A tunable microflow focusing device utilizing controllable moving walls and its applications for formation of micro-droplets in liquids**Preliminary results of the current paper were presented at the 2007 IEEE International Conference of Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems (IEEE NEMS 2007), Bangkok, Thailand, 16–19 January, 2007.

Abstract

This study reports a new microfluidic device capable of fine-tuned sample-flow focusing and generation of micro-droplets in liquids by controlling moving wall structures. Two microfluidic components including an ‘active microchannel width controller’ and a ‘micro chopper’ can be used to fine-tune the width of the hydrodynamically pre-focused stream and subsequently generate micro-droplets. In this study, a basic concept of a ‘controllable moving wall’ structure was addressed and applied as the active microchannel width controller and the micro chopper to generate the proposed function. Pneumatic side chambers were placed next to a main flow channel to construct the controllable moving wall structures. The deformation of the controllable moving wall structure can be generated by the pressurized air injected into the pneumatic side chambers. The proposed chip device was fabricated utilizing polymer material such as PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) to provide the flexibility of the controllable moving wall deformation. The microfluidic chip device with dimensions of 2.5 cm in width and 3.0 cm in length can be fabricated using a simple fabrication process. Experimental data showed that the deformation of the controllable moving wall structure can be adjusted by applying different air pressures, so that the width of the main flow channel can be controlled accordingly. By utilizing the proposed mechanism, the pre-focused dispersed phase stream could be actively focused into a narrower stream, and well-controlled micro-droplets with smaller diameters could be generated. The stream width can be reduced from 30 µm to 9 µm and micro-droplets with a diameter of 76 µm could be generated by utilizing the proposed device. In addition, to generate micro-droplets within smaller diameters, uniform size distribution of the micro-droplets can be obtained. According to the experimental results, development of the microfluidic device could be promising for a variety of applications such as emulsification, nano-medicine and droplet-based microfluidics.