Abstract
Sample deposition based on micro-droplet ejection has broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine. Ejection of RPMI-1640 medium (without and with cells) is investigated experimentally using a home-build electrohydrodynamic (EHD) ejection system, consisting of a liquid supplier and a nozzle, a high voltage source, a droplet collector, and a high speed photography module. Electric voltage is applied between the nozzle and the droplet collector. The liquid surface is charged and the ejection takes place when electric force overcomes the surface tension. The ejection process is studied by using high speed photography and image processing. At low voltage, a uniform ejection state is established with ejection frequency typically less than 50Hertz. At sufficiently high voltage, another uniform ejection state is reached with ejection frequency as high as 1300Hz. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, after ejection, show survival rates higher than 79%, manifesting EHD ejection as a promising technique for cell printing.
Highlights
The micro-droplet ejection technology has been extended from the popular inkjet printing field to many scientific and technical fields such as fabrication of micro/nano structures, microelectronic packaging, and genetic engineering [1]
The liquid to be ejected in the experiment is mammalian cell medium RPMI-1640
3.1 EHD ejection of pure RPMI-1640 medium The flow rate is maintained at 200μL/h
Summary
The micro-droplet ejection technology has been extended from the popular inkjet printing field to many scientific and technical fields such as fabrication of micro/nano structures, microelectronic packaging, and genetic engineering [1]. In the field of biomedicine, micro-droplet ejection technology is suitable for a wide range of “bio-inks”, with cells, proteins, DNAs, and other bio-active materials included [2]. Transient high temperatures can have negative impacts on some biological properties Both piezoelectric and electrostatic micro-droplet ejections use voltage pulses to actuate a deformation (piezoelectric deformation or electrostatic deformation) of the liquid storage chamber, squeezing the liquid out of the nozzle to produce the micro-droplets. A large number of studies have attempted to generate droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter [3] by applying more complicated driving pulse waveforms, those techniques are still in the research stage, and no extensive engineering applications have been realized
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