Abstract
Here, we show the successful implementation of advanced sequential logic in droplet microfluidics, whose principles rely on capillary wells establishing stationary states, where droplets can communicate remotely via pressure impulses, influencing each other and switching the device states. All logic operations perform spontaneously due to the utilization of nothing more than capillary-hydrodynamic interactions, inherent for the confined biphasic flow. Our approach offers integration feasibility allowing to encode unprecedentedly long algorithms, e.g., 1000-droplet counting. This work has the potential for the advancement of liquid computers and thereby could participate in the development of the next generation of portable microfluidic systems with embedded control, enabling applications from single-cell analysis and biochemical assays to materials science.
Highlights
IntroductionIn terms of miniaturization and complexity of performed tasks, microfluidics is often compared to microelectronics.[2] The promising vision is that the miniaturization and increase of operational throughput, so fruitful in computer engineering, would be implemented in control over small liquid volumes, opening a new era for sample processing and analysis techniques
The implementation of the idea of liquid computer[1] would be revolutionary for microfluidics, not because microfluidics seeks computational capabilities, but because it would enable the encoding of a variety of algorithms into the structure of the device.In terms of miniaturization and complexity of performed tasks, microfluidics is often compared to microelectronics.[2]
Simple laminar hydrodynamics explains that the pressure drop Δp in a channel is proportional to the flow rate Q with the linear relation Δp = RQ introducing the resistance R proportional to the length of the channel and inversely proportional to the square of the crosssectional area.[27]
Summary
In terms of miniaturization and complexity of performed tasks, microfluidics is often compared to microelectronics.[2] The promising vision is that the miniaturization and increase of operational throughput, so fruitful in computer engineering, would be implemented in control over small liquid volumes, opening a new era for sample processing and analysis techniques. One of the remaining problems in microfluidics is the implementation of the fundamental concept of electronics: the control embedded in integrated circuits. The most fundamental level is constituted by base modules, where both input and output are of the same nature—they are electric signals. Different elements can be combined directly with each other into hierarchical selfregulated circuitries. Despite their incredible complexity, electronic architectures, e.g., microprocessors, are completely
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