Temperature effect on microchannel oil-in-water emulsification

Microchannel (MC) emulsification is a promising technique to produce monodisperse emulsions by spontaneous interfacial-tension-driven droplet generation. The purpose of this study was to systematically characterize the effect of temperature on droplet generation by MC emulsification, which is a major uncharted area. The temperature of an MC emulsification module was controlled between 10 and 70°C. Refined soybean oil was used as the dispersed phase and a Milli-Q water solution containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (1 wt%) as the continuous phase. Monodisperse oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions with a coefficient of variation below 4% were produced, and at all the operating temperatures, their average droplet diameter ranged from 32 to 38 μm. We also investigated the effect of flow velocity of the dispersed phase on droplet generation characteristics. The maximum droplet generation rate (frequency) from a channel at 70°C exceeded that at 10°C by 8.1 times, due to the remarkable decrease in viscosity of the two phases. Analysis using dimensionless numbers indicated that the flow of the dispersed phase during droplet generation could be explained using an adapted capillary number that includes the effect of the contact angle of the dispersed phase to the chip surface.     

Microdroplet formation of water and nanofluids in heat-induced microfluidic T-junction

This paper reports experimental investigations on the droplet formation and size manipulation of deionized water (DIW) and nanofluids in a microfluidic T-junction at different temperatures. Investigations of the effect of microchannel depths on the droplet formation process showed that the smaller the depth of the channel the larger the increase of droplet size with temperature. Sample nanofluids were prepared by dispersing 0.1 volume percentage of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles of 15 nm and 10 nm × 40 nm in DIW for their droplet formation experiments. The heater temperature also affects the droplet formation process. Present results demonstrate that nanofluids exhibit different characteristics in droplet formation with the temperature. Addition of spherical-shaped TiO₂ (15 nm) nanoparticles in DIW results in much smaller droplet size compared to the cylindrical-shaped TiO₂ (10 nm × 40 nm) nanoparticles. Besides changing the interfacial properties of based fluid, nanoparticles can influence the droplet formation of nanofluids by introducing interfacial slip at the interface. Other than nanofluid with cylindrical-shaped nanoparticles, the droplet size was found to increase with increasing temperature.     

Correlations of droplet formation in T-junction microfluidic devices: from squeezing to dripping

In this work, we have systematically analyzed the scaling law of droplet formation by cross-flow shear method in T-junction microfluidic devices. The droplet formation mechanisms can be distinguished by the capillary number for the continuous phase (Ca_c), which are the squeezing regime (Ca_c < 0.002), dripping regime (0.01 < Ca_c < 0.3), and the transient regime (0.002 < Ca_c< 0.01). Three corresponding correlations have been suggested in the different range of Ca_c. In the dripping regime, we developed a modified capillary number for the continuous phase (Ca_c′) by considering the influence of growing droplet size on the continuous phase flow rate. And the modified model could predict droplet diameter more accurately. In the squeezing regime, the final plug length was contributed by the growth and ‘squeeze’ stages based on the observation of dynamic break-up process. In the transient regime, we firstly suggested a mathematical model by considering the influences of the above two mechanisms. The correlations should be very useful for the application of controlling droplet size in T-junction microfluidic devices.     

Effect of viscosities of dispersed and continuous phases in microchannel oil-in-water emulsification

Although many aspects of microchannel emulsification have been covered in literature, one major uncharted area is the effect of viscosity of both phases on droplet size in the stable droplet generation regime. It is expected that for droplet formation to take place, the inflow of the continuous phase should be sufficiently fast compared to the outflow of the liquid that is forming the droplet. The ratio of the viscosities was therefore varied by using a range of continuous and dispersed phases, both experimentally and computationally. At high viscosity ratio (η _d/η _c), the droplet size is constant; the inflow of the continuous phase is fast compared to the outflow of the dispersed phase. At lower ratios, the droplet diameter increases, until a viscosity ratio is reached at which droplet formation is no longer possible (the minimal ratio). This was confirmed and elucidated through CFD simulations. The limiting value is shown to be a function of the microchannel design, and this should be adapted to the viscosity of the two fluids that need to be emulsified.     

Using wettability and interfacial tension to handle droplets of magnetic beads in a micro-chemical-analysis system

We developed a beads-droplet-handling mechanism for micro-chemical-analysis systems that enables us to manipulate magnetic-bead droplets reliably. Differences in wettability and the interfacial tension between different liquids prevent the beads from sticking to the glass surfaces. We also developed mechanisms for extracting and fusing bead droplets and confirmed that beads can be effectively condensed and rinsed by combining extraction and fusion units. The average liquid volume of an extracted droplet containing a bead cluster was 30 nl, which is almost the same of that of the void space in a closely packed bead-cluster structure. An extracted droplet can be diluted 1600-fold with our droplet extraction and fusion process by using a fresh droplet. The primary advantage of the system is that it does not need mechanical devices such as pumps, valves, and filters for handling a solution.     

Thermocapillary actuation of droplet in a planar microchannel

A study on thermocapillary actuation of liquid droplet in a planar microchannel has been carried out by both theoretical modeling and experimental characterization. The driving temperature gradients are provided by four heaters at the channel boundaries. In the modeling, the temperature distributions corresponding to transient actuation are calculated, and are coupled to the droplet through the surface tensions which drive the droplet to move inside the channel. The droplet trajectories and final positions are predicted, and are compared with the experimental observations, in which a silicon oil droplet was actuated inside a 10 mm  ×  10 mm planar channel with four heater fabricated on the substrate plate. The results show that the droplet can be positioned anywhere in the channel, determined by a heating code related to the heating strengths. Qualitative agreement between the modeling results and experimental data, in terms of temperature distributions, droplet trajectories and positions, has been obtained.     

Time-resolved electrochemical measurement device for microscopic liquid interfaces during droplet formation

An electrochemical measurement system with a high-speed camera for observation of dynamic behavior of ionic molecules at a water-in-oil interface during microfluidic droplet formation is described. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of the system, a liquid interface between 1 M sodium chloride aqueous solution and 0.02 M tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate 1,2-dichloroethane solution was investigated. During aqueous droplet formation in a microfluidic device, averaged and dynamic currents between the two phases were measured under potential control. The measured current corresponded to the transport of electrolyte ions to form the electrical double layer at the liquid interface. When an 18-μm-sized droplet was formed in each 1.2 ms, the amount of charge on each droplet was measured to be 20 pC at 0.4 V and negligible at the potential of zero charge (0.19 V). In addition, the high-speed camera observations revealed that the charge affects the stability of the droplet during and/or just after the generation process. This measurement system is expected to facilitate a fuller understanding of the droplet formation process.     

Valves for autonomous capillary systems

Autonomous capillary systems (CSs) are microfluidic systems inside which liquids move owing to capillary forces. CSs can in principle bring the high-performances of microfluidic-based analytical devices to near patient and environmental testing applications. In this paper, we show how wettable capillary valves can enhance CSs with novel functionalities, such as delaying and stopping liquids in microchannels. The valves employ an abruptly changing geometry of the flow path to delay a moving liquid filling front in a wettable microchannel. We show how to combine delay valves with capillary pumps, prevent shortcuts of liquid along the corners of microfluidic channels, stop liquids filling microchannels from a few seconds to over 30 min, trigger valves using two liquid fronts merging, and time a liquid using parallel microfluidic paths converging to a trigger valve. All together, these concepts should add functionality to passive microfluidic systems without departing from their initial simplicity of use. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Micro-droplet formation in non-Newtonian fluid in a microchannel

Micro-droplet formation from an aperture with a diameter of micrometers is numerically investigated under the cross-flow conditions of an experimental microchannel emulsification process. The process involves dispersing an oil phase into continuous phase fluid through a microchannel wall made of apertured substrate. Cross-flow in the microchannel is of non-Newtonian nature, which is included in the simulations. Micro-droplets of diameter 0.76–30 μm are obtained from the simulations for the apertures of diameter 0.1–10.0 μm. The simulation results show that rheology of the bulk liquid flow greatly affects the formation and size of droplets and that dispersed micro-droplets are formed by two different breakup mechanisms: in dripping regime and in jetting regime characterized by capillary number Ca. Relations between droplet size, aperture opening size, interfacial tension, bulk flow rheology, and disperse phase flow rate are discussed based on the simulation and the experimental results. Data and models from literature on membrane emulsification and T-junction droplet formation processes are discussed and compared with the present results. Detailed force balance models are discussed. Scaling factor for predicting droplet size is suggested.     

Formation of ionic depletion/enrichment zones in a hybrid micro-/nano-channel

This study fabricates a cross-form microchip in which the two side channels are attached to the main channel via a nanochannel bridge. Ionic depletion and enrichment zones are established on the anodic and cathodic sides of the nanochannel. Results show that the low conductivity within the depletion zone induces a rapid electroosmotic flow, which in turn prompts the generation of vortex flow structures within the depletion zone. Both the lengthening of the depletion bulk charge layer and decrease in length of the diffusion layer as the applied voltage is increased are also demonstrated in this study. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Precise droplet volume measurement and electrode-based volume metering in digital microfluidics

In this work, for the first time, we demonstrate nanoscale droplet generation from a continuous electrowetting microchannel using a simple and precise image-based droplet volume metering technique. One of the most popular ways of droplet generation in electrowetting devices is to split a droplet from a preloaded volume as a fluid reservoir. This method is effective, but lowers volume consistency after multiple droplets are generated. Impedance- and capacitance-based methods of volume metering have been successfully used in digital microfluidics, but require complex circuitry and feedback signal processing. In this work, we demonstrate nanoliter droplet generation from a continuous electrowetting channel used as a replenishable fluid reservoir which compensates for the loss of reservoir volume as droplets are sequentially split. This improves volume consistency especially for applications requiring multi-droplet generation. Based on the area of the electrode, the volume of each droplet split from the electrowetting channel can be obtained by a simple and precise image processing technique with no need for additional hardware and measurement errors of ±0.05 %. This simple technique can be used in a wide range of applications that require precise volume metering, such as immunoassay.     

Droplet generation in co-flow microfluidic channels with vibration

We quantitatively characterize the perturbed droplet generation in co-flow microfluidics with mechanical vibration by estimating the fluctuations in the flow rate of inner fluid. We show the variation of generation frequency and uniformity of droplets as the frequency and amplitude of vibration. Synchronized droplet generation occurs in certain range of the vibration frequency that is predicted by our model. Besides, we scale the droplet size by incorporating the effects of vibration, inner and outer flows. The vibration is found to be capable of promoting the dripping, suppressing the jetting and even shifting the jetting into the dripping when the jet length is sufficiently short. The delayed dripping–jetting transition is characterized in a phase diagram by taking vibration into consideration. Our results unveil the mechanism of mechanically perturbed droplet generation and provide valuable guidelines for practical applications of vibration-enhanced droplet generation.     

Comparison of micro-dispensing performance between micro-valve and piezoelectric printhead

In micro-dispensing applications, printhead activation mechanism, its design and operating parameters are integrated together to affect the droplet generation process. These factors give each printhead advantages and limitations over the others in specific fabrication. Hence, multiple printheads on micro level fabrication are preferred to perform multi-material dispensing task. In this paper, the mechanisms of two commonly used micro printheads, solenoid actuated micro-valve and piezoelectric printhead are discussed. Comprehensive experiments are conducted to characterize their performance and the results are analyzed so as to explore optimal droplet formation condition. With regards to the operational parameters’ influence on droplet formation, micro-valve is investigated in terms of pressure, and operational on time, and piezoelectric printhead is investigated based on pulse amplitude, and width of driving pulse. Nozzle size, a key design parameter in the two printheads, is also studied according to its influence on dispensing capability. To facilitate dispenser selection, the two printheads are compared based on droplet size, droplet stability, droplet velocity, and dispensing viscosity of successful ejection. Other factors such as chemical compatibility, time consumption in determining optimal condition and reliability of dispensing process are also reported to play an essential role in this selection. Our investigation on the relationship between related parameters and dispensing performance will not only benefit dispenser selection in multi-material dispensing application, but also build a solid background to develop multiple printhead system for fabrication of bioengineering components.     

Reliable addition of reagents into microfluidic droplets

This article reports a design that reliably adds reagents into droplets by exploiting the physics of fluid flow at a T-junction in the microchannel. An expanded section right after the T-junction enhances merging of a stream with a droplet, eliminates the drawbacks such as extra droplet formation and long mixing time. The expanded section reduces the pressure buildup at the T-junction and minimizes the tendency to form extra droplets; plays the role in creating low Laplace pressure jump across the interface of the droplet forming from the T-junction which reduces the probability of forming extra droplet in the merging process; provides space for droplet coalescence if there is an extra droplet due to droplet break-up before merging. In this design, after merging, the reactants are in axial arrangement inside the droplets which lead to faster mixing. Reliable addition of reagent to the droplets happens for the combination of flow rates in a broad range from 25 to 250 μl/h, for both DI water (Q _DI) and fluorescent (Q _fluo) streams.     

Modeling and characterization of an industrial inkjet head for micro-patterning on printed circuit boards

A conceptual design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication has been performed to develop an industrial inkjet head for micro-patterning on printed circuit boards. The printhead has been fabricated with silicon and silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers by MEMS process and silicon to silicon bonding method. The measured displacement waveform from a piezoelectric actuator by laser doppler vibrometer (LDV) was used as input data for the three-dimensional flow solver to simulate the droplet formation. The mechanism of droplet ejection from piezoelectric-type inkjet heads was investigated by simulating two-phase flows of the air and metal inks. As a preliminary approach, liquid metal jetting phenomena are identified by simulating droplet ejection and droplet formation in a consequent manner. Parametric studies are followed by the design optimization process to deduce key factors to inkjet head performance: nozzle geometry, droplet size, ejecting speed, pulse amplitude, and ink viscosity. The present design tool, based on a two-phase flow solver and experimental measurements, has shown its promising applicability to various concept designs of industrial inkjet system for micro-patterning on electronic chips and boards.     

Large-scale DNA memory based on the nested PCR

A DNA Memory with over 10 million (16.8 M) addresses was achieved. The data embedded into a unique address was correctly extracted through an addressing processes based on nested PCR. The limitation of the scaling-up of the proposed DNA memory is discussed by using a theoretical model based on combinatorial optimization with some experimental restrictions. The results reveal that the size of the address space of the DNA memory presented here may be close to the theoretical limit. The high-capacity DNA memory can be also used in cryptography (steganography) or DNA ink. In decoding process, multiple data with different addresses can be also simultaneously accessed by using the mixture of some address primers. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A microvalve for hybrid microfluidic systems

A hybrid valve for lab on chip applications is presented. The valve is assembled by bonding poly (methyl methacrylate), PMMA, and silicon-based elastomers. The process used to promote the hybrid bonding includes the deposition of an organosilane (TMSPM) on the thermoplastic polymer, PMMA to interface PMMA and elastomers. For this study, a membrane in ELASTOSIL^? is bonded in correspondence of the end of two microfluidic channels of a fabricated PMMA microfluidic chip. Prior the bonding, a plasma etching process has been used to remove the TMSPM in a confined circular area. This process made possible to bond selectively the edge of a membrane leaving free to move its central part. Actuating the membrane with an external positive pressure or vacuum is possible, respectively, to obstruct or to connect the microfluidic channels. The microvalve may be simply integrated in microfluidic devices and permits the control of microvolumes of fluid in processes such as transport, separation, and mixing. The deposition of the TMSPM, the bonding of the valve and its actuation has been characterized and tested. The flow rate control of liquids through the valve has been characterized. The results have been discussed and commented. The valve can stand up to 14 psi without showing leakages.     

Liquid–liquid micro-dispersion in a double-pore T-shaped microfluidic device

For further understanding the dispersion process in the T-shaped microfluidic device, a double-pore T-shaped microchannel was designed and tested with octane/water system to form monodispersed plugs and droplets in this work. The liquid–liquid two-phase flow patterns were investigated and it was found that only short plugs, relative length L/w < 1.4, were produced. Additionally, the droplets flow was realized at phase ratios (F _C /F _D) just higher than 0.5, which is much smaller than that in the single-pore T-shaped microchannels. A repulsed effect between the initial droplets was observed in the droplet formation process and the periodic fluctuation flow of the dispersed phase was discussed by analyzing the resistances. Besides, the effect of the two-phase flow rates on the plug length and the droplet diameter was investigated. Considering the mutual effect of the initial droplets and the equilibrium between the shearing force with the interfacial tension, phase ratio and Ca number were introduced into the semi-empirical models to present the plug and droplet sizes at different operating conditions.     

Droplet transportation using a pre-charging method for digital microfluidics

A new droplet-driving scheme for digital microfluidics termed the “pre-charging of a droplet” is demonstrated. In this method, a droplet is initially charged by applying “pre-charging” voltage between the droplet and an electrode buried under dielectric layers. The droplet is then driven to the next electrode by applying “driving” voltage between two adjacent buried electrodes. The concept of pre-charging was proved by the polarity of the charge stored in the droplet. When the droplet is pre-charged with positive voltage, it is driven with negative voltage and vice versa. Therefore, the magnitudes of the pre-charging and driving voltages are identical, but only with the opposite polarity. A 2.5-μL deionized water droplet is pre-charged and driven at a minimal voltage of 12 V. The charge stored in the droplet by this pre-charging method remained for more than 2 min, and the driving actuation could be repeated more than 150 times while the droplet remained its charged state. This method suggests a new means of driving a droplet for digital microfluidics at a relatively low voltage by utilizing both the electrostatic and dielectrophoretic force in the droplet transport process with a simpler structure compared to other single-plate structured devices.     

Development of a drop-on-demand droplet generator for one-drop-fill technology

This paper presents the design, fabrication and tests of a piezoelectric-type droplet generator, which can be used for on-line liquid dispensing system. The principle is to actuate a disk-type PZT by a function generator to push the liquid out of the droplet generator and form a near-spherical droplet due to surface tension. A light-emitting diode (LED) is simultaneously triggered using the stroboscopic technique. In situ recording of the droplet formation is achieved by a CCD camera to measure the droplet dimension by image processing methods. The influence of the process parameters on the droplet quality is also studied. For different liquids the drive conditions shall be adjusted in order to obtain the optimum droplet formation. An application to the one-drop-fill (ODF) technology of liquid crystal displays (LCD) was carried out in order to control the droplet sizes and the repeatability of the quantity.