A Modular Microfluidic Device via Multimaterial 3D Printing for Emulsion Generation

Qinglei Ji,Dongping Jin,Jia Ming Zhang,Huiling Duan,Pengyu Lv,Ying Liu,Xiying Li

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22756-1

Qinglei Ji, Dongping Jin + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22756-1

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Abstract

3D-printing (3DP) technology has been developing rapidly. However, limited studies on the contribution of 3DP technology, especially multimaterial 3DP technology, to droplet-microfluidics have been reported. In this paper, multimaterial 3D-printed devices for the pneumatic control of emulsion generation have been reported. A 3D coaxial flexible channel with other rigid structures has been designed and printed monolithically. Numerical and experimental studies have demonstrated that this flexible channel can be excited by the air pressure and then deform in a controllable way, which can provide the active control of droplet generation. Furthermore, a novel modular microfluidic device for double emulsion generation has been designed and fabricated, which consists of three modules: function module, T-junction module, and co-flow module. The function module can be replaced by (1) Single-inlet module, (2) Pneumatic Control Unit (PCU) module and (3) Dual-inlet module. Different modules can be easily assembled for different double emulsion production. By using the PCU module, double emulsions with different number of inner droplets have been successfully produced without complicated operation of flow rates of different phases. By using single and dual inlet module, various double emulsions with different number of encapsulated droplets or encapsulated droplets with different compositions have been successfully produced, respectively.

Highlights

Droplet microfluidics has been developed for the generation and manipulation of monodisperse droplets and bubbles in a continuous flow[1,2]
A novel pneumatic control unit (PCU) has been designed and fabricated monolithically by multimaterial 3DP technology. This PCU has been numerically and experimentally studied for its effects on single emulsion generation, and we extend its capacity in active control of the generation of double emulsions with different number of encapsulated droplets without complicated operation of flow rates of different phases
The droplet generation can be controlled by the variation of the flow rates of different liquid phases, which can be achieved via the flexible channel deformation where liquid phases pass through

Summary

Introduction

Droplet microfluidics has been developed for the generation and manipulation of monodisperse droplets and bubbles in a continuous flow[1,2]. One common method for fabricating emulsion generator is soft-lithography[13], which has been widely applied due to its capability of fabricating different microchannels, such as T-junction[14], flow-focusing[15] and co-flow[16], with high resolution down to 1 μm It includes relatively complicated fabrication process and normally requires expensive master molds and clean room environment, which limit its wide usage[17]. A novel pneumatic control unit (PCU) has been designed and fabricated monolithically by multimaterial 3DP technology This PCU has been numerically and experimentally studied for its effects on single emulsion generation, and we extend its capacity in active control of the generation of double emulsions with different number of encapsulated droplets without complicated operation of flow rates of different phases. Potentials of 3DP technology in droplet-microfluidic fields, especially for generation of multiple emulsions, have been exploited

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Conclusion