Materials and methods for droplet microfluidic device fabrication
| dc.contributor.author | Elvira, Katherine S. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Gielen, Fabrice | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tsai, Scott | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nightingale, Adrian | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-10-18T15:11:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-10-18T15:11:27Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Since the first reports two decades ago, droplet-based systems have emerged as a compelling tool for microbiological and (bio)chemical science, with droplet flow providing multiple advantages over standard single-phase microfluidics such as removal of Taylor dispersion, enhanced mixing, isolation of droplet contents from surfaces, and the ability to contain and address individual cells or biomolecules. Typically, a droplet microfluidic device is designed to produce droplets with well-defined sizes and compositions that flow through the device without interacting with channel walls. Successful droplet flow is fundamentally dependent on the microfluidic device – not only its geometry but moreover how the channel surfaces interact with the fluids. Here we summarise the materials and fabrication techniques required to make microfluidic devices that deliver controlled uniform droplet flow, looking not just at physical fabrication methods, but moreover how to select and modify surfaces to yield the required surface/fluid interactions. We describe the various materials, surface modification techniques, and channel geometry approaches that can be used, and give examples of the decision process when determining which material or method to use by describing the design process for five different devices with applications ranging from field-deployable chemical analysers to water-in-water droplet creation. Finally we consider how droplet microfluidic device fabrication is changing and will change in the future, and what challenges remain to be addressed in the field. | |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | KSE's position is funded by the Canada Research Chairs program and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research in partnership with the Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation. FG has received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant BB/T011777/1) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 101000560). SSHT is thankful for support from the Government of Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Discovery Grants program (RGPIN-2019-04618). AMN is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council via an Industrial Innovation Fellowship (NE/R013578/1) and the Signals in the Soil program (NE/T010584/1). | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Elvira, K. S., Gielen, F., Tsai, S. S. H., & Nightingale, A. M. (2022). Materials and methods for droplet microfluidic device fabrication. Lab on a Chip, 22(5), 859–875. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1lc00836f | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1039/d1lc00836f | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/20605 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Lab on a Chip | |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject.department | Department of Chemistry | |
| dc.title | Materials and methods for droplet microfluidic device fabrication | |
| dc.type | Article |