Microfluidic on-demand droplet merging using surface acoustic waves.
@article{Sesen2014MicrofluidicOD,
title={Microfluidic on-demand droplet merging using surface acoustic waves.},
author={Muhsincan Sesen and Tuncay Alan and Adrian Neild},
journal={Lab on a chip},
year={2014},
volume={14 17},
pages={
3325-33
}
}Individual droplets can be isolated within microfluidic systems by use of an immiscible carrier layer. This type of two phase systems, often termed "digital microfluidics", find wide ranging applications in chemical synthesis and analysis. To conduct on-chip biochemical analysis, a key step is to be able to merge droplets selectively in order to initiate the required reactions. In this paper, a novel microfluidic chip integrating interdigital transducers is designed to merge multiple droplets…
106 Citations
Surface acoustic wave based droplet merging on demand
- Physics, Engineering
- 2014
In this study, a microfluidic chip is developed where surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are used to merge multiple droplets on demand. Acoustic radiation forces induced in the liquid medium are shown to…
On-chip droplet production regimes using surface acoustic waves.
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2016
A method for the on-demand production of femtolitre droplets, utilising a pressure source generated by high frequency surface acoustic waves (SAW) and enabled by a quasi-3D feature at the droplet production nozzle is presented.
Microfluidic droplet handling by bulk acoustic wave (BAW) acoustophoresis.
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2015
This paper proposes droplet handling by combining droplet microfluidics with bulk acoustic wave (BAW) acoustophoresis, which is simple in fabrication, robust in operation and versatile to meet the needs of various droplet processingmicrofluidic devices.
Microfluidic plug steering using surface acoustic waves.
- Physics, EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2015
This method to selectively steer plugs at a specially designed Y-junction within a microfluidic chip makes use of surface acoustic waves impinging on a multiphase interface in which an acoustic contrast is present.
On-demand sample injection: combining acoustic actuation with a tear-drop shaped nozzle to generate droplets with precise spatial and temporal control.
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2019
An on-demand droplet injection method for controlled delivery of nanolitre-volume liquid samples to scientific instruments for subsequent analysis is presented. We employ pulsed focussed surface…
Droplet trapping and fast acoustic release in a multi-height device with steady-state flow.
- Physics, EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2017
A novel multilayer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device for selective storage and release of single emulsion droplets is demonstrated and decouple long-term droplet interrogation from other operations on the chip to ease integration with other microfluidic droplet operations and functional components.
On-demand acoustic droplet splitting and steering in a disposable microfluidic chip.
- Physics, EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2018
The proposed on-demand acoustic droplet splitting device enables on-chip droplet volume control in various droplet-based microfluidic applications and investigates the underlying physical mechanisms of droplets splitting and steering based on Laplace pressure and ray acoustics analyses.
Surface acoustic wave enabled pipette on a chip.
- EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2017
A programmable microfluidic chip capable of pipetting samples from mobile droplets with high accuracy using a non-contact approach and offers ease of integration with existing lab on a chip systems as well as a robust and contamination-free droplet manipulation technique in closed microchannels enabling potential implementation in screening and other studies.
Controlled Lateral Positioning of Microparticles Inside Droplets Using Acoustophoresis.
- PhysicsAnalytical chemistry
- 2015
The results show the possibility to use acoustophoresis in two-phase systems to enrich microparticles and open up the possibility for new droplet-based assays that are not performed today.
Controlling the distance of highly confined droplets in a capillary by interfacial tension for merging on-demand.
- EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2018
A systematic investigation of the droplet speed as a function of their length and interfacial tension, and a novel, simple and robust methodology to control the relative distance between consecutive droplets flowing in microfluidic channels through the addition of surfactants either into the dispersed and/or into the continuous phases are presented.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 74 REFERENCES
Pillar-induced droplet merging in microfluidic circuits.
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2008
It is shown that the merging of droplet interfaces occurs within both compressing and the decompressing regimes, and the number of droplets that can be merged at any time is also dependent on the mass flow rate and volume ratio between the droplets and the merging chamber.
Surface acoustic waves for on-demand production of picoliter droplets and particle encapsulation.
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2013
A novel method to produce individual picoliter-scale droplets on-demand using surface acoustic waves (SAW) is presented, able to pre-concentrate particles simultaneously with droplet production, meaning that particles and cells, even if in a dilute mixture, can be easily encapsulated.
Surface acoustic wave microfluidics.
- ChemistryLab on a chip
- 2013
The theory underpinning SAWs and their interactions with particles and the contacting fluids in which they are suspended are discussed, and the SAW-enabled microfluidic devices demonstrated to date are reviewed.
Electric control of droplets in microfluidic devices.
- EngineeringAngewandte Chemie
- 2006
This work presents a platform technology based on charged droplets and electric fields that enables electrically addressable droplets generation, highly efficient droplet coalescence, precision droplet breaking and recharging, and controllable droplet sorting and is an essential enabling technology for a high-throughput droplet microfluidic reactor.
Selective particle and cell clustering at air–liquid interfaces within ultrasonic microfluidic systems
- Engineering
- 2013
In this study, we demonstrate particle and cell clustering in distinct patterns on the free surface of microfluidic volumes. Employing ultrasonic actuation, submersed microparticles are forced to two…
Design of microfluidic channel geometries for the control of droplet volume, chemical concentration, and sorting.
- Environmental Science, EngineeringLab on a chip
- 2004
Passive microfluidic channel geometries for control of droplet fission, fusion and sorting are designed, fabricated, and tested. In droplet fission, the inlet width of the bifurcating junction is…
Continuous particle separation in a microfluidic channel via standing surface acoustic waves (SSAW).
- PhysicsLab on a chip
- 2009
The particle separation method presented here is simple and versatile, capable of separating virtually all kinds of particles (regardless of charge/polarization or optical properties) with high separation efficiency and low power consumption.
High-throughput micromixers based on acoustic streaming induced by surface acoustic wave
- Physics
- 2011
Flow characteristics in microfluidic devices is naturally laminar due to the small channel dimensions. Mixing based on molecular diffusion is generally poor. In this article, we report the…
Microfluidics for miniaturized laboratories on a chip.
- ChemistryChemphyschem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry
- 2008
This Review surveys some of the approaches and techniques to handle minute amounts of fluid volumes in microfluidic systems with special focus on surface acoustic wave driven fluidics, a technique developed in the laboratory.
Droplet coalescence by geometrically mediated flow in microfluidic channels
- Physics, Engineering
- 2007
Microfluidic flow is geometrically mediated at a trifurcating junction allowing periodically formed, equally spaced out emulsion droplets to redistribute and fuse consistently. This is achieved by…







