Advances in Droplet-Based Microfluidic Technology and Its Applications

Abstract

Micro-droplets, with the properties of small size, large surface area, high speed, high throughout, uniform size, closed system, internal stability and etc., are widely used in the fields like drug controlled release, virus detection, synthetic of particulate materials, catalysts and so on. The emergence and development of microfluidic technology provide a new platform for the generation and precise manipulation of size-controlled microdroplet with different structures and functional characteristics. The fundamental principles, generation and manipulation of droplet-based microfluidic technology were introduced in this review. Similarities and differences of droplets' conventional preparation methods and droplet-based microfluidic technology were compared and analyzed. Finally, the applications of droplet-based microfluidic for the synthesis of functional materials, bio-medicine and design of food structure were reviewed. In addition, the potential value and development direction of drop-based microfluidic were discussed and forecasted.