessary. Especially dose–response experiments are well suited for the segmented flow technique. We developed different transfer tools including an automated “gradient take-up tool” for the generation of segment sequences with gradually changing composition of the individual droplets. The general working principles are introduced and the fluidic characterizations are given. As exemplary application for a dose–response experiment the inhibitory effect of antibiotic tetracycline on Escherichia coli bacteria cultivated inside nanoliter droplets was investigated.     

Electrolytic-Bubble-Based Flow Sensor for Microfluidic Systems

Accurate measurement and control of flow properties are essential for microfluidic lab-chips. In this paper, we demonstrate an electrolytic-bubble-based approach to directly measure flow rate in microfluidic arteries. By simultaneously generating two gas bubbles electrochemically along a channel, we can measure the pressure difference (and thus flow rate) in real time. A prototype chip that measures flow rate was fabricated on silicon. The sensor was characterized for a functional microfluidic system with inlet pressure ranging from 108 to 135 kPa. The flow-meter performance was compared with computational fluid dynamics simulations and was also calibrated against other direct experiments. The impedance-based flow-rate measurements are easily achieved on a chip with a simple electronic circuit. The described approach can be integrated into any fluid circuit, particularly microfluidic channels that are too small to use off-shelf flow meters.     

A gradual neural network approach for FPGA segmented channelrouting problems

A novel neural network approach called gradual neural network (GNN) is presented for segmented channel routing in field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's). FPGA's contain predefined segmented channels for net routing, where adjacent segments in a track can be interconnected through programmable switches for longer segments. The goal of the FPGA segmented channel routing problem, known to be NP-complete, is to find a conflict-free net routing with the minimum routing cost. The GNN for the N-net-M-track problem consists of a neural network of NxM binary neurons and a gradual expansion scheme. The neural network satisfies the constraints of the problem, while the gradual expansion scheme seeks the cost minimization by gradually increasing activated neurons. The energy function and the motion equation are newly defined with heuristic methods. The performance is verified through solving 30 instances, where GNN finds better solutions than existing algorithms within a constant number of iteration steps.     

Use of a porous membrane for gas bubble removal in microfluidic channels: physical mechanisms and design criteria

We demonstrate and explain a simple and efficient way to remove gas bubbles from liquid-filled microchannels, by integrating a hydrophobic porous membrane on top of the microchannel. A prototype chip is manufactured in hard, transparent polymer with the ability to completely filter gas plugs out of a segmented flow at rates up to 7.4 μl/s/mm² of membrane area. The device involves a bubble generation section and a gas removal section. In the bubble generation section, a T-junction is used to generate a train of gas plugs into a water stream. These gas plugs are then transported toward the gas removal section, where they slide along a hydrophobic membrane until complete removal. The system has been successfully modeled, and four necessary operating criteria have been determined to achieve a complete separation of the gas from the liquid. The first criterion is that the bubble length needs to be larger than the channel diameter. The second criterion is that the gas plug should stay on the membrane for a time sufficient to transport all the gas through the membrane. The third criterion is that the gas plug travel speed should be lower than a critical value: otherwise a stable liquid film between the bubble and the membrane prevents mass transfer. The fourth criterion is that the pressure difference across the membrane should not be larger than the Laplace pressure to prevent water from leaking through the membrane.     

Flow over a membrane-covered,fluid-filled cavity

The flow-induced response of a membrane covering a fluid-filled cavity located in a section of a rigid-walled channel was explored using finite element analysis. The membrane was initially aligned with the channel wall and separated the channel fluid from the cavity fluid. As fluid flowed over the membrane-covered cavity, a streamwise-dependent transmural pressure gradient caused membrane deformation. This model has application to synthetic models of the vocal fold cover layer used in voice production research. In this paper, the model is introduced and responses of the channel flow, the membrane, and the cavity flow are summarized for a range of flow and membrane parameters. It is shown that for high values of cavity fluid viscosity, the intracavity pressure and the beam deflection both reached steady values. For combinations of low cavity viscosity and sufficiently large upstream pressures, large-amplitude membrane vibrations resulted. Asymmetric conditions were introduced by creating cavities on opposing sides of the channel and assigning different stiffness values to the two membranes. The asymmetry resulted in reduction in or cessation of vibration amplitude, depending on the degree of asymmetry, and in significant skewing of the downstream flow field.     

Prototype filter design for QAM-based filter bank multicarrier system

In this paper, we provide conditions for a prototype filter design of filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) based on quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The conditions consist of a generalized Nyquist criterion (GNC) for nearly perfect reconstruction (NPR) and meeting the stopband condition for a small side-lobe. In a practical environment, a small side-lobe is a key aspect of achieving high spectral efficiency, which becomes an important factor in reducing the size of the guard band among channels. In addition, because the conventional GNC is derived under the assumption of an ideal channel, which can be easily broken over a practical multipath channel, we propose a relaxed NPR that considers the multipath delay using a 2L-oversampled discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in the frequency domain. Based on the relaxation of the GNC depending on a multipath channel, we formulate an optimization problem for a QAM-FBMC prototype filter design and propose a prototype filter with a small side-lobe and reliable BER performance. Simulation results show that the proposed prototype filter remarkably reduces the side-lobe compared to conventional QAM-FBMC based on two types of prototype filters and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) via the trade-off between GNC and side-lobe performance. The benefit of the side-lobe condition allows the proposed prototype filter, the Relaxed-NPR-F, to improve spectral efficiency by reducing the guard band in the frequency domain.     

多图书图像标签字符的分割识别

字符识别应用于图书系统能有效提高图书馆的数字化和自动化程度,设计了多图书图像标签字符的分割识别,达到了一次操作识别多本图书的功能。首先根据图像边缘连接后的统计值分割出单本图书,然后基于RGB颜色特征提取字符区,并根据轮廓分割字符,最后设计BP网络识别字符。通过matlab仿真了处理流程,仿真结果表明该算法能基本识别图书标签,有较好的实用价值和应用前景。     

Milliseconds microfluidic chaotic bubble mixer

In this study, we report a rapid microfluidic mixing device based on chaotic advection induced by microbubble–fluid interactions. The device includes inlets for to-be-mixed fluids and nitrogen gas. A side-by-side laminar flow segmented by monodisperse microbubbles is generated when the fluids and the nitrogen are co-injected through a flow focusing micro-orifice. The flow subsequently enters a series of hexagonal expansion chambers, in which the hydrodynamic interaction among the microbubbles results in the stretch and fold of segmented fluid volumes and rapid mixing and homogenization. We characterize the performance of the microfluidic mixer and demonstrate rapid mixing within 20 ms. We further show that bubbles can be conveniently removed from the mixed fluids using a microfluidic comb structure on completion of the mixing.     

Contactless sensing of the conductivity of aqueous droplets in segmented flow

We present an electrode arrangement for the inline measurement of the conductivity of droplets in segmented flow by impedance spectroscopy. We use a thin-walled glass capillary with electrodes contacting the outer surface, so that the contactless measurement of conductivity of the liquid within the capillary is possible. The surface of the glass capillary is silanized resulting in a single hydrophobic surface across which droplets can freely move. We model the impedance of such insulated electrodes and use the model to optimize the electrode system. Measurement of solutions with various salt concentrations allows the performance of the electrode structure to be characterized. Subsequently, the measurement of the impedance response of the aqueous segments in two-phase flow was demonstrated. Measurements were firstly performed with an impedance analyzer and subsequently with a multi-sine measurement setup that is better suited to high-speed measurement of droplets. Previous electrical measurements of segmented flow sensed the difference in dielectric constant between the aqueous phase and the carrier fluid through measurement of capacitance. This work describes an electrical measurement of the conductivity of droplets in segmented flow, that is, the sensor senses a variable property of the droplet itself.     

Thermocapillary mechanism of deep penetration in laser beam welding

Inconsistencies between experimental data and concepts of the vaporization hypothesis, assuming melt displacement by the pressure of vapor recoil, are sufficient to doubt the applicability of this hypothesis for the simulation of deep penetration welding. In order to settle these inconsistencies, a hypothesis was proposed, including an associated model, which attributes the removal of the melt from the zone of the beam impact and the formation of a deep penetration channel to the action of tangential thermocapillary forces on a heterogeneously heated surface. The phenomenon of a deep penetration channel appears as a result at an excess of the threshold value of beam intensity, when the structural rearrangement of the thermocapillary divergent flow is observed, interrelated with a break-age of flow lines at the transition from the vortex mode to the shear mode. The thermocapillary model of deep penetration was verified by comparing the major parameters of the deep penetration process, obtained by calculations, with empirical data.     

基于非刚性配准的交互式医学图像序列分割

提出了一种新的交互式医学图像序列分割算法,该算法将非刚性配准技术和解剖先验知识相结合把图像分割问题转化为图像配准问题。首先采用Demons算法进行图像配准,用光流法计算瞬时位移,设计了一个新的停止准则使其能自适应地确定迭代次数,并将它在金字塔型的多尺度框架下实现。然后用配准得到的形变域对已精确分割的图像进行形变就能自动地获得未分割目标图像的分割结果。扩展上述过程就可实现整个图像序列分割。试验结果表明该算法用户干预少、分割速度快、分割结果准确。     

Time correlated fluorescence characterization of an asymmetrically focused flow in a microfluidic device

In this study, we explore and model the behavior of a prototype microfluidic device which employs two non-mixing fluids (sheath and inlet fluids) displaying an asymmetric focused flow, in the presence of a fluorescent dye. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is employed, allowing the precise measure of flow speeds across the channels and of the concentration profile of the central focused flux along the flow direction. The system is modeled via a standard Navier–Stokes finite-element approach, coupled to convection–diffusion equations for the solute. Simulations reproduce accurately the shape, the position, and the width of the velocity and concentration profiles along the central channel and across the transversal and vertical sections of the microfluidic device. The observed asymmetric flow with respect to the center of the channel is reproduced numerically with an error in the position determination smaller than 1%.     

渐进图像传输的码率分配快速算法

针对带限时变信道上的渐进图像传输,提出了一种信源信道联合编码码率分配快速算法,首先参考一组速率兼容信道码字的误码性能划分信道分区,在各分区内缩小可用信 道码率集后,通过前后向码率搜索求解最佳码率分配。该算法运算复杂度低,计算次数比启发式码率搜索算法降低了一个数量级,缩短了运算时间。因此,将其应用于自适应传输 系统,可根据信道状况快速调整码率分配。仿真结果表明,接收端重建图像的PSNR值始终在29.5 dB以上,同时波动范围小于4 dB,具有优良稳定的传输质量。     

反馈调节机制的暗通道去雾算法

针对暗通道图像去雾算法在处理不满足暗通道先验条件的明亮区域时,估计的透射率偏小,导致去雾后的图像与原图像相比,色彩和纹理平滑度出现较大偏差的问题,提出反馈调节的暗通道去雾算法。该算法首先通过暗通道算法对原始有雾图像进行去雾,反馈出去雾后的图像与原始图像纹理平滑度的差异,使用模糊C-均值聚类算法分割出明亮的区域;然后用高斯函数调整明亮区域偏小的透射率,使其更加接近实际的透射率;最后利用调整后的透射率求得清晰的无雾图像。实验结果表明,该算法可以有效地处理不满足暗通道先验条件的区域,使得包含明亮区域的雾化图像,去雾后的色彩更加符合真实场景,视觉效果也更好。该算法可以提高户外监视系统的鲁棒性。     

基于GSM技术的智能家居远程控制器设计

利用GSM通讯技术实现了家居环境的远程参数采集与控制。文中就智能家居控制器的工作原理、GSM模块与微控制器接口、信号采集接口、后向通道接口等做了论述,给出了软件设计流程,样机的试用效果良好。     

Optically monitored segmented flow for controlled ultra-fast mixing and nanoparticle precipitation

Nanoparticles of drugs or colloidal carrier systems are capable of providing substantial advantages for drug bioavailability, but manufacturing nanoparticulate drugs or drug carriers remains a challenge because traditional mechanical or chemical batch mode processes might lack precise control of nanoparticle sizes. Microfluidic approaches are believed to give advantages but often do not provide chemically inert environments and lack controllable operation. Here, segmented flow devices with symmetrical design for centered organic phase injection and for nanoparticle precipitation in transparent and chemically inert glass microchannels are presented. Femtosecond laser fabrication was used to structure borosilicate glass wafers with hydrophilic microchannels of nearly circular cross section. They allow for ultra-fast mixing of solvents with aqueous fluids and subsequent precipitation of poorly water soluble drug nanoparticles or colloidal carrier particles. The best results for mixing and controlled precipitation were obtained with flow focusing and gas segmentation occurring at the same channel intersection point. In such systems, early interdiffusion of the solvent and aqueous solution before ultra-fast convective mixing in the plug is suppressed. A novel optical analysis technique revealed that the speed of mixing can be well controlled by simply adjusting the volume flow rate of the gas phase where changes in the liquid flow rate have practically no influence. In a controlled and stable Taylor flow, smallest plug volumes of 3.8 nl can be generated, which allows complete mixing in 9 ms. The production of lipid nanoparticles down to a diameter of 74 nm could already be demonstrated.