Dual-nozzle microfluidic droplet generator

Abstract

The droplet-generating microfluidics has become an important technique for a variety of applications ranging from single cell analysis to nanoparticle synthesis. Although there are a large number of methods for generating and experimenting with droplets on microfluidic devices, the dispensing of droplets from these microfluidic devices is a challenge due to aggregation and merging of droplets at the interface of microfluidic devices. Here, we present a microfluidic dual-nozzle device for the generation and dispensing of uniform-sized droplets. The first nozzle of the microfluidic device is used for the generation of the droplets, while the second nozzle can accelerate the droplets and increase the spacing between them, allowing for facile dispensing of droplets. Computational fluid dynamic simulations were conducted to optimize the design parameters of the microfluidic device.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40580-018-0145-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Computer simulation of submicron fluid flows in microfluidic chips and their applications in food analysis

“…Similarly, Choi et al. (2018) proposed a microfluidic dual‐nozzle device for generating and distributing uniform size nanoparticles, and COMSOL simulation was used to optimize the design parameters of the device, including flow rate, pressure, and concentration.…”

“…In addition, Olenskyj et al (2017) studied the formation of zein particles in a microfluidic chip, in which, CFD was used to analyze the effects of flux, diffusion flux, velocity magnitude, pressure, and shear stress on the formation of zein nanoparticles, and it was found that the pressure was consistent with the decrease in nanoparticle diameter and the increase in polydispersity index. Similarly, Choi et al (2018) proposed a microfluidic dualnozzle device for generating and distributing uniform size nanoparticles, and COMSOL simulation was used to optimize the design parameters of the device, including flow rate, pressure, and concentration. Micromixing of microfluidics is still a major challenge for microfluidic applications.…”

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Droplet-based synthesis of homogeneous magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

“…Furthermore, chaotic advection inside of the droplets can increase the mixing performance of these devices [ 25 ]. Current microfluidic technology allows for the production of stable droplets in large numbers with high production frequencies [ 26 ]. Therefore, a number of particles have been synthesized in pinched flow microfluidic geometries, such as fluorescent silica particles [ 13 ], or titanium dioxide particles [ 27 ].…”