Issue 2, 2008
From the journal:

Lab on a Chip

Microfluidic large-scale integration on a chip for mass production of monodisperse droplets and particles†

Takasi Nisisako*a  and  T. Toriib  

* Corresponding authors

a Precision and Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, R2-6, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 226-8503, Japan
E-mail: nisisako@pi.titech.ac.jp

b Department of Human and Engineered Environmental Studies, Institute of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, #358 Environmental Building, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan

Abstract

In this study, we report the mass production of monodisperse emulsion droplets and particles using microfluidic large-scale integration on a chip. The production module comprises a glass microfluidic chip with planar microfabricated 16–256 droplet-formation units (DFUs) and a palm-sized stainless steel holder having several layers for supplying liquids into the inlets of the mounted chip. By using a module having 128 cross-junctions (i.e., 256 DFUs) arranged circularly on a 4 cm × 4 cm chip, we could produce droplets of photopolymerizable acrylate monomer at a throughput of 320.0 mL h−1. The product was monodisperse, having a mean diameter of 96.4 µm, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.3%. Subsequent UV polymerization off the module yielded monodisperse acrylic microspheres at a throughput of ∼0.3 kg h−1. Another module having 128 co-flow geometries could produce biphasic Janus droplets of black and white segments at 128.0 mL h−1. The product had a mean diameter of 142.3 µm, with a CV of 3.3%. This co-flow module could also be applied in the mass production of homogeneous monomer droplets.

Graphical abstract: Microfluidic large-scale integration on a chip for mass production of monodisperse droplets and particles

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B713141K
Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Aug 2007
Accepted
12 Nov 2007
First published
23 Nov 2007

Lab Chip, 2008,8, 287-293

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Microfluidic large-scale integration on a chip for mass production of monodisperse droplets and particles

T. Nisisako and T. Torii, Lab Chip, 2008, 8, 287 DOI: 10.1039/B713141K

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