Electrohydrodynamic Manipulation Of Liquid Droplet Emulsions In A Microfluidic Channel

This work specifically aims to provide a fundamental framework, with some experimental validation, for understanding droplet emulsion dynamics in a microfluidic channel with an applied electric field. Electrification of fluids can result in several different modes of electrohydrodynamics (EHD). Several studies to date have provided theoretical, experimental, and numerical results for stationary droplet deformations and some flowing droplet configurations, but none have reported a method by which droplets of different diameters can be separated, binned and routed through the use of electric fields. It is therefore the goal of this work to fill that void and report a comprehensive understanding of how the electric field can affect flowing droplet dynamics. This work deals with two primary models used in electrohydrodynamics: the leaky dielectric model and the perfect dielectric model. The perfect dielectric model assumes that fluids with low conductivities do not react to any effects from the small amount of free charge they contain, and can be assumed as dielectrics, or electrical insulators. The leaky dielectric model suggests that even though the free charge is minimal in fluids with low conductivities, it is still is enough to affect droplet deformations. Finite element numerical results of stationary droplet deformations, implemented using the level set method, compare well both qualitatively (prolate/oblate and vortex directions), and quantitatively with results published by other researchers. Errors of less than 7.5% are found when comparing three-dimensional (3D) numerical results of this study to results predicted by the 3D leaky dielectric model, for a stationary high conductivity drop suspended in a slightly lower conductivity suspending medium. Droplet formations in a T-junction with no applied electric field are adequately predicted numerically using the level set finite element technique, as demonstrated by other researchers and verified in this study. For 3D models, droplet size is within 6%, and droplet production frequency is within 2.4% of experimental values found in the microfluidic Tjunction device. In order to reduce computational complexity, a larger scale model was solved first iii to obtain electrical potential distributions localized at the channel walls for the electrode placement configurations. Droplet deceleration and pinning is demonstrated, both experimentally and numerically, by applying steep gradients of electrical potential to the microchannel walls. As droplets flow over these electrical potential “steps,” they are pinned to the channel walls if the resulting electric forces are large enough to overcome the hydrodynamic forces. A balance between four dimensionless force ratios, the electric Euler number (Eue – ratio of inertial to electric forces), Mason number (M a – ratio of viscous to electric forces), electric pressure (P s – ratio of upstream pressure forces to electric forces), and the electric capillary number (Cae – ratio of electric to capillary forces) are used to quantify the magnitudes of each of these forces required to pin a droplet, and is consistent with a cubic dependency on the drop diameter. For larger drop diameters, effects of hydrodynamic forces become more prominent, and for smaller droplets, a greater electric forces is required due to the proximity of the droplet boundary with reference to the electrified channel wall. Droplet deceleration and pinning can be exploited to route droplets into different branches of a microfluidic T-junction. In addition, using steep electrical potential gradients placed strategically along a microchannel, droplets can even be passively binned by size into separate branches of the microfluidic device. These characteristics have been identified and demonstrated in this work

Non-Newtonian Microfluidics

Microfluidics has seen a remarkable growth over recent decades, with its extensive applications in engineering, medicine, biology, chemistry, etc. Many of these real applications of microfluidics involve the handling of complex fluids, such as whole blood, protein solutions, and polymeric solutions, which exhibit non-Newtonian characteristics—specifically viscoelasticity. The elasticity of the non-Newtonian fluids induces intriguing phenomena, such as elastic instability and turbulence, even at extremely low Reynolds numbers. This is the consequence of the nonlinear nature of the rheological constitutive equations. The nonlinear characteristic of non-Newtonian fluids can dramatically change the flow dynamics, and is useful to enhance mixing at the microscale. Electrokinetics in the context of non-Newtonian fluids are also of significant importance, with their potential applications in micromixing enhancement and bio-particles manipulation and separation. In this Special Issue, we welcomed research papers, and review articles related to the applications, fundamentals, design, and the underlying mechanisms of non-Newtonian microfluidics, including discussions, analytical papers, and numerical and/or experimental analyses

Redistribution of mobile surface charges of an oil droplet in water in applied electric field

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2016.08.006. © 2016. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Most researches on oil droplets immersed in aqueous solutions assume that the surface charges of oil droplets are, similar to that of solid particles, immobile and distributed uniformly under external electric field. However, the surface charges at the liquid–liquid interface are mobile and will redistribute under external electric field. This paper studies the redistribution of surface charges on an oil droplet under the influence of the external electrical field. Analytical expressions of the local zeta potential on the surface of an oil droplet after the charge redistribution in a uniform electrical field were derived. The effects of the initial zeta potential, droplet radius and strength of applied electric field on the surface charge redistribution were studied. In analogy to the mobile surface charges, the redistribution of Al2O3-passivated aluminum nanoparticles on the oil droplet surface was observed under applied electrical field. Experimental results showed that these nanoparticles moved and accumulated towards one side of the oil droplet under electric field. The redistribution of the nanoparticles is in qualitative agreement with the redistribution model of the mobile surface charges developed in this work

Biomicrofluidics: recent trends and future challenges

Biomicrofluidics is an active area of research at present, exploring the synergy of microfluidics with cellular and molecular biology, biotechnology, and biomedical engineering. The present article outlines the recent advancements in these areas, including the development of novel lab-on-a-chip based applications. Particular emphasis is given on the microfluidics-based handling of DNA, cells, and proteins, as well as fundamental microfluidic considerations for design of biomedical microdevices. Future directions of research on these topics are also discussed

Further developments on theoretical and computational rheology

Tese financiada pela FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Ciência.Inovação2010, POPH, União Europeia FEDERTese de doutoramento. Engenharia Química e Biológica. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

Development of a tandem microfluidic two-phase extraction device for continuous arylboronic acid phase-switching purification

The last 20 years has witnessed a surge in the development of fluidic devices and techniques aimed at the generation of novel tools for chemical transformations, chemical analysis, bioassays, therapeutics, medical diagnostics, and in vivo tissue research. A growing area of research involves the use of microfluidics to facilitate reaction optimization and chemical synthesis on a large scale. Although there have been significant gains such as the incorporation of microwave heating, better mass-heat transport, and reduction of impurities through accurate control of reagent addition and reaction parameters, there is a lack of continuous purification techniques to accompany these processes. The development of continuous in-line purification processes is required for the wide scale adoption of continuous flow synthesis. It is necessary since multistep syntheses generally require changing solvents and removal of spent reagents and salts for downstream unit operations or analysis. Developing homogeneous in-line purification processes for flow synthesis would be a boon for industry by enhancing multistep fluidic processes by streamlining unit operations, enabling on demand synthesis of pharmaceuticals for market, resulting in lower costs from storage, spoilage and consignment returns. To achieve this, a method must continuously purify reaction mixtures of salts and by-products for mass spectrometric analysis to produce real-time second by second analysis of flow reactions. We have developed a microfluidic device to perform a tandem extraction process utilizing reversible acid/base phase switching properties of stable arylboronic acids. Using the complexation of boronic acids to 1,3 diol containing sugars, such as glucitol to produce boronic esters with strong hydrogen bonding ability, an aliphatic boronic acid functionalized molecule can be phase transferred from organic to aqueous media and vice versa, to facilitate the removal of impurities under continuous flow conditions. The current project involved the design and optimization of a simple hybrid device composed of perfluoropolymer film and stainless steel to construct a cheap, easily fabricated and configurable for rapid phase partitioning of boronic acids as a proof of concept methodology for continuous flow purification. Although continuous flow synthesis using fluidic systems has shown promise for single step synthesis, there is considerable difficulty in performing sequential steps to build complex small molecules. However, with the development of a continuous flow purification method this may be ameliorated so that a general method of multistep synthesis can be developed. The use of extraction techniques to facilitate purifications in continuous flow systems may prove to be a reliable and sustainable method for small scale as well as industrial scale synthesis as opposed to the use of liquid chromatography of intermediates, which introduces greater unit operations, steps and exponentially increases costs of APIs. Although the current project was not successful in generating a fully optimized device with a total arylboronic acid recovery of ~95%, we did achieve a high recovery of 75%. The proof of concept device demonstrated the utility and promise this system holds for developing multistep inline synthesis and analysis in-flow but requires further work to fabricate a more suitable microfluidic device to conduct arylboronic acid phase-switching purifications

Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Handbook

The Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Handbook: Two-Volume Set comprehensively captures the cross-disciplinary breadth of the fields of micro- and nanofluidics, which encompass the biological sciences, chemistry, physics and engineering applications. To fill the knowledge gap between engineering and the basic sciences, the editors pulled together key individuals, well known in their respective areas, to author chapters that help graduate students, scientists, and practicing engineers understand the overall area of microfluidics and nanofluidics. Topics covered include Finite Volume Method for Numerical Simulation Lattice Boltzmann Method and Its Applications in Microfluidics Microparticle and Nanoparticle Manipulation Methane Solubility Enhancement in Water Confined to Nanoscale Pores Volume Two: Fabrication, Implementation, and Applications focuses on topics related to experimental and numerical methods. It also covers fabrication and applications in a variety of areas, from aerospace to biological systems. Reflecting the inherent nature of microfluidics and nanofluidics, the book includes as much interdisciplinary knowledge as possible. It provides the fundamental science background for newcomers and advanced techniques and concepts for experienced researchers and professionals