Breakup Dynamics of Semi-dilute Polymer Solutions in a Microfluidic Flow-focusing Device

Viscoelastic Particle Encapsulation Using a Hyaluronic Acid Solution in a T-Junction Microfluidic Device

The encapsulation of particles and cells in droplets is highly relevant in biomedical engineering as well as in material science. So far, however, the majority of the studies in this area have focused on the encapsulation of particles or cells suspended in Newtonian liquids. We here studied the particle encapsulation phenomenon in a T-junction microfluidic device, using a non-Newtonian viscoelastic hyaluronic acid solution in phosphate buffer saline as suspending liquid for the particles. We first studied the non-Newtonian droplet formation mechanism, finding that the data for the normalised droplet length scaled as the Newtonian ones. We then performed viscoelastic encapsulation experiments, where we exploited the fact that particles self-assembled in equally-spaced structures before approaching the encapsulation area, to then identify some experimental conditions for which the single encapsulation efficiency was larger than the stochastic limit predicted by the Poisson statistics.

Beating Poisson stochastic particle encapsulation in flow-focusing microfluidic devices using viscoelastic liquids

The encapsulation and co-encapsulation of particles in microfluidic flows is essential in applications related to single-cell analysis and material synthesis. However, the whole encapsulation process is stochastic in nature, and its efficiency is limited by the so-called Poisson limit. We here demonstrate particle encapsulation in microfluidic devices having flow-focusing geometries with efficiency up to 2-fold larger than the stochastic limit imposed by the Poisson statistics. To this aim, we exploited the recently observed phenomenon of particle train formation in viscoelastic liquids, so that particles could approach the encapsulation area with a constant frequency that was subsequently synchronised to the constant frequency of droplet formation. We also developed a simplified expression based on the experimental results that can guide optimal design of the microfluidic encapsulation system. Finally, we report the first experimental evidence of viscoelastic co-encapsulation of particles coming from different streams.

Vortex evolution patterns for flow of dilute polymer solutions in confined microfluidic cavities

Flow instability in confined cavities has attracted extensive interest due to its significance in many natural and engineering processes. It also has applications in microfluidic devices for biomedical applications including flow mixing, nanoparticle synthesis, and cell manipulation. The recirculating vortex that characterizes the flow instability is regulated by the fluid rheological properties, cavity geometrical characteristics, and flow conditions, but there is a lack of quantitative understanding of how the vortex evolves as these factors change. Herein, we experimentally study the flow of dilute polymer solutions in confined microfluidic cavities and focus on a quantitative characterization of the vortex evolution. Three typical patterns of vortex evolution are identified in the cavity flow of dilute polymer solutions over a wide range of flow conditions. The geometrical characteristics of the cavity are found to have little effect on the patterns of vortex evolution. The geometry-independent patterns of vortex evolution provide us an intuitive paradigm, from which the interaction and competition among inertial, elastic and shear-thinning effects in these cavity-induced flow instabilities are clarified. These results extend our understanding of the flow instability of complex fluids in confined cavities, and provide useful guidelines for the design of cavity-structured microfluidic devices and their applications.

Low Cost, Easily-Assembled Centrifugal Buoyancy-Based Emulsification and Digital PCR

Microfluidic-based droplet generation approaches require the design of microfluidic chips and a precise lithography process, which require skilled technicians and a long manufacturing time. Here we developed a centrifugal buoyancy-based emulsification (CBbE) method for producing droplets with high efficiency and minimal fabrication time. Our approach is to fabricate a droplet generation module that can be easily assembled using syringe needles and PCR tubes. With this module and a common centrifuge, high-throughput droplet generation with controllable droplet size could be realized in a few minutes. Experiments showed that the droplet diameter depended mainly on centrifugal speed, and droplets with controllable diameter from 206 to 158 μm could be generated under a centrifugal acceleration range from 14 to 171.9 g. Excellent droplet uniformity was achieved (CV < 3%) when centrifugal acceleration was greater than 108 g. We performed digital PCR tests through the CBbE approach and demonstrated that this cost-effective method not only eliminates the usage of complex microfluidic devices and control systems but also greatly suppresses the loss of materials and cross-contamination. CBbE-enabled droplet generation combines both easiness and robustness, and breaks the technical challenges by using conventional lab equipment and supplies.