We present an experimental study of the tunable anisotropic wetting behavior of chemically patterned anisotropic surfaces. Asymmetric glycerol droplet shapes, arising from patterns of alternating hydrophilic (pristine SiO2) and hydrophobic (fluoroalkylsilane self-assembled monolayers) stripes with dimensions in the low-micrometer range, are investigated in relation to stripe widths. Owing to the well-defined small droplet volume, the equilibrium shape as well as the observed contact angles exhibit unique scaling behavior. Only the relative width of hydrophilic and hydrophobic stripes proves to be a relevant parameter. Our results on morphologically flat, chemically patterned surfaces show similarities with those of experiments on topographically corrugated substrates. They are discussed in terms of the energetics at the liquid-solid interface.

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We present a novel paper-polymer hybrid construct for the simple automation of fundamental microfluidic operations in a lab-on-a-disc platform. The novel design, we term a paper siphon, consists of chromatographic paper strips embedded along a siphon microchannel. The paper siphon relies on two main interplaying forces to create unique valving and liquid-sampling methods in centrifugal microfluidics. At sufficiently low speeds, the inherent wicking of the paper overcomes the rotationally induced centrifugal force to drive liquids towards inwards positions of the disc. At elevated speeds, the dominant centrifugal force will extract liquid from the siphon paper strip towards the edge of the disc. Distinct modes of flow control have been developed to account for water (reagent) and more viscous plasma samples. The system functionality is demonstrated by the automation of sequential sample preparation steps in a colorimetric triglyceride assay: plasma is metered from a whole blood sample and incubated with a specific enzymatic mixture, followed by detection of triglyceride levels through (off-disc) absorbance measurements. The successful quantification of triglycerides and the simple fabrication offer attractive directions for such hybrid devices in low-cost bioanalysis

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