Unconventional Microfluidics

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (8 April 2022) | Viewed by 8100

Special Issue Editors

Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Interests: digital microfluidics; electrowetting; dielectrophoresis; diagnosis; tissue engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada
Interests: microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip technologies; biosensors; bio-microelectromechanical systems (bioMEMS); point-of-care diagnostics; robotics and automation at the micro and nanoscales; soft robotics; flexible/stretchable sensors and electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional microfluidic systems manipulate fluids in closed microfluidic networks fabricated using lithography-based techniques. In contrast, unconventional microfluidic systems, such as mangetic digital microfluidics, electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) digital microfluidics, paper-based microfluidics, and open microfluidics, use various other mechanisms to control fluids. Furthermore, new materials and fabrication techniques introduce additional functions to microfluidic system. The flexible microfluidic system and 3D-printed microlufidic system are examples of such kind. Although they might not be as versatile as conventional microfluidics, these unconventional microfluidic systems possesse unique advantages for applications to specific scenarios.

This Special Issue on “Unconventional Microfluidics” covers topics related to mangetic digital microfluidics, EWOD digital microfluidics, paper-based microfluidics, flexible microfluidics, open microfluidics, and other types of microfluidic systems with unconventional features or functions. In addition, this Special Issue also reports unconventional fabrication techniques for microfluidic systems, such as 3D printing and others alike.

Dr. Yi Zhang
Prof. Dr. Shih-Kang Fan
Dr. Xinyu Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Magnetic digital microfluidics
  • Electrowetting on dielectrics EWOD
  • Digital microfluidics
  • Paper-based microfluidics
  • Flexible microfluidics
  • Open microfluidics
  • 3D-printed microfluidics
  • 3D printing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3497 KiB  
Article
Droplet Transportation through an Orifice on Electrode for Digital Microfluidics Modulations
by Ting-Chia Chu and Yen-Wen Lu
Micromachines 2021, 12(11), 1385; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12111385 - 12 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2049
Abstract
A digital microfluidic modular interface (chip-to-chip interface) which possesses an electrode with an orifice to vertically transport core–shell droplets is presented. The electrodes were geometrically designed to promote droplet deformation and suspension. The droplets were then applied with an electrical potential for insertion [...] Read more.
A digital microfluidic modular interface (chip-to-chip interface) which possesses an electrode with an orifice to vertically transport core–shell droplets is presented. The electrodes were geometrically designed to promote droplet deformation and suspension. The droplets were then applied with an electrical potential for insertion into and passage through the orifice. The concepts were tested with three types of droplets at the volume of 0.75~1.5 μL, which is usually difficult to transfer through an orifice. The integration of electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) with paper-based microfluidics was demonstrated: the droplet could be transported within 10 s. More importantly, most of the core droplet (~97%) was extracted and passed through with only minimal shell droplets accompanying it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Microfluidics)
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18 pages, 4929 KiB  
Article
Virtual Stencil for Patterning and Modeling in a Quantitative Volume Using EWOD and DEP Devices for Microfluidics
by Yi-Wei Lin, Ying-Jhen Ciou and Da-Jeng Yao
Micromachines 2021, 12(9), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12091104 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2098
Abstract
Applying microfluidic patterning, droplets were precisely generated on an electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) chip considering these parameters: number of generating electrodes, number of cutting electrodes, voltage, frequency and gap between upper and lower plates of the electrode array on the EWOD chip. In a subsequent [...] Read more.
Applying microfluidic patterning, droplets were precisely generated on an electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) chip considering these parameters: number of generating electrodes, number of cutting electrodes, voltage, frequency and gap between upper and lower plates of the electrode array on the EWOD chip. In a subsequent patterning experiment, an environment with three generating electrodes, one cutting electrode and a gap height 10 μm, we obtained a quantitative volume for patterning. Propylene carbonate liquid and a mixed colloid of polyphthalate carbonate (PPC) and photosensitive polymer material were manipulated into varied patterns. With support from a Z-axis lifting platform and a UV lamp, a cured 3D structure was stacked. Using an EWOD system, a multi-layer three-dimensional structure was produced for the patterning. A two-plate EWOD system patterned propylene carbonate in a quantitative volume at 140 Vpp/20 kHz with automatic patterning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Microfluidics)
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11 pages, 7697 KiB  
Article
Controlling Capillary Flow Rate on Lateral Flow Test Substrates by Tape
by Zhiqing Xiao, Yuqian Yang, Xingwei Zhang and Weijin Guo
Micromachines 2021, 12(5), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12050562 - 16 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2835
Abstract
Controlling capillary flow rate of sample liquid is of high interest for lateral flow tests, since the flow rate can affect the dissolution and mixing of the immunoreagents and the efficiency of immunoreactions. Here we develop a facile method to adjust the capillary [...] Read more.
Controlling capillary flow rate of sample liquid is of high interest for lateral flow tests, since the flow rate can affect the dissolution and mixing of the immunoreagents and the efficiency of immunoreactions. Here we develop a facile method to adjust the capillary flow rate on lateral flow test substrates by using tape to cover the surface of substrates. We test this method on the traditional lateral flow test substrate—nitrocellulose and a novel lateral flow test substrate—synthetic paper, which is a porous media made by interlocked off-stoichiometry thiol-ene (OSTE) micropillars. We found that after the surface was covered by tape, the average flow rate decreased to 61% of the original flow rate on nitrocellulose, while the average flow rate increased to at least 320% of the original flow rate on synthetic paper. More interesting, besides the increase of flow rate, the volume capacity of synthetic paper also increases after covered by tape. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of length and position of tape on the capillary flow rate for nitrocellulose. A longer tape will lead to a smaller flow rate. The influence of tape of same length on the flow rate is bigger when the tape is placed closer to the loading pad. These results can help in the flow rate control on lateral flow test substrates, and potentially improve the performance of lateral flow tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unconventional Microfluidics)
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