Rapid Prototyping Journal ( IF 3.9 ) Pub Date : 2021-08-17 , DOI: 10.1108/rpj-12-2020-0320 Donatien Mottin 1 , Tsaihsing Martin Ho 2 , Peichun Amy Tsai 2
Purpose
Monodisperse microfluidic emulsions – droplets in another immiscible liquid – are beneficial to various technological applications in analytical chemistry, material and chemical engineering, biology and medicine. Upscaling the mass production of micron-sized monodisperse emulsions, however, has been a challenge because of the complexity and technical difficulty of fabricating or upscaling three-dimensional (3 D) microfluidic structures on a chip. Therefore, the authors develop a fluid dynamical design that uses a standard and straightforward 3 D printer for the mass production of monodisperse droplets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors combine additive manufacturing, fluid dynamical design and suitable surface treatment to create an easy-to-fabricate device for the upscaling production of monodisperse emulsions. Considering hydrodynamic networks and associated flow resistance, the authors adapt microfluidic flow-focusing junctions to produce (water-in-oil) emulsions in parallel in one integrated fluidic device, under suitable flow rates and channel sizes.
Findings
The device consists of 32 droplet-makers in parallel and is capable of mass-producing 14 L/day of monodisperse emulsions. This convenient method can produce 50,000 millimetric droplets per hour. Finally, the authors extend the current 3 D printed fluidics with the generated emulsions to synthesize magnetic microspheres.
Originality/value
Combining additive manufacturing and hydrodynamical concepts and designs, the authors experimentally demonstrate a facile method of upscaling the production of useful monodisperse emulsions. The design and approach will be beneficial for mass productions of smart and functional microfluidic materials useful in a myriad of applications.
中文翻译:
通过增材制造扩大液滴和磁性粒子的生产规模
目的
单分散微流体乳液——另一种不混溶液体中的液滴——有利于分析化学、材料和化学工程、生物学和医学中的各种技术应用。然而,由于在芯片上制造或升级三维 (3D) 微流体结构的复杂性和技术难度,扩大微米级单分散乳液的大规模生产一直是一个挑战。因此,作者开发了一种流体动力学设计,该设计使用标准且简单的 3D 打印机来批量生产单分散液滴。
设计/方法/方法
作者将增材制造、流体动力学设计和合适的表面处理相结合,创造了一种易于制造的设备,用于扩大生产单分散乳液。考虑到流体动力学网络和相关的流动阻力,作者采用微流体流动聚焦接头,在合适的流速和通道尺寸下,在一个集成流体装置中并行生产(油包水)乳液。
发现
该设备由 32 个并行的液滴制造器组成,能够批量生产 14 L/天的单分散乳液。这种方便的方法每小时可以产生 50,000 毫米的液滴。最后,作者使用生成的乳液扩展了当前的 3D 打印流体,以合成磁性微球。
原创性/价值
结合增材制造和流体动力学概念和设计,作者通过实验证明了一种简单的方法来扩大有用的单分散乳液的生产。该设计和方法将有利于大规模生产可用于无数应用的智能和功能性微流体材料。