Droplet microfluidics generates and manipulates discrete droplets through immiscible multiphase flows inside microchannels Due to its remarkable advantages, droplet microfluidics bears significant value in an extremely wide range of area In this review, we provide a comprehensive and in-depth insight into droplet microfluidics, covering fundamental research from microfluidic chip fabrication and droplet generation to the applications of droplets in bio(chemical) analysis and materials generation The purpose of this review is to convey the fundamentals of droplet microfluidics, a critical analysis on its current status and challenges, and opinions on its future development We believe this review will promote communications among biology, chemistry, physics, and materials science

Emerging Droplet Microfluidics

In the last two decades, the vast majority of microfluidic systems have been built in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) by soft lithography, a technique based on PDMS micromolding. A long list of key PDMS properties have contributed to the success of soft lithography: PDMS is biocompatible, elastomeric, transparent, gas-permeable, water-impermeable, fairly inexpensive, copyright-free, and rapidly prototyped with high precision using simple procedures. However, the fabrication process typically involves substantial human labor, which tends to make PDMS devices difficult to disseminate outside of research labs, and the layered molding limits the 3D complexity of the devices that can be produced. 3D-printing has recently attracted attention as a way to fabricate microfluidic systems due to its automated, assembly-free 3D fabrication, rapidly decreasing costs, and fast-improving resolution and throughput. Resins with properties approaching those of PDMS are being developed. Here we review past and recent efforts in 3D-printing of microfluidic systems. We compare the salient features of PDMS molding with those of 3D-printing and we give an overview of the critical barriers that have prevented the adoption of 3D-printing by microfluidic developers, namely resolution, throughput, and resin biocompatibility. We also evaluate the various forces that are persuading researchers to abandon PDMS molding in favor of 3D-printing in growing numbers.

/pdf/the-upcoming-3d-printing-revolution-in-microfluidics-2n25a4i4t7.pdf

The upcoming 3D-printing revolution in microfluidics

3D printing has the potential to significantly change the field of microfluidics. The ability to fabricate a complete microfluidic device in a single step from a computer model has obvious attractions, but it is the ability to create truly three dimensional structures that will provide new microfluidic capability that is challenging, if not impossible to make with existing approaches. This critical review covers the current state of 3D printing for microfluidics, focusing on the four most frequently used printing approaches: inkjet (i3DP), stereolithography (SLA), two photon polymerisation (2PP) and extrusion printing (focusing on fused deposition modeling). It discusses current achievements and limitations, and opportunities for advancement to reach 3D printing's full potential.

/pdf/3d-printed-microfluidic-devices-enablers-and-barriers-1g6kxbpnfb.pdf

3D printed microfluidic devices: enablers and barriers

Almost all pneumatic and hydraulic actuators useful for mesoscale functions rely on hard valves for control. This article describes a soft, elastomeric valve that contains a bistable membrane, which acts as a mechanical “switch” to control air flow. A structural instability—often called “snap-through”—enables rapid transition between two stable states of the membrane. The snap-upward pressure, Δ P 1 (kilopascals), of the membrane differs from the snap-downward pressure, Δ P 2 (kilopascals). The values Δ P 1 and Δ P 2 can be designed by changing the geometry and the material of the membrane. The valve does not require power to remain in either “open” or “closed” states (although switching does require energy), can be designed to be bistable, and can remain in either state without further applied pressure. When integrated in a feedback pneumatic circuit, the valve functions as a pneumatic oscillator (between the pressures Δ P 1 and Δ P 2 ), generating periodic motion using air from a single source of constant pressure. The valve, as a component of pneumatic circuits, enables (i) a gripper to grasp a ball autonomously and (ii) autonomous earthworm-like locomotion using an air source of constant pressure. These valves are fabricated using straightforward molding and offer a way of integrating simple control and logic functions directly into soft actuators and robots.

A soft, bistable valve for autonomous control of soft actuators

Computer-aided fabrication technologies combined with simulation and data processing approaches are changing our way of manufacturing and designing functional objects. Also in the field of catalytic technology and chemical engineering the impact of additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing, is steadily increasing thanks to a rapidly decreasing equipment threshold. Although still in an early stage, the rapid and seamless transition between digital data and physical objects enabled by these fabrication tools will benefit both research and manufacture of reactors and structured catalysts. Additive manufacturing closes the gap between theory and experiment, by enabling accurate fabrication of geometries optimized through computational fluid dynamics and the experimental evaluation of their properties. This review highlights the research using 3D printing and computational modeling as digital tools for the design and fabrication of reactors and structured catalysts. The goal of this contribution is to stimulate interactions at the crossroads of chemistry and materials science on the one hand and digital fabrication and computational modeling on the other.

3D printing in chemical engineering and catalytic technology: structured catalysts, mixers and reactors

The miniaturization of integrated fluidic processors affords extensive benefits for chemical and biological fields, yet traditional, monolithic methods of microfabrication present numerous obstacles for the scaling of fluidic operators. Recently, researchers have investigated the use of additive manufacturing or “three-dimensional (3D) printing” technologies – predominantly stereolithography – as a promising alternative for the construction of submillimeter-scale fluidic components. One challenge, however, is that current stereolithography methods lack the ability to simultaneously print sacrificial support materials, which limits the geometric versatility of such approaches. In this work, we investigate the use of multijet modelling (alternatively, polyjet printing) – a layer-by-layer, multi-material inkjetting process – for 3D printing geometrically complex, yet functionally advantageous fluidic components comprised of both static and dynamic physical elements. We examine a fundamental class of 3D printed microfluidic operators, including fluidic capacitors, fluidic diodes, and fluidic transistors. In addition, we evaluate the potential to advance on-chip automation of integrated fluidic systems via geometric modification of component parameters. Theoretical and experimental results for 3D fluidic capacitors demonstrated that transitioning from planar to non-planar diaphragm architectures improved component performance. Flow rectification experiments for 3D printed fluidic diodes revealed a diodicity of 80.6 ± 1.8. Geometry-based gain enhancement for 3D printed fluidic transistors yielded pressure gain of 3.01 ± 0.78. Consistent with additional additive manufacturing methodologies, the use of digitally-transferrable 3D models of fluidic components combined with commercially-available 3D printers could extend the fluidic routing capabilities presented here to researchers in fields beyond the core engineering community.

/pdf/3d-printed-microfluidic-circuitry-via-multijet-based-53q3aibn6f.pdf

3D printed microfluidic circuitry via multijet-based additive manufacturing

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3D printed microfluidic circuitry via multijet-based additive manufacturing