PuSH - Publikationsserver des Helmholtz Zentrums München

Belousov, K.I.* ; Filatov, N.A.* ; Kukhtevich, I. ; Kantsler, V.* ; Evstrapov, A.A.* ; Bukatin, A.S.*

An asymmetric flow-focusing droplet generator promotes rapid mixing of reagents.

Sci. Rep. 11:8797 (2021)
Verlagsversion Forschungsdaten DOI PMC
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Nowadays droplet microfluidics is widely used to perform high throughput assays and for the synthesis of micro- and nanoparticles. These applications usually require packaging several reagents into droplets and their mixing to start a biochemical reaction. For rapid mixing microfluidic devices usually require additional functional elements that make their designs more complex. Here we perform a series of 2D numerical simulations, followed by experimental studies, and introduce a novel asymmetric flow-focusing droplet generator, which enhances mixing during droplet formation due to a 2D or 3D asymmetric vortex, located in the droplet formation area of the microfluidic device. Our results suggest that 2D numerical simulations can be used for qualitative analysis of two-phase flows and droplet generation process in quasi-two-dimensional devices, while the relative simplicity of such simulations allows them to be easily applied to fairly complicated microfluidic geometries. Mixing inside droplets formed in the asymmetric generator occurs up to six times faster than in a conventional symmetric one. The best mixing efficiency is achieved in a specific range of droplet volumes, which can be changed by scaling the geometry of the device. Thus, the droplet generator suggested here can significantly simplify designs of microfluidic devices because it enables both the droplet formation and fast mixing of the reagents within droplets. Moreover, it can be used to precisely estimate reaction kinetics.
Altmetric
Weitere Metriken?
[➜Einloggen]
Zusatzinfos bearbeiten [➜Einloggen]
Publikationstyp Artikel: Journalartikel
Dokumenttyp Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Korrespondenzautor
Schlagwörter Microfluidic Systems; Dna-molecules; Dynamics; Kinetics; Fabrication; Micromixer; Ratio
ISSN (print) / ISBN 2045-2322
e-ISSN 2045-2322
Zeitschrift Scientific Reports
Quellenangaben Band: 11, Heft: 1, Seiten: , Artikelnummer: 8797 Supplement: ,
Verlag Nature Publishing Group
Verlagsort London
Nichtpatentliteratur Publikationen
Begutachtungsstatus Peer reviewed
Institut(e) Institute of Functional Epigenetics (IFE)
Förderungen Russian Science Foundation