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Multiplexed and continuous microfluidic sensors using dynamic complex droplets
Baishali Barua1, Tyler J Durkin1, Isabel M Beeley1
1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, 1133 E. James E. Rogers Way, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. suchol@arizona.edu.
Soft Matter
|February 22, 2023
Summary
This study presents a novel optical sensing platform using complex droplets in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidics for real-time chemical detection. The system translates interfacial tension changes into optical signals for environmental and biosensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Complex droplets exhibit stimuli-responsive properties, making them promising for chemical sensing.
- Existing sensing platforms lack real-time, continuous monitoring capabilities for interfacial tension changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a real-time optical sensing platform using complex droplets and microfluidics.
- To demonstrate the transduction of interfacial tension changes into optical signals.
- To create a multiplexed sensing system for environmental and biosensing.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic devices.
- Integration of complex emulsions within microfluidic channels.
- Utilizing directional emission to measure fluorescent signals.
- Modifying droplet interfacial functionalization and fluorescent dyes for differential responses.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a real-time optical sensing platform combining PDMS microfluidics and complex droplets.
- Successfully transduced interfacial tension changes into measurable optical signals via directional emission.
- Generated multiplexed droplet formulations with differential responses to stimuli like surfactant composition and pH.
Conclusions:
- The developed platform offers a proof-of-concept for continuous, multiplexed sensing.
- Potential applications include miniaturized, on-site environmental monitoring and biosensing.
- The system leverages stimuli-responsive complex droplets for dynamic optical property sensing.
