Continuous and size-dependent sorting of emulsion droplets using hydrodynamics in pinched microchannels

In this report, a microfluidic system is presented for continuous and size-dependent separation of droplets utilizing microscale hydrodynamics. The separation scheme is based on laminar-flow focusing and spreading in a pinched microchannel, referred to as "pinched flow fractionation (PFF)"...

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Veröffentlicht in:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1992. - 24(2008), 8 vom: 15. Apr., Seite 4405-10
1. Verfasser: Maenaka, Hirosuke (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Yamada, Masumi, Yasuda, Masahiro, Seki, Minoru
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2008
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Emulsions Water 059QF0KO0R
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:In this report, a microfluidic system is presented for continuous and size-dependent separation of droplets utilizing microscale hydrodynamics. The separation scheme is based on laminar-flow focusing and spreading in a pinched microchannel, referred to as "pinched flow fractionation (PFF)", which was previously developed for the size-dependent separation of solid particles, such as polymer microparticles or cells. By simply introducing emulsion and the continuous phase into a microchannel, continuous separation could be achieved without using complicated operations or devices. We first examined whether this scheme could be applied for droplets, by using a pinched microchannel with one outlet, and observed the behaviors of monodisperse droplets generated at the upstream T-junction. Analysis via high-speed imaging revealed that the length of the pinched segment is critical for precise separation of droplets. Then, separation of a polydisperse oil-in-water emulsion that was prepared previously was demonstrated using a microfluidic device equipped with multiple outlets. These results showed the ability of the presented system to sort or select specific-sized droplets easily and accurately, which would be difficult to achieve using normal-scale schemes, such as centrifugation or filtration
Beschreibung:Date Completed 05.05.2008
Date Revised 21.11.2013
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/la703581j