Title: An Integrated Droplet Manipulation Platform with Photodeformable Microfluidic Channels

Author: Quan Liu, Guodong Yu, Chongyu Zhu, Bo Peng, Ruohan Li, Tao Yi, Yanlei Yu*

Journal: Small Methods, 2021, 5(12), 2100969

Abstract:

Manipulating droplets by light in microscale allows precise control of microfluidics, liquid delivery, micromachines, and so on. Among these applications, microfluidic technology is of particular interest for miniaturization of the portable analysis systems, which require the integration of various liquid operations in one device. Here, a photodeformable microfluidic platform is constructed by combining Laplace pressure and capillary condensation to integrate the transportation, fusion, separation, and mixing of liquid slugs in one chip. The Laplace pressure, attributed to the photodeformation of the liquid crystal polymers, is generated to propel the slug. The capillary condensation is introduced by the delicate design of the fluid channels, allowing the fusion and separation of slugs without any connected microvalves. Catalytic oxidation reaction and protein detection processes are realized in the platform, which are amenable to a variety of miniaturized bio-medical applications, such as portable analysis and point of care testing.

论文链接：https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smtd.202100969

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本工作将致动层光致形变液晶高分子材料与具有微通道结构的PMMA基底结合，构筑了全光控微流体芯片：1）利用微通道的不对称形变产生拉普拉斯压差，驱动通道内液滴运输；2）在微通道分岔口处通过结构设计引入毛细凝结效应，实现光驱动下液滴的融合与分离；3）在运输过程中利用毛细作用引发液滴内部漩涡，促进样品的搅拌混合。