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Zajac M, Jakiela S, Dolowy K. Understanding Bidirectional Water Transport across Bronchial Epithelial Cell Monolayers: A Microfluidic Approach. MEMBRANES 2023; 13:901. [PMID: 38132905 PMCID: PMC10744786 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13120901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Deciphering the dynamics of water transport across bronchial epithelial cell monolayers is pivotal for unraveling respiratory physiology and pathology. In this study, we employ an advanced microfluidic system to explore bidirectional water transport across 16HBE14σ bronchial epithelial cells. Previous experiments unveiled electroneutral multiple ion transport, with chloride ions utilizing transcellular pathways and sodium ions navigating both paracellular and transcellular routes. Unexpectedly, under isoosmotic conditions, rapid bidirectional movement of Na+ and Cl- was observed, leading to the hypothesis of a substantial transport of isoosmotic solution (145 mM NaCl) across cell monolayers. To validate this conjecture, we introduce an innovative microfluidic device, offering a 500-fold sensitivity improvement in quantifying fluid flow. This system enables the direct measurement of minuscule fluid volumes traversing cell monolayers with unprecedented precision. Our results challenge conventional models, indicating a self-regulating mechanism governing water transport that involves the CFTR channel and anion exchangers. In healthy subjects, equilibrium is achieved at an apical potential of Δφap = -30 mV, while subjects with cystic fibrosis exhibit modulation by an anion exchanger, reaching equilibrium at [Cl] = 67 mM in the airway surface liquid. This nuanced electrochemical basis for bidirectional water transport in bronchial epithelia sheds light on physiological intricacies and introduces a novel perspective for understanding respiratory conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslaw Zajac
- Department of Physics and Biophysics, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland;
| | | | - Krzysztof Dolowy
- Department of Physics and Biophysics, Institute of Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland;
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2
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Review of the role of surfactant dynamics in drop microfluidics. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 312:102844. [PMID: 36708604 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2023.102844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Surfactants are employed in microfluidic systems not just for drop stabilisation, but also to study local phenomena in industrial processes. On the scale of a single drop, these include foaming, emulsification and stability of foams and emulsions using statistically significant ensembles of bubbles or drops respectively. In addition, surfactants are often a part of a formulation in microfluidic drop reactors. In all these applications, surfactant dynamics play a crucial role and need to be accounted for. In this review, the effect of surfactant dynamics is considered on the level of standard microfluidic operations: drop formation, movement in channels and coalescence, but also on a more general level, considering the mechanisms controlling surfactant adsorption on time- and length-scales characteristic of microfluidics. Some examples of relevant calculations are provided. The advantages and challenges of the use of microfluidics to measure dynamic interfacial tension at short time-scales are discussed.
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3
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Lammertse E, Koditala N, Sauzade M, Li H, Li Q, Anis L, Kong J, Brouzes E. Widely accessible method for 3D microflow mapping at high spatial and temporal resolutions. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2022; 8:72. [PMID: 35782292 PMCID: PMC9246883 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-022-00404-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Advances in microfluidic technologies rely on engineered 3D flow patterns to manipulate samples at the microscale. However, current methods for mapping flows only provide limited 3D and temporal resolutions or require highly specialized optical set-ups. Here, we present a simple defocusing approach based on brightfield microscopy and open-source software to map micro-flows in 3D at high spatial and temporal resolution. Our workflow is both integrated in ImageJ and modular. We track seed particles in 2D before classifying their Z-position using a reference library. We compare the performance of a traditional cross-correlation method and a deep learning model in performing the classification step. We validate our method on three highly relevant microfluidic examples: a channel step expansion and displacement structures as single-phase flow examples, and droplet microfluidics as a two-phase flow example. First, we elucidate how displacement structures efficiently shift large particles across streamlines. Second, we reveal novel recirculation structures and folding patterns in the internal flow of microfluidic droplets. Our simple and widely accessible brightfield technique generates high-resolution flow maps and it will address the increasing demand for controlling fluids at the microscale by supporting the efficient design of novel microfluidic structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Lammertse
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
| | - Nikhil Koditala
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302 USA
| | - Martin Sauzade
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
| | - Hongxiao Li
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302 USA
| | - Qiang Li
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302 USA
| | - Luc Anis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
| | - Jun Kong
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302 USA
| | - Eric Brouzes
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
- Cancer Center, Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
- Institute for Engineering Driven Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
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4
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Kashyap S, Almutairi Z, Qin N, Zhao P, Bedi S, Johnson D, Ren CL. Effects of surfactant size and concentration on the internal flow fields of moving slug and Disk-like droplets via μ-PIV. Chem Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2022.117668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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5
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Effect of Surfactant Dynamics on Flow Patterns Inside Drops Moving in Rectangular Microfluidic Channels. COLLOIDS AND INTERFACES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/colloids5030040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Drops contained in an immiscible liquid phase are attractive as microreactors, enabling sound statistical analysis of reactions performed on ensembles of samples in a microfluidic device. Many applications have specific requirements for the values of local shear stress inside the drops and, thus, knowledge of the flow field is required. This is complicated in commonly used rectangular channels by the flow of the continuous phase in the corners, which also affects the flow inside the drops. In addition, a number of chemical species are present inside the drops, of which some may be surface-active. This work presents a novel experimental study of the flow fields of drops moving in a rectangular microfluidic channel when a surfactant is added to the dispersed phase. Four surfactants with different surface activities are used. Flow fields are measured using Ghost Particle Velocimetry, carried out at different channel depths to account for the 3-D flow structure. It is shown that the effect of the surfactant depends on the characteristic adsorption time. For fast-equilibrating surfactants with a characteristic time scale of adsorption that is much smaller than the characteristic time of surface deformation, this effect is related only to the decrease in interfacial tension, and can be accounted for by the change in capillary number. For slowly equilibrating surfactants, Marangoni stresses accelerate the corner flow, which changes the flow patterns inside the drop considerably.
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6
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Evolution of Water-in-Oil Droplets in T-Junction Microchannel by Micro-PIV. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/app11115289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Water-in-oil droplets have huge importance in chemical and biotechnology applications, despite their difficulty being produced in microfluidics. Moreover, existing studies focus more on the different shape of microchannels instead of their size, which is one of the critical factors that can influence flow characteristics of the droplets. Therefore, the present work aims to study the behaviours of water-in-oil droplets at the interfacial surface in an offset T-junction microchannel, having different radiuses, using micro-PIV software. Food-grade palm olein and distilled water seeded with polystyrene microspheres particles were used as working fluids, and their captured images showing their generated droplets’ behaviours focused on the junction of the respective microfluidic channel, i.e., radiuses of 400 µm, 500 µm, 750 µm and 1000 µm, were analysed via PIVlab. The increasing in the radius of the offset T-junction microchannel leads to the increase in the cross-sectional area and the decrease in the distilled water phase’s velocity. The experimental velocity of the water droplet is in agreement with theoretical values, having a minimal difference as low as 0.004 mm/s for the case of the microchannel with a radius of 750 µm. In summary, a small increase in the channel’s size yields a significant increase in the overall flow of a liquid.
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7
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Abstract
Currently there are no available methods for in-line measurement of gas-liquid interfacial tension during the flotation process. Microfluidic devices have the potential to be deployed in such settings to allow for a rapid in-line determination of the interfacial tension, and hence provide information on frother concentration. This paper presents the development of a simple method for interfacial tension determination based on a microfluidic device with a flow-focusing geometry. The bubble generation frequency in such a microfluidic device is correlated with the concentration of two flotation frothers (characterized by very different adsorption kinetic behavior). The results are compared with the equilibrium interfacial tension values determined using classical profile analysis tensiometry.
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8
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Two-phase flow and mass transfer in microchannels: A review from local mechanism to global models. Chem Eng Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2020.116017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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9
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Asano S, Takahashi Y, Maki T, Muranaka Y, Cherkasov N, Mae K. Contactless mass transfer for intra-droplet extraction. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7685. [PMID: 32376922 PMCID: PMC7203142 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64520-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study demonstrates the possibility of “contactless” mass transfer between two aqueous slugs (droplets) separated by an oil slug in Taylor flow inside milli-channels. Separation of the alternating aqueous slugs at the outlet was performed by switching a couple of solenoid valves at branched outlets according to signals obtained by an optical sensor at the branch. Transfer of bromothymol blue (BTB) from acidic to basic aqueous slugs was performed for demonstration. In some cases, aqueous slugs separated by oil, merged catching on each other due to the velocity difference. Interfacial tension which was affected by the solute concentration was responsible for the velocity difference. Position-specific mass transfer activity at the rear end of the aqueous slugs was found on the course of the experiment. A meandering channel decreased the velocity difference and enhanced mass transfer. Almost complete (93%) transfer of BTB was achieved within a short residence time of several minutes under optimized conditions. The presented system opens a way for advanced separation using minimum amounts of the oil phase and allows concentrating the solute by altering relative lengths of the sender and receiver slugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shusaku Asano
- Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga Koen, Kasuga, 816-8580, Japan. .,Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga Koen, Kasuga, 816-8580, Japan.
| | - Yu Takahashi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-daigaku Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Taisuke Maki
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-daigaku Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Yosuke Muranaka
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-daigaku Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
| | - Nikolay Cherkasov
- School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - Kazuhiro Mae
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto-daigaku Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan
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10
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11
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Modeling the Excess Velocity of Low-Viscous Taylor Droplets in Square Microchannels. FLUIDS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/fluids4030162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Microscopic multiphase flows have gained broad interest due to their capability to transfer processes into new operational windows and achieving significant process intensification. However, the hydrodynamic behavior of Taylor droplets is not yet entirely understood. In this work, we introduce a model to determine the excess velocity of Taylor droplets in square microchannels. This velocity difference between the droplet and the total superficial velocity of the flow has a direct influence on the droplet residence time and is linked to the pressure drop. Since the droplet does not occupy the entire channel cross-section, it enables the continuous phase to bypass the droplet through the corners. A consideration of the continuity equation generally relates the excess velocity to the mean flow velocity. We base the quantification of the bypass flow on a correlation for the droplet cap deformation from its static shape. The cap deformation reveals the forces of the flowing liquids exerted onto the interface and allows estimating the local driving pressure gradient for the bypass flow. The characterizing parameters are identified as the bypass length, the wall film thickness, the viscosity ratio between both phases and the C a number. The proposed model is adapted with a stochastic, metaheuristic optimization approach based on genetic algorithms. In addition, our model was successfully verified with high-speed camera measurements and published empirical data.
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12
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Accounting for corner flow unifies the understanding of droplet formation in microfluidic channels. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2528. [PMID: 31175303 PMCID: PMC6555794 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10505-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
While shear emulsification is a well understood industrial process, geometrical confinement in microfluidic systems introduces fascinating complexity, so far prohibiting complete understanding of droplet formation. The size of confined droplets is controlled by the ratio between shear and capillary forces when both are of the same order, in a regime known as jetting, while being surprisingly insensitive to this ratio when shear is orders of magnitude smaller than capillary forces, in a regime known as squeezing. Here, we reveal that further reduction of—already negligibly small—shear unexpectedly re-introduces the dependence of droplet size on shear/capillary-force ratio. For the first time we formally account for the flow around forming droplets, to predict and discover experimentally an additional regime—leaking. Our model predicts droplet size and characterizes the transitions from leaking into squeezing and from squeezing into jetting, unifying the description for confined droplet generation, and offering a practical guide for applications. T-junctions are a tool for droplet generation; they are well-described by models that distinguish for squeezing and jetting regimes for different capillary numbers. By considering the usually neglected corner flow, the authors identify an additional leaking regime for very low capillary numbers.
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13
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Keiser L, Keiser A, L'Estimé M, Bico J, Reyssat É. Motion of Viscous Droplets in Rough Confinement: Paradoxical Lubrication. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 122:074501. [PMID: 30848625 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.122.074501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We study the sedimentation of highly viscous droplets confined inside Hele-Shaw cells with textured walls of controlled topography. In contrast with common observations on superhydrophobic surfaces, roughness tends here to significantly increase viscous friction, thus substantially decreasing the droplets mobility. However, reducing confinement induces a jump in the velocity as droplets can slide on a lubricating layer of the surrounding fluid thicker than the roughness features. We demonstrate that increasing the viscosity of the surrounding liquid may counterintuitively enhance the mobility of a droplet sliding along a rough wall. Similarly, a sharp change of the droplet mobility is observed as the amplitude of the roughness is modified. These results illustrate the nontrivial friction processes at the scale of the roughness, and the coupling between viscous dissipation in the drop, in the front meniscus, and in the lubricating film. They could enable one to specifically control the speed of droplets or capsules in microchannels, based on their rheological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Keiser
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), Sorbonne Université, barre Cassan A, 7 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France-CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris-PSL Research University, Univ. Paris Diderot
- Total S.A., Pôle d'Études et de Recherche de Lacq, BP47 64170 Lacq, France
| | - Armelle Keiser
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), Sorbonne Université, barre Cassan A, 7 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France-CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris-PSL Research University, Univ. Paris Diderot
| | - Manon L'Estimé
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), Sorbonne Université, barre Cassan A, 7 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France-CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris-PSL Research University, Univ. Paris Diderot
| | - José Bico
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), Sorbonne Université, barre Cassan A, 7 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France-CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris-PSL Research University, Univ. Paris Diderot
| | - Étienne Reyssat
- Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), Sorbonne Université, barre Cassan A, 7 quai Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France-CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris-PSL Research University, Univ. Paris Diderot
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14
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Multiphase processes with ionic liquids in microreactors: hydrodynamics, mass transfer and applications. Chem Eng Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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15
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Bordbar A, Taassob A, Zarnaghsh A, Kamali R. Slug flow in microchannels: Numerical simulation and applications. J IND ENG CHEM 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2018.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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16
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Sklodowska K, Debski PR, Michalski JA, Korczyk PM, Dolata M, Zajac M, Jakiela S. Simultaneous Measurement of Viscosity and Optical Density of Bacterial Growth and Death in a Microdroplet. MICROMACHINES 2018; 9:E251. [PMID: 30424184 PMCID: PMC6187717 DOI: 10.3390/mi9050251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we describe a novel method for the assessment of droplet viscosity moving inside microfluidic channels. The method allows for the monitoring of the rate of the continuous growth of bacterial culture. It is based on the analysis of the hydrodynamic resistance of a droplet that is present in a microfluidic channel, which affects its motion. As a result, we were able to observe and quantify the change in the viscosity of the dispersed phase that is caused by the increasing population of interacting bacteria inside a size-limited system. The technique allows for finding the correlation between the viscosity of the medium with a bacterial culture and its optical density. These features, together with the high precision of the measurement, make our viscometer a promising tool for various experiments in the field of analytical chemistry and microbiology, where the rigorous control of the conditions of the reaction and the monitoring of the size of bacterial culture are vital.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Sklodowska
- Department of Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
- Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Pawel R Debski
- Department of Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Jacek A Michalski
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, 17 Lukasiewicza Street, 09400 Plock, Poland.
| | - Piotr M Korczyk
- Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5B, 02106 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Miroslaw Dolata
- Department of Econophysics and Physics Application, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Miroslaw Zajac
- Department of Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Slawomir Jakiela
- Department of Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 159 Nowoursynowska Street, 02776 Warsaw, Poland.
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17
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Engineering polymeric Janus particles for drug delivery using microfluidic solvent dissolution approach. Chem Eng Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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18
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Liascukiene I, Amselem G, Gunes DZ, Baroud CN. Capture of colloidal particles by a moving microfluidic bubble. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:992-1000. [PMID: 29340432 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm02352a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Foams can be stabilized for long periods by the adsorption of solid particles on the liquid-gas interfaces. Although such long-term observations are common, mechanistic descriptions of the particle adsorption process are scarce, especially in confined flows, in part due to the difficulty of observing the particles in the complex gas-liquid dispersion of a foam. Here, we characterise the adsorption of micron-scale particles onto the interface of a bubble flowing in a colloidal aqueous suspension within a microfluidic channel. Three parameters are systematically varied: the particle size, their concentration, and the mean velocity of the colloidal suspension. The bubble coverage is found to increase linearly with position in the channel for all conditions but with a slope that depends on all three parameters. The optimal coverage is found for 1 μm particles at low flow rates and high concentrations. In this regime the particles pass the bubbles through the gutters between the interface and the channel corners, where the complex 3D flow leads them onto the interface. The largest particles cannot enter into the gutters and therefore provide very poor coverage. In contrast, particle aggregates can sediment onto the microchannel floor ahead of the bubble and get swept up by the advancing interface, thus improving the coverage for both large and medium particle sizes. These observations provide new insight on the influence of boundaries for particle adsorption at an air-liquid interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irma Liascukiene
- Laboratoire d'Hydrodynamique, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
| | - Gabriel Amselem
- Laboratoire d'Hydrodynamique, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
| | - Deniz Z Gunes
- Nestlé Research Center, Institute of Material Science, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, CH-1000, Lausanne 26, Switzerland
| | - Charles N Baroud
- Laboratoire d'Hydrodynamique, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
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19
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Abolhasani M, Jensen KF. Oscillatory multiphase flow strategy for chemistry and biology. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:2775-2784. [PMID: 27397146 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00728g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Continuous multiphase flow strategies are commonly employed for high-throughput parameter screening of physical, chemical, and biological processes as well as continuous preparation of a wide range of fine chemicals and micro/nano particles with processing times up to 10 min. The inter-dependency of mixing and residence times, and their direct correlation with reactor length have limited the adaptation of multiphase flow strategies for studies of processes with relatively long processing times (0.5-24 h). In this frontier article, we describe an oscillatory multiphase flow strategy to decouple mixing and residence times and enable investigation of longer timescale experiments than typically feasible with conventional continuous multiphase flow approaches. We review current oscillatory multiphase flow technologies, provide an overview of the advancements of this relatively new strategy in chemistry and biology, and close with a perspective on future opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milad Abolhasani
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 66-342, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Klavs F Jensen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 66-342, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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20
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Guzowski J, Gizynski K, Gorecki J, Garstecki P. Microfluidic platform for reproducible self-assembly of chemically communicating droplet networks with predesigned number and type of the communicating compartments. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:764-772. [PMID: 26785761 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01526j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We report a microfluidic system for individually tailored generation and incubation of core-shell liquid structures with multiple cores that chemically communicate with each other via lipid membranes. We encapsulate an oscillating reaction-diffusion Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) medium inside the aqueous droplets and study the propagation of chemical wave-fronts through the membranes. We further encapsulate the sets of interconnected BZ-droplets inside oil-lipid shells in order to i) chemically isolate the structures and ii) confine them via tunable capillary forces which leads to self-assembly of predesigned topologies. We observe that doublets (pairs) of droplets encapsulated in the shell exhibit oscillation patterns that evolve in time. We collect statistical data from tens of doublets all created under precisely controlled, almost identical conditions from which we conclude that the different types of transitions between the patterns depend on the relative volumes of the droplets within a chemically coupled pair. With this we show that the volume of the compartment is an important control parameter in designing chemical networks, a feature previously appreciated only by theory. Our system not only allows for new insights into the dynamics of geometrically complex and interacting chemical systems but is also suitable for generating autonomous chemically interconnected microstructures with possible future use, e.g., as smart biosensors or drug-release capsules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Guzowski
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Kasprzaka 44/52, 03-982 Warsaw, Poland.
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21
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Chaudhury K, Mandal S, Chakraborty S. Droplet migration characteristics in confined oscillatory microflows. Phys Rev E 2016; 93:023106. [PMID: 26986412 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.93.023106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We analyze the migration characteristics of a droplet in an oscillatory flow field in a parallel plate microconfinement. Using phase field formalism, we capture the dynamical evolution of the droplet over a wide range of the frequency of the imposed oscillation in the flow field, drop size relative to the channel gap, and the capillary number. The latter two factors imply the contribution of droplet deformability, commonly considered in the study of droplet migration under steady shear flow conditions. We show that the imposed oscillation brings an additional time complexity in the droplet movement, realized through temporally varying drop shape, flow direction, and the inertial response of the droplet. As a consequence, we observe a spatially complicated pathway of the droplet along the transverse direction, in sharp contrast to the smooth migration under a similar yet steady shear flow condition. Intuitively, the longitudinal component of the droplet movement is in tandem with the flow continuity and evolves with time at the same frequency as that of the imposed oscillation, although with an amplitude decreasing with the frequency. The time complexity of the transverse component of the movement pattern, however, cannot be rationalized through such intuitive arguments. Towards bringing out the underlying physics, we further endeavor in a reciprocal identity based analysis. Following this approach, we unveil the time complexities of the droplet movement, which appear to be sufficient to rationalize the complex movement patterns observed through the comprehensive simulation studies. These results can be of profound importance in designing droplet based microfluidic systems in an oscillatory flow environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaustav Chaudhury
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721302, India
| | - Shubhadeep Mandal
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721302, India
| | - Suman Chakraborty
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721302, India
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Hein M, Moskopp M, Seemann R. Flow field induced particle accumulation inside droplets in rectangular channels. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:2879-86. [PMID: 26032835 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc00420a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Particle concentration is a basic operation needed to perform washing steps or to improve subsequent analysis in many (bio)-chemical assays. In this article we present field free, hydrodynamic accumulation of particles and cells in droplets flowing within rectangular micro-channels. Depending on droplet velocity, particles either accumulate at the rear of the droplet or are dispersed over the entire droplet cross-section. We show that the observed particle accumulation behavior can be understood by a coupling of particle sedimentation to the internal flow field of the droplet. The changing accumulation patterns are explained by a qualitative change of the internal flow field. The topological change of the internal flow field, however, is explained by the evolution of the droplet shape with increasing droplet velocity altering the friction with the channel walls. In addition, we demonstrate that accumulated particles can be concentrated, removing excess dispersed phase by splitting the droplet at a simple channel junction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hein
- Saarland University, Experimental Physics, Saarbrücken, Germany.
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23
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Dolega ME, Abeille F, Picollet-D'hahan N, Gidrol X. Controlled 3D culture in Matrigel microbeads to analyze clonal acinar development. Biomaterials 2015; 52:347-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.02.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2014] [Revised: 01/31/2015] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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24
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Ma S, Sherwood JM, Huck WTS, Balabani S. On the flow topology inside droplets moving in rectangular microchannels. LAB ON A CHIP 2014; 14:3611-3620. [PMID: 25072660 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc00671b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The flow topology in moving microdroplets has a significant impact on the behaviour of encapsulated objects and hence on applications of the technology. This study reports on a systematic investigation of the flow field inside droplets moving in a rectangular microchannel, by means of micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV). Various water/oil (w/o) fluid mixtures were studied in order to elucidate the effects of a number of parameters such as capillary number (Ca), droplet geometry, viscosity ratio and interfacial tension. A distinct change in flow topology was observed at intermediate Ca ranging from 10(-3) to 10(-1), in surfactant-laden droplets, which was attributed primarily to the viscosity ratio of the two phases rather than the Marangoni effect expected in such systems. W/o droplet systems of lower inner-to-outer viscosity ratios tend to exhibit the well-known flow pattern characterised by a parabola-like profile in the droplet bulk-volume, surrounded by two counter rotating recirculation zones on either side of the droplet axis. As the viscosity ratio between the two phases is increased, the flow pattern becomes more uniform, exhibiting low velocities in the droplet bulk-volume and higher-reversed velocities along the w/o interface. The Ca and droplet geometry had no effect on the observed flow topology change. The study highlights the complex, three-dimensional (3D) nature of the flow inside droplets in rectangular microchannels and demonstrates the ability to control the droplet flow environment by adjusting the viscosity ratio between the two phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaohua Ma
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
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25
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Li Y, Reddy RK, Kumar CSSR, Nandakumar K. Computational investigations of the mixing performance inside liquid slugs generated by a microfluidic T-junction. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2014; 8:054125. [PMID: 25538812 PMCID: PMC4241778 DOI: 10.1063/1.4900939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Droplet-based microfluidics has gained extensive research interest as it overcomes several challenges confronted by conventional single-phase microfluidics. The mixing performance inside droplets/slugs is critical in many applications such as advanced material syntheses and in situ kinetic measurements. In order to understand the effects of operating conditions on the mixing performance inside liquid slugs generated by a microfluidic T-junction, we have adopted the volume of fluid method coupled with the species transport model to study and quantify the mixing efficiencies inside slugs. Our simulation results demonstrate that an efficient mixing process is achieved by the intimate collaboration of the twirling effect and the recirculating flow. Only if the reagents are distributed transversely by the twirling effect, the recirculating flow can bring in convection mechanism thus facilitating mixing. By comparing the mixing performance inside slugs at various operating conditions, we find that slug size plays the key role in influencing the mixing performance as it determines the amount of fluid to be distributed by the twirling effect. For the cases where short slugs are generated, the mixing process is governed by the fast convection mechanism because the twirling effect can distribute the fluid to the flow path of the recirculating flow effectively. For cases with long slugs, the mixing process is dominated by the slow diffusion mechanism since the twirling effect is insufficient to distribute the large amount of fluid. In addition, our results show that increasing the operating velocity has limited effects on improving the mixing performance. This study provides the insight of the mixing process and may benefit the design and operations of droplet-based microfluidics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuehao Li
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, USA
| | - Rupesh K Reddy
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, USA
| | - Challa S S R Kumar
- Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD), Louisiana State University , 6980 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806, USA
| | - Krishnaswamy Nandakumar
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, USA
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26
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Ulloa C, Ahumada A, Cordero ML. Effect of confinement on the deformation of microfluidic drops. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2014; 89:033004. [PMID: 24730934 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.89.033004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We study the deformation of drops squeezed between the floor and ceiling of a microchannel and subjected to a hyperbolic flow. We observe that the maximum deformation of drops depends on both the drop size and the rate of strain of the external flow and can be described with power laws with exponents 2.59±0.28 and 0.91±0.05, respectively. We develop a theoretical model to describe the deformation of squeezed drops based on the Darcy approximation for shallow geometries and the use of complex potentials. The model describes the steady-state deformation of the drops as a function of a nondimensional parameter Caδ2, where Ca is the capillary number (proportional to the strain rate and the drop size) and δ is a confinement parameter equal to the drop size divided by the channel height. For small deformations, the theoretical model predicts a linear relationship between the deformation of drops and this parameter, in good agreement with the experimental observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilo Ulloa
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alberto Ahumada
- Université Paris-Est Marne-La-Vallée, 5 boulevard Descartes, 77545 Marne-La-Vallée Cedex 5, France
| | - María Luisa Cordero
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
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Maddala J, Vanapalli SA, Rengaswamy R. Origin of periodic and chaotic dynamics due to drops moving in a microfluidic loop device. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2014; 89:023015. [PMID: 25353579 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.89.023015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Droplets moving in a microfluidic loop device exhibit both periodic and chaotic behaviors based on the inlet droplet spacing. We observe that the periodic behavior is an outcome of carrier phase mass conservation principle, which translates into a droplet spacing quantization rule. This rule implies that the summation of exit spacing is equal to an integral multiple of inlet spacing. This principle also enables identification of periodicity in experimental systems with input scatter. We find that the origin of chaotic behavior is through intermittency, which arises when drops enter and leave the junctions at the same time. We derive an analytical expression to estimate the occurrence of these chaotic regions as a function of system parameters. We provide experimental, simulation, and analytical results to validate the origin of periodic and chaotic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeevan Maddala
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79401-3121, USA
| | - Siva A Vanapalli
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79401-3121, USA
| | - Raghunathan Rengaswamy
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79401-3121, USA
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28
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Korczyk PM, Derzsi L, Jakieła S, Garstecki P. Microfluidic traps for hard-wired operations on droplets. LAB ON A CHIP 2013; 13:4096-102. [PMID: 23970204 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50347j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
We present microfluidic modules (traps) that allow us to lock, shift, dose and merge micro-aliquots of liquid precisely. The precision is hard-wired into the geometry of the device: small values of the capillary number guarantee reproducibility of operation over a range of rates of flow that need not be controlled precisely. The modules can be integrated into systems that perform complicated protocols on micro-droplets while not requiring precision in forcing the flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr M Korczyk
- Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5B, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
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29
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Makulska S, Jakiela S, Garstecki P. A micro-rheological method for determination of blood type. LAB ON A CHIP 2013; 13:2796-2801. [PMID: 23669864 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc40790j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The measurement of time and distance can be used for determining agglutination in small (nL) samples of liquid. We demonstrate the use of this new scheme of detection in typing and subtyping blood in a simple microfluidic system that monitors the speed of flow of microdroplets. The system (i) accepts small samples of liquids deposited directly onto the chip, (ii) forms droplets on demand from these samples, (iii) merges the droplets, and (iv) measures their speed in a microchannel. A sequence of measurements on different combinations of blood and antibodies can thus be used to determine blood type with the estimated probability of mistyping being less than 1 in a million tests. In addition, in the agglutinated samples, red blood cells concentrate at the rear of the droplets yielding an additional vista for detection and suggesting a possible mechanism for separations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylwia Makulska
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka, 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
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30
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Amon A, Schmit A, Salkin L, Courbin L, Panizza P. Path selection rules for droplet trains in single-lane microfluidic networks. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2013; 88:013012. [PMID: 23944554 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.88.013012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2013] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the transport of periodic trains of droplets through microfluidic networks having one inlet, one outlet, and nodes consisting of T junctions. Variations of the dilution of the trains, i.e., the distance between drops, reveal the existence of various hydrodynamic regimes characterized by the number of preferential paths taken by the drops. As the dilution increases, this number continuously decreases until only one path remains explored. Building on a continuous approach used to treat droplet traffic through a single asymmetric loop, we determine selection rules for the paths taken by the drops and we predict the variations of the fraction of droplets taking these paths with the parameters at play including the dilution. Our results show that as dilution decreases, the paths are selected according to the ascending order of their hydrodynamic resistance in the absence of droplets. The dynamics of these systems controlled by time-delayed feedback is complex: We observe a succession of periodic regimes separated by a wealth of bifurcations as the dilution is varied. In contrast to droplet traffic in single asymmetric loops, the dynamical behavior in networks of loops is sensitive to initial conditions because of extra degrees of freedom.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Amon
- IPR, CNRS, UMR No. 6251, Campus Beaulieu, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes, France
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