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Updated: May 19, 2026

Glass-Based Devices to Generate Drops and Emulsions
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Drop formation in non-planar microfluidic devices.

Assaf Rotem1, Adam R Abate, Andrew S Utada

  • 1Department of Physics and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 11 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, United States. arotem@seas.harvard.edu

Lab on a Chip
|August 7, 2012
PubMed
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Non-planar microfluidic devices enable efficient production of multiple emulsions, even with unfavorable wetting conditions. Optimizing continuous phase flow is key to controlling drop formation and device design.

Area of Science:

  • Microfluidics
  • Materials Science
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Microfluidic devices offer precise control over emulsion production, crucial for efficient material encapsulation.
  • Fabricating planar devices for multiple emulsions is challenging due to required surface wettability gradients.
  • Existing methods struggle with complex fluid dynamics and unfavorable wetting properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce non-planar microfluidic devices as a solution for fabricating multiple emulsions.
  • To investigate the complex interplay between device geometry, fluid properties, and flow rates in drop formation.
  • To establish a critical flow rate threshold for drop formation, particularly under challenging wetting conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized non-planar microfluidic devices with graduated thicknesses.

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Last Updated: May 19, 2026

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Published on: April 5, 2022

High Speed Droplet-based Delivery System for Passive Pumping in Microfluidic Devices
10:22

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Published on: September 2, 2009

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08:20

Capillary-based Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Size-controllable Formation of Monodisperse Microdroplets

Published on: February 22, 2016

  • Systematically varied continuous phase flow rates and fluid properties.
  • Analyzed the dependence of drop formation on device geometry and wetting characteristics.

    • Main Results:

    • Demonstrated that non-planar devices can form drops even with unfavorable wetting.
    • Identified a critical continuous phase flow rate for initiating drop formation.
    • Showcased a two-orders-of-magnitude decrease in critical flow rate with improved wetting.

    Conclusions:

    • Non-planar microfluidic devices overcome limitations of planar designs for multiple emulsion production.
    • Understanding the critical flow rate provides a pathway to optimize device design and enhance production efficiency.
    • This work facilitates the development of advanced microfluidic systems for diverse applications.