JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
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2023
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IF 3
Si-Ke Chen,Xiao-Jie Ju,Jie Wei,Wei Wang,Liang-Yin Chu
Previous educational articles on microfluidic technology mainly focused on continuous microfluidics, so we set up an undergraduate laboratory experiment to introduce droplet microfluidics to students. Students can understand the concept of microfluidic channels and the principles of droplet microfluidics, prepare polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices and split-flow strategy, explore the controllable preparation and monodispersity of chitosan (CS) microspheres, and gain a more comprehensive understanding of microfluidic technology. The experiment has the advantages of easy operation and a short cycle, and it is suitable as an undergraduate experiment.
研究领域:
生物工程
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材料科学
·
化学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
Micromachines
·
2022
·Vol. 13
·期 4
·498
·
IF 3.523
Jianchen Cai,Jiaxi Jiang,Jinyun Jiang,Yin Tao,Xiang Gao,Meiya Ding,Yiqiang Fan
This study proposed a fabrication method for thin, film-based, transparent, and flexible digital microfluidic devices. A series of characterizations were also conducted with the fabricated digital microfluidic devices. For the device fabrication, the electrodes were patterned by laser ablation of 220 nm-thick indium tin oxide (ITO) layer on a 175 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The electrodes were insulated with a layer of 12 μm-thick polyethylene (PE) film as the dielectric layer, and finally, a surface treatment was conducted on PE film in order to enhance the hydrophobicity. The whole digital microfluidic device has a total thickness of less than 200 μm and is nearly transparent in the visible range. The droplet manipulation with the proposed digital microfluidic device was also achieved. In addition, a series of characterization studies were conducted as follows: the contact angles under different driving voltages, the leakage current density across the patterned electrodes, and the minimum driving voltage with different control algorithms and droplet volume were measured and discussed. The UV–VIS spectrum of the proposed digital microfluidic devices was also provided in order to verify the transparency of the fabricated device. Compared with conventional methods for the fabrication of digital microfluidic devices, which usually have opaque metal/carbon electrodes, the proposed transparent and flexible digital microfluidics could have significant advantages for the observation of the droplets on the digital microfluidic device, especially for colorimetric analysis using the digital microfluidic approach.Keywords:digital microfluidics;lab-on-a-chip;ITO;PET
研究领域:
微流控技术
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生物医学工程
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
·
2025
·
IF 8.2
Jiang Zhai,Su-Yu Liu,Qing Li,Chang Liu,Xiao-Qing Yu,Guo-Xing Li,Su Chen
3D printing efficiency, as a key indicator of additive manufacturing technology, directly affects its competitiveness in rapid prototyping, small batch production, and even large-scale industrial applications. Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, the high efficiency of 3D printing is often considered a bottleneck, hindering its application across various fields. Herein, a versatile and efficient strategy is proposed, namely, the dimensional reduction printing (DRP) process, to break the obstacle of high efficiency of 3D printing. Specifically, the self-healing CDs/PMMA nanocomposites were constructed via introducing carbon dots (CDs) synthesized by microfluidics into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) materials. Under the assistance of abundant hydrogen bonding and the entanglement of polymer chains, the fabricated CDs/PMMA nanocomposites exhibited outstanding self-healing properties, which can be utilized as ideal printing inks to achieve a highly efficient 3D printing process through assembling the printed simple 1D and 2D components into complex 3D models. We firmly believe that the DRP strategy opens up an idea for the design of a 3D printing process and points out the direction for the meaningful application of 3D printing technologies.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
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制造技术
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Micromachines
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2015
·Vol. 6
·期 10
·1459-1468
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IF 1.269
Jingmei Li,Zhou Liu,Haibo Huang,Ho Cheung Shum
In microfluidics, electric fields are widely used to assist the generation and the manipulation of droplets or jets. However, uncontrolled electric field can disrupt the operation of an integrated microfluidic system, for instance, through undesired coalescence of droplets, undesired changes in the wettability of the channel wall or unexpected death of cells. Therefore, an approach to control the distribution of electric fields inside microfluidic channels is needed. Inspired by the electro-magnetic shielding effect in electrical and radiation systems, we demonstrate the shielding of electric fields by incorporating 3D metallic coils in microfluidic devices. Using the degree of coalescence of emulsion drops as an indicator, we have shown that electric fields decrease dramatically in micro-channels surrounded by these conductive metallic coils both experimentally and numerically. Our work illustrates an approach to distribute electric fields in integrated microfluidic networks by selectively installing metallic coils or electrodes, and represents a significant step towards large-scale electro-microfluidic systems.Keywords:droplet coalescence;electric field;microfluidics;coils;shielding
研究领域:
工程学
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物理学
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生物学
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DOI
高影响因子
Micromachines
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2015
·Vol. 6
·期 9
·1331-1345
·
IF 1.269
Juan Wang,Mingliang Jin,Tao He,Guofu Zhou,Lingling Shui
We report on the microfluidic induced monodispersed microdroplet generation and assembly in confined microchannels. Two and three dimensional close-packed droplet lattices were obtained in microfluidic devices by adjusting the channel geometry, the fluidic flow rates and the monodispersed droplet size. The droplet packing was mainly caused by the volumetric effect and capillarity in confined microchannels. Polymerizable fluids were also investigated to demonstrate the effect of fluidic properties on the microdroplet generation and assembly, which could find interesting applications in the future. This approach would be helpful to fundamentally understand the mechanism of self-assembly process of particles in confined microstructures, and practically be applied in sensing and energy storage devices.Keywords:microfluidics;microdroplet;self-assembly;close-packed configuration
研究领域:
物理学
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材料科学
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化学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
Biosensors-Basel
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2022
·Vol. 12
·期 5
·294
·
IF 5.743
Jia Man,Luming Man,Chenchen Zhou,Jianyong Li,Shuaishuai Liang,Song Zhang,Jianfeng Li
Microfluidics devices have widely been employed to prepare monodispersed microbubbles/droplets, which have promising applications in biomedical engineering, biosensor detection, drug delivery, etc. However, the current reported microfluidic devices need to control at least two-phase fluids to make microbubbles/droplets. Additionally, it seems to be difficult to make monodispersed microbubbles from the ambient air using currently reported microfluidic structures. Here, we present a facile approach to making monodispersed microbubbles directly from the ambient air by driving single-phase fluid. The reported single-phase-fluid microfluidic (SPFM) device has a typical co-flow structure, while the adjacent space between the injection tube and the collection tube is open to the air. The flow condition inside the SPFM device was systematically studied. By adjusting the flow rate of the single-phase fluid, bubbles were generated, the sizes of which could be tuned precisely. This facile bubble generator may have significant potential as a detection sensor in detecting viruses in spread droplets or haze particles in ambient air.Keywords:microfluidic device;single-phase fluid;bubbles;air detection
研究领域:
生物医学工程
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传感器技术
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
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2021
·
IF 6.558
Kailiang Zhang,Yukun Ren,Tianyi Jiang,Hongyuan Jiang
Self-propelled microparticles are promising for lots of applications ranging from analytical detection to water treatment . Herein, we present an effective approach to fabricate lipophilic-hydrophilic micromotors via the photocuring of three-phase immiscible flow induced droplet templates. In the microfluidic system, two immiscible inner fluids, the lipophilic 1, 6-Hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), and the hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), are simultaneously injected into a theta-shaped cylindrical capillary from two separate inlets, and they are emulsified into Janus drops when encountering the outer immiscible silicone oil. Because of the immiscible feature of droplet templates, off-chip photopolymerization strategy has been used, which can significantly decrease the blocking chance of microdevice. And also, the lipophilic-hydrophilic structure of droplets is convenient for the loading of cargos with different characteristics. More importantly, the size and configuration of droplet templates can be flexibly regulated by changing the flow rates of three different phases. Accordingly, multifunctional micromotors can be fabricated by adding different nanoparticles and materials into the HDDA or PEGDA phase first and then photocuring the droplets. Taking the bubble-propelled micromotors for example, we prepare microswimmers by loading Ag, TiO 2 and Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles into the PEGDA phase. The swimming behaviors of micromotors in H 2 O 2 solution are systematically investigated, finding that the proportion of PEGDA phase and the concentration of H 2 O 2 both positively affect the moving speed. Furthermore, the applicability of motor particles on water treatment is successfully demonstrated by using neutral red solution as the model pollutant. And the micromotors can be recycled using magnets after the catalytic degradation process. Therefore, this micromotor generation technique and this kind of micromotor can be attractive for many applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
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环境科学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
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2025
·
IF 13.2
Jia Ming Zhang,Xiying Li,Qinglei Ji,Sigurdur T. Thoroddsen,Huiling Duan
Creating well-controlled high-viscosity small droplets is imperative for material fabrication and bio-printing, posing significant challenges. This research successfully addresses these challenges by employing a novel tip mode within a 3D Asymmetric Hydrodynamic Focusing (3D-AHF) system to produce droplets with a maximum viscosity of 300 mPa⋅s and a minimum size of 10 μm (1/5 feature size). In this newfound tip mode, the viscous dispersed liquid is partially pinned at the tube outlet, forming a stable tip markedly smaller than the tube outlet, facilitating the emission of small droplets. The weak dependency on dispersed liquid viscosity for tip formation and droplet generation is systematically examined through theoretical and experimental investigations. Developed theoretical models, elucidating the characteristics of this new tip mode and predicting droplet sizes, are experimentally validated. Demonstrations of using the 3D-AHF system as templates for fabricating elastic microspheres and highly sensitive microsphere-type sensors underscore its simplicity and efficacy for applications relying on small and viscous droplets.
研究领域:
微流控技术
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材料科学
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生物打印
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传感器
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软物质物理
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
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2019
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IF 3.375
Liyun Huang,Kui Wu,Rui Zhang,Hongbing Ji
Herein, we designed two simple devices by exploiting the advantages of coaxial shear microfluidic and coextrusion minifluidic devices to generate multicore milli- and microcapsules for encapsulating hydrophobic drugs. The number of cores could be precisely controlled by tailoring the flow rate or number of inner tubes. Similarly, the shell thickness and core size could be controlled accurately. In this study, the UV stability of α-tocopherol (model drug) capsules was investigated. The result shows that the oxidation rate of α-tocopherol in millimeter capsules was much slower than that in free or micrometer capsules, which was related to the shell thickness of the capsules. Moreover, size- and core-number-dependent release was observed in vitro, where the millimeter capsules exhibited dramatic discrepancies of release rate compared with micrometer capsules. The release mechanism of capsules was primarily illustrated to include burst release, swelling and erosion release, and diffusion release, which was consistent with the phenomenon observed online using a high-speed camera.
研究领域:
药学
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药物递送系统
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微流控技术
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材料科学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
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2025
·
IF 7.7
Luhai Wang,Nana Wang,Lin Deng,Chao Min,Yi Kang,Tingting Bai,Guodong Zhao,Mengdong Yang,Yefei Zhu,Yu Zhang
Simultaneous analysis of multiple protein and nucleic acid biomarkers in one clinical sample can provide clinically valuable results for the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of diseases. However, current diagnostic platforms primarily rely on the independent detection of proteins and nucleic acids, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this study, we propose a microfluidic chip system that integrates microfluidic molecular Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) technology and microfluidic homogeneous chemiluminescence analysis (CLIA) technology for simultaneous detection of protein and nucleic acid biomarkers of ovarian cancer (OC). The integrated system shows good detection limits of 10 fM for miR-92a and 15 pM for HE4. In primary clinical tests with human samples, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the simultaneous detection of two biomarkers (miR-92a and HE4) for OC were 100 % and 96.1 %, respectively, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.996. Therefore, the combined evaluation of multiple biomarkers of different dimensions can improve the specificity and sensitivity of diagnosis. This system can also be applied to other tumor markers and biomarkers in other fields of diseases, offering a broad spectrum of diagnostic capabilities.
研究领域:
医学诊断
·
分子生物学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Frontiers in Chemical Engineering
·
2024
·
IF 2.5
Ge Xue-hui,Wei Nanjie,Hu Xinyue,Xie Qinyin,Wang Xiaoda,Li Ling,Qiu Ting
An integrated microfluidic planar reactor is essential for achieving efficient and enhanced photocatalytic water treatment. Optimization of catalysts is an area of intense study owing to the need to enhance the performances of microreactors. A high-efficiency photocatalytic microreactor is presented here by combining a planar microreactor with a high-efficiency photocatalyst. TiO2 nanoparticles doped with Y and Yb were prepared to improve the photocatalytic reaction efficiency. First, better performance is achieved with the Y, Yb/TiO2 and TiO2 microreactors than conventional bulk reactors because of good photodegradation and a high reaction rate. Then, the Y, Yb/TiO2 film microreactor exhibits not only efficient catalytic activity with UV light but also higher photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation than that achieved by a TiO2 film microreactor. The reaction rate constant of the Y, Yb/TiO2 film microreactor is approximately 0.530 s–1, which is twice that of the TiO2 film microreactor. Moreover, the performances under continuous and intermittent reactions are compared to evaluate the stability of the microreactor, thereby building the foundation for practical application of continuous water treatment in the microreactor.The planar microreactor provides a convenient platform for studying photodegradation under various conditions, such as different temperatures, flow rates, light irradiation (UV and Vis), and reaction modes (continuous and intermittent).
研究领域:
环境科学
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材料科学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Materials
·
2019
·Vol. 12
·期 22
·3712
·
IF 2.972
Jianmei Wang,Xueying Wang,Pingan Zhu,Chengmin Chen,Jianchun Wang,Yan Li,Liqiu Wang
Monodisperse polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres have been widely used for targeted drug delivery, embolization, and templates. However, the fast and facile fabrication of PVA microspheres with uniform size and internal structure and good sphericity remains a challenge. In this study, the PVA microspheres with uniformity in the size, shape, and internal structure were rapidly fabricated, using single-emulsion droplet templates by an on-chip approach. First, we designed a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip integrated with three functional units, used for the droplet generation, mixing of reagents, and pre-curing of PVA microspheres, respectively. Then, we precisely controlled the generation of PVA aqueous droplets, mixing of reagents, and the gelation rate for the production of high-quality microspheres by adjusting the pH value, flow rate, and the channel structure. The prepared PVA microspheres are characterized with good sphericity, uniform internal structure, and narrow size distribution. The microspheres have good adsorption capacity and recyclability for small-molecule drugs, as demonstrated by the adsorption and desorption of methylene blue (MB). The adsorption behavior is well described by the pseudo-second-order model, and intraparticle diffusion is as fast as the external film diffusion.Keywords:PVA;monodisperse microspheres;adsorption;microfluidic chips
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物医学工程
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）