An asymmetric flow-focusing droplet generator promotes rapid mixing of reagents.

Nowadays droplet microfluidics is widely used to perform high throughput assays and for the synthesis of micro- and nanoparticles. These applications usually require packaging several reagents into droplets and their mixing to start a biochemical reaction. For rapid mixing microfluidic devices usually require additional functional elements that make their designs more complex. Here we perform a series of 2D numerical simulations, followed by experimental studies, and introduce a novel asymmetric flow-focusing droplet generator, which enhances mixing during droplet formation due to a 2D or 3D asymmetric vortex, located in the droplet formation area of the microfluidic device. Our results suggest that 2D numerical simulations can be used for qualitative analysis of two-phase flows and droplet generation process in quasi-two-dimensional devices, while the relative simplicity of such simulations allows them to be easily applied to fairly complicated microfluidic geometries. Mixing inside droplets formed in the asymmetric generator occurs up to six times faster than in a conventional symmetric one. The best mixing efficiency is achieved in a specific range of droplet volumes, which can be changed by scaling the geometry of the device. Thus, the droplet generator suggested here can significantly simplify designs of microfluidic devices because it enables both the droplet formation and fast mixing of the reagents within droplets. Moreover, it can be used to precisely estimate reaction kinetics

Dissolution and mixing of flavin mononucleotide in microfluidic chips for bioassay

Dissolution and mixing of flavin mononucleotide (FMN), which activates a luminescent reaction, were considered in various designs of microfluidic chip for pollution analysis of liquid samples. The aim was to determine the velocity mode of fluid flow ensured the uniform distribution of the FMN in the reaction chamber. Simulation of concentration distribution of FMN in various designs of microfluidic chips was conducted. It was shown that the passive mixing techniques based on the constant flow rate didn’t provide mixing of FMN in acceptable time (3 seconds). The most efficient mixing was achieved using variable flow rate with a gradually increasing frequency of oscillation