Electrowetting (EW) has drawn significant interests due to the potential applications in electronic displays, lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices and electro-optical switches, etc. However, current understanding of EW is hindered by the inadequacy of available numerical and theoretical methods in properly modeling the transient behaviors of EW-actuated droplets. In the present work, a combined numerical and experimental approach was employed to study the EW response of a droplet subject to both direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) actuating signals. Computational fluid dynamics models were developed by using the Volume of Fluid (VOF)-Continuous Surface Force (CSF) method. A dynamic contact angle model based on the molecular kinetic theory was implemented as the boundary condition at the moving contact line, which considers the effects of the contact line friction and the pinning force. The droplet shape evolution under DC condition and the interfacial resonance oscillation under AC condition were investigated. It was found that the numerical models were able to accurately predict the key parameters of electrowetting-induced droplet dynamics.

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Point-of-care detection of pathogens is medically valuable but poses challenging trade-offs between instrument complexity and clinical and analytical sensitivity. Here we introduce a diagnostic platform utilizing lithographically fabricated micron-scale forms of cubic retroreflectors, arguably one of the most optically detectable human artifacts, as reporter labels for use in sensitive immunoassays. We demonstrate the applicability of this novel optical label in a simple assay format in which retroreflector cubes are first mixed with the sample. The cubes are then allowed to settle onto an immuno-capture surface, followed by inversion for gravity-driven removal of nonspecifically bound cubes. Cubes bridged to the capture surface by the analyte are detected using inexpensive, low-numerical aperture optics. For model bacterial and viral pathogens, sensitivity in 10% human serum was found to be 104 bacterial cells/mL and 104 virus particles/mL, consistent with clinical utility.

Electrowetting has drawn significant interests due to the potential applications in electronic displays, lab-on-a-chip devices and electro-optical switches, etc. Current understanding of electrowetting-induced droplet dynamics is hindered by the inadequacy of available numerical and theoretical models in properly handling the dynamic contact angle at the moving contact line. A combined numerical and experimental approach was employed in this work to study the spatiotemporal responses of a droplet subject to EW with both direct current and alternating current actuating signals. The time evolution of the droplet shape was measured using high-speed photography. Computational fluid dynamics models were developed by using the Volume of Fluid-Continuous Surface Force method in conjunction with a selected dynamic contact angle model. It was found that the numerical models were able to accurately predict the key parameters of the electrowetting-induced droplet dynamics.

We present a microfluidic immunoassay platform based on the use of linear microretroreflectors embedded in a transparent polymer layer as an optical sensing surface, and micron-sized magnetic particles as light-blocking labels. Retroreflectors return light directly to its source and are highly detectable using inexpensive optics. The analyte is immuno-magnetically pre-concentrated from a sample and then captured on an antibody-modified microfluidic substrate comprised of embedded microretroreflectors, thereby blocking reflected light. Fluidic force discrimination is used to increase specificity of the assay, following which a difference imaging algorithm that can see single 3 μm magnetic particles without optical calibration is used to detect and quantify signal intensity from each sub-array of retroreflectors. We demonstrate the utility of embedded microretroreflectors as a new sensing modality through a proof-of-concept immunoassay for a small, obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, Rickettsia conorii, the causative agent of Mediterranean Spotted Fever. The combination of large sensing area, optimized surface chemistry and microfluidic protocols, automated image capture and analysis, and high sensitivity of the difference imaging results in a sensitive immunoassay with a limit of detection of roughly 4000 R. conorii per mL.