Issue 11, 2010

In situ characterization of microdroplet interfacial properties in digital microfluidic systems

Abstract

Real-time characterization of digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices is important for biological and chemical applications in which the properties of the microdroplet are time variant. In this paper, a method for in situ characterization of microdroplet interfacial properties is introduced. The proposed characterization method relies on two submodules, namely the contact angle and capacitance sampling submodules, in a digital microfluidic system. In the contact angle measurement submodule, the microdroplet profile is acquired and an accurate contact angle is determined. In the capacitance sampling submodule, the capacitance of the system is measured by means of an activation voltage signal. For verification purposes, the results obtained from the proposed method are compared to the Lippmann–Young equation. The results are in excellent agreement with previously reported values. Finally, the proposed submodules are used to characterize the interfacial properties of a microdroplet containing an aqueous solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in which adsorption is a predominant effect. The results show the temporal behaviour of both microdroplet interfacial properties and dielectric characteristics.

Graphical abstract: In situ characterization of microdroplet interfacial properties in digital microfluidic systems

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Dec 2009
Accepted
09 Feb 2010
First published
10 Mar 2010

Lab Chip, 2010,10, 1429-1435

In situ characterization of microdroplet interfacial properties in digital microfluidic systems

A. Ahmadi, K. D. Devlin, H. Najjaran, J. F. Holzman and M. Hoorfar, Lab Chip, 2010, 10, 1429 DOI: 10.1039/B925665B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements