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Three-dimensional parallelization of microfluidic droplet generators for a litre per hour volume production of single
D Conchouso1, D Castro, S A Khan
1Electromechanical Microsystems and Polymer Integration Research Laboratory (EMPIRe Lab) at the Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 4700 KAUST, 23955 Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abstract:
This paper looks at the design, fabrication and characterization of stackable microfluidic emulsion generators, with coefficients of variation as low as ~6% and with production rates as high as ~1 L h(-1). This work reports the highest throughput reported in the literature for a microfluidic device with simultaneous operation of liquid-liquid droplet generators. The device was achieved by stacking several layers of 128 flow-focusing droplet generators, organized in a circular array. These layers are interconnected via through-holes and fed with designated fractal distribution networks. The proposed layers were milled on poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) sheets and the stack was thermo-compression bonded to create a three-dimensional device with a high density of generators and an integrated hydraulic manifold. The effect of stacking multiple layers was studied and the results show that fabrication accuracy has a greater impact on the dispersity of the emulsion than the addition of more layers to the stack. Particle crystallization of drugs was also demonstrated as a possible application of this technology in industry.
