A programmable microfluidic static droplet array for droplet generation, transportation, fusion, storage, and retrieval

Abstract

We present a programmable microfluidic static droplet array (SDA) device that can perform user-defined multistep combinatorial protocols. It combines the passive storage of aqueous droplets without any external control with integrated microvalves for discrete sample dispensing and dispersion-free unit operation. The addressable picoliter-volume reaction is systematically achieved by consecutively merging programmable sequences of reagent droplets. The SDA device is remarkably reusable and able to perform identical enzyme kinetic experiments at least 30 times via automated cross-contamination-free removal of droplets from individual hydrodynamic traps. Taking all these features together, this programmable and reusable universal SDA device will be a general microfluidic platform that can be reprogrammed for multiple applications.

Droplet Manipulations in Two Phase Flow Microfluidics

“…EWOD (active) has also been combined with antibody-coated paramagnetic particles (active) for the execution of complex immunoassays [117]. The combination of (passive) microfluidic parking networks with (active) pneumatic membrane valves has resulted in parking networks with active control for merging, storage and release while reducing the number of required pneumatic valves [118]. More of such developments towards high standard lab-on-a-chip applications can be expected, since none of the mentioned techniques seem to limit the application of another technique.…”

Computational Modelling of Droplet Dynamics Behaviour in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review

“…and Legendre [17] worked on modelling for droplet sliding on superhydrophobic with θ s =170° using VOF method of JADIM, while Annapragada et al [35] modelled droplet sliding in a moving reference frame (a steady-state condition) on an inclined plane with θ s = 120 o using the VOF method of FLUENT software. On the other hand, Yong et al [23] modelled droplet sliding with advection in the computational domain for θ s = 79.2 o and 98.7 o using VOF method of Flow-3D software.…”

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