Valve-based flow focusing for drop formation

Microfluidic devices can produce highly monodisperse drops at kilohertz rates using flow-focus drop formation. We use single-layer membrane valves to control, in real time, the dimensions of the flow-focus drop makers. This allows drop size and frequency to be controlled in real time and without adjusting flow rates.

[1]  B. Weigl,et al.  Lab-on-a-chip for drug development. , 2003, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[2]  Christoph A. Merten,et al.  Drop-based microfluidic devices for encapsulation of single cells. , 2008, Lab on a chip.

[3]  A. Lee,et al.  Control of serial microfluidic droplet size gradient by step-wise ramping of flow rates , 2006 .

[4]  David A. Weitz,et al.  Single-layer membrane valves for elastomeric microfluidic devices , 2008 .

[5]  N. Nguyen,et al.  Optical detection for droplet size control in microfluidic droplet-based analysis systems , 2005, The 13th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 2005. Digest of Technical Papers. TRANSDUCERS '05..

[6]  D. Beebe,et al.  Controlled microfluidic interfaces , 2005, Nature.

[7]  Abraham P. Lee,et al.  Microfluidic sorting of droplets by size , 2008 .

[8]  Elazer R. Edelman,et al.  Adv. Drug Delivery Rev. , 1997 .

[9]  D. Weitz,et al.  Monodisperse Double Emulsions Generated from a Microcapillary Device , 2005, Science.

[10]  Jie Xu,et al.  Drop on demand in a microfluidic chip , 2008, 0912.2905.

[11]  D. Weitz,et al.  Electric control of droplets in microfluidic devices. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[12]  Mengying Zhang,et al.  Real-time detection, control, and sorting of microfluidic droplets. , 2007, Biomicrofluidics.

[13]  Matthew M. Crane,et al.  Automated on-chip rapid microscopy, phenotyping and sorting of C. elegans , 2008, Nature Methods.

[14]  P. Umbanhowar,et al.  Monodisperse Emulsion Generation via Drop Break Off in a Coflowing Stream , 2000 .

[15]  Frank V. Bright,et al.  Water-in-Carbon Dioxide Microemulsions: An Environment for Hydrophiles Including Proteins , 1996, Science.

[16]  R. Westervelt,et al.  Dielectrophoretic manipulation of drops for high-speed microfluidic sorting devices , 2006 .

[17]  P. Tabeling,et al.  Producing droplets in parallel microfluidic systems. , 2006, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.