Numerical investigation of electrohydrodynamic effect for size-tunable droplet formation in a flow-focusing microfluidic device

ABSTRACT Droplet-based microfluidics has received much attention in biofabrication due to its compatibility with 3D printers that use cell-laden bioinks. In order to tailor the printing resolution, droplet generation under a DC electric field in a flow-focusing device is explored numerically. The major purpose of simulations is to investigate how geometry affects droplet production and electric field intensity. The effects of the orifice’s length, injection angle, and shape are discussed regarding the electric capillary number . Based on the retardation effect, the necking stage of droplet formation changes to expansion, and the frequency of droplet formation declines when the capillary number rises. For a particular value of the applied electric potential, orifice elongation reduces the induced electric field within the orifice. By adjusting the angle of side flow, smaller droplets can be formed, and the linear decrease in droplet size is provided across a wider range. The electric field in the orifice was amplified by 64% by creating a wedge-shaped orifice. In other words, when the notch angle was sharpened, the electric force increased, and the droplet diameter reduced. Since the frequency of droplet production varied only slightly between different notch angles, it could be preferable to generate smaller droplets without significantly altering the frequency of droplet formation.

[1]  M. Rezaeian,et al.  Investigating the effects of precursor concentration and gelling parameters on droplet-based generation of Ca-Alginate microgels: identifying new stable modes of droplet formation , 2022, Materials Today Chemistry.

[2]  M. Rahmanian,et al.  Microfluidic-assisted synthesis and modeling of stimuli-responsive monodispersed chitosan microgels for drug delivery applications , 2022, Scientific Reports.

[3]  Mahdi Dizani,et al.  Integrating hydrodynamic and acoustic cell separation in a hybrid microfluidic device: a numerical analysis , 2022, Acta Mechanica.

[4]  Mohammad Zabetian Targhi,et al.  Numerical and experimental investigation of a flow focusing droplet-based microfluidic device , 2021 .

[5]  A. Jayasundera,et al.  Hydroxyapatite incorporated bacterial cellulose hydrogels as a cost-effective 3D cell culture platform , 2021, Soft Materials.

[6]  J. Cong,et al.  Electric-field-guided 3D manipulation of liquid metal microfleas , 2021, Soft Materials.

[7]  M. Moghimi Zand,et al.  Numerical simulation of critical particle size in asymmetrical deterministic lateral displacement. , 2021, Journal of chromatography. A.

[8]  S. Hannani,et al.  Shear-thinning droplet formation inside a microfluidic T-junction under an electric field , 2021, Acta Mechanica.

[9]  S. S. Bahga,et al.  Electrohydrodynamic droplet formation in a T-junction microfluidic device , 2020, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[10]  Andrey Rzhetsky,et al.  Automated microfluidic platform for dynamic and combinatorial drug screening of tumor organoids , 2020, Nature Communications.

[11]  Adrian Neild,et al.  The emerging role of microfluidics in multi-material 3D bioprinting. , 2020, Lab on a chip.

[12]  K. Ooi,et al.  Dynamics of droplet in flow-focusing microchannel under AC electric fields , 2020 .

[13]  A. Seyfoori,et al.  Controllable size and form of droplets in microfluidic-assisted devices: Effects of channel geometry and fluid velocity on droplet size. , 2020, Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications.

[14]  R. Kamali,et al.  Numerical simulation of a novel non-uniform electric field design to enhance the electrocoalescence of droplets , 2020 .

[15]  J. Malda,et al.  From Shape to Function: The Next Step in Bioprinting , 2020, Advanced materials.

[16]  Lauren D. Zarzar,et al.  Microfluidic deformability-activated sorting of single particles , 2020, Microsystems & nanoengineering.

[17]  P. Renaud,et al.  Effect of input voltage frequency on the distribution of electrical stresses on the cell surface based on single-cell dielectrophoresis analysis , 2020, Scientific Reports.

[18]  Wilhelm T. S. Huck,et al.  Single‐Cell Analysis Using Droplet Microfluidics , 2019, Advanced biosystems.

[19]  J. Burdick,et al.  Hydrogel microparticles for biomedical applications , 2019, Nature Reviews Materials.

[20]  Chia-HungDylan Tsai,et al.  Experimental Study on Microfluidic Mixing with Different Zigzag Angles , 2019, Micromachines.

[21]  A. Mohamad,et al.  Dynamics of temperature-actuated droplets within microfluidics , 2019, Scientific Reports.

[22]  G. Vladisavljević,et al.  Droplet-based microfluidic method for robust preparation of gold nanoparticles in axisymmetric flow focusing device , 2019, Chemical Engineering Science.

[23]  Mahdi Moghimi Zand,et al.  Numerical study of insulation structure characteristics and arrangement effects on cell trapping using alternative current insulating based dielectrophoresis , 2019, Scientia Iranica.

[24]  Mahdi Moghimi Zand,et al.  Dielectrophoretic interaction of two particles in a uniform electric field , 2018, Microsystem Technologies.

[25]  Yuanyuan Xu,et al.  The crossing and integration between microfluidic technology and 3D printing for organ-on-chips. , 2018, Journal of materials chemistry. B.

[26]  A. Ranjbar,et al.  Numerical assessment of different parameters affecting droplet production in an Electro-Hydrodynamic Flow Focusing Device , 2018, Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification.

[27]  Philippe Renaud,et al.  Microfluidics: A New Layer of Control for Extrusion-Based 3D Printing , 2018, Micromachines.

[28]  Rosiane Lopes da Cunha,et al.  Studies of droplets formation regime and actual flow rate of liquid-liquid flows in flow-focusing microfluidic devices , 2017 .

[29]  Yongping Chen,et al.  Role of local geometry on droplet formation in axisymmetric microfluidics , 2017 .

[30]  Keekyoung Kim,et al.  3D bioprinting for engineering complex tissues. , 2016, Biotechnology advances.

[31]  S. Joo,et al.  Effects of Junction Angle and Viscosity Ratio on Droplet Formation in Microfluidic Cross-Junction , 2016 .

[32]  James J. Feng,et al.  The effect of normal electric field on the evolution of immiscible Rayleigh-Taylor instability , 2016 .

[33]  X. Niu,et al.  Microdroplet formation in rounded flow-focusing junctions , 2016 .

[34]  Krishnaswamy Nandakumar,et al.  Control of the breakup process of viscous droplets by an external electric field inside a microfluidic device. , 2015, Soft matter.

[35]  Devavret Makkar,et al.  Droplet formation via squeezing mechanism in a microfluidic flow-focusing device , 2014 .

[36]  Anthony Atala,et al.  3D bioprinting of tissues and organs , 2014, Nature Biotechnology.

[37]  P. Palffy-Muhoray,et al.  Director Orientation in Deformed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Microparticles , 2014 .

[38]  J. Baret,et al.  Microfluidic flow-focusing in ac electric fields. , 2014, Lab on a chip.

[39]  Benjamin Schuler,et al.  Microfluidic mixer designed for performing single-molecule kinetics with confocal detection on timescales from milliseconds to minutes , 2013, Nature Protocols.

[40]  Sunitha Nagrath,et al.  Microfluidics and cancer: are we there yet? , 2013, Biomedical microdevices.

[41]  J. Hossack,et al.  Production rate and diameter analysis of spherical monodisperse microbubbles from two-dimensional, expanding-nozzle flow-focusing microfluidic devices. , 2013, Biomicrofluidics.

[42]  Wei Liu,et al.  The effect of interfacial tension on droplet formation in flow-focusing microfluidic device , 2011, Biomedical microdevices.

[43]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Emulsification in a microfluidic flow-focusing device: effect of the viscosities of the liquids , 2008 .

[44]  Xingzhong Zhao,et al.  Injection Angle Dependence in Flow Focusing Based Droplet Formation , 2007, 2007 1st International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering.

[45]  Gwo-Bin Lee,et al.  Membrane-activated microfluidic rotary devices for pumping and mixing , 2007, Biomedical microdevices.

[46]  D T Papageorgiou,et al.  Monodisperse drop formation in square microchannels. , 2006, Physical review letters.

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

[48]  Gunilla Kreiss,et al.  A conservative level set method for two phase flow II , 2005, J. Comput. Phys..

[49]  S. Hollister.  Porous scaffold design for tissue engineering , 2005, Nature materials.

[50]  J. Brackbill,et al.  A continuum method for modeling surface tension , 1992 .

[51]  Pingan Zhu,et al.  Passive and active droplet generation with microfluidics: a review. , 2016, Lab on a chip.

[52]  Deok‐Ho Kim,et al.  bioprinting for engineering complex tissues , 2015 .

[53]  D. Saville.  ELECTROHYDRODYNAMICS:The Taylor-Melcher Leaky Dielectric Model , 1997 .

[54]  J. R. Melcher,et al.  Electrohydrodynamics: A Review of the Role of Interfacial Shear Stresses , 1969 .