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Deterministic splitting of fluid volumes in electrowetting microfluidics
Ananda Banerjee1, Yuguang Liu, Jason Heikenfeld
1School of Electronic and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
Lab on a Chip
|October 9, 2012
Summary
Digital microfluidics now offers precise control over sample volumes. A new voltage ramping method dramatically reduces droplet volume variation to less than 1% in electrowetting devices.
Area of Science:
- Microfluidics
- Electrowetting devices
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Conventional digital microfluidic droplet generation methods exhibit significant volume variations (~10%).
- Existing techniques are limited to producing small sample volumes, hindering broader applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for precise sample volume splitting in digital microfluidics.
- To overcome limitations of existing droplet generation techniques by minimizing volume variation.
Main Methods:
- Implemented a gradual voltage ramping technique instead of abrupt electrode switching for droplet manipulation.
- Developed an on-chip visual method for accurate measurement of generated sample volumes.
Main Results:
- Achieved precise generation and measurement of arbitrary sample volumes with less than 1% variation.
- Successfully eliminated hydrodynamic instabilities that cause volume fluctuations in conventional methods.
Conclusions:
- The proposed voltage ramping approach enables highly accurate sample metering in electrowetting-based digital microfluidic systems.
- This method is readily adaptable to existing digital microfluidic platforms.
- Potential to enhance performance in applications demanding precise sample volumes, such as immunoassays and DNA amplification.
