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Reconfigurable Microfluidic Channel with Pin-discretized Sidewalls
Published on: April 12, 2018
Soft Hardware, Flowing Software: Reconfigurable Microfluidics for Adaptable Chemical Computation
Piet J M Swinkels1, Brigitta Dúzs1, Oliver Skarsetz1
1Life-Like Materials and Systems, Department of Chemistry, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 11, 2026
Summary
This study introduces reconfigurable microfluidic hardware using 3D-printed hydrogels for dynamic chemical computing. This adaptable platform enables switchable logic gates and physical reservoir computing, expanding computational possibilities beyond static systems.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Computational Science
Background:
- Conventional electronics face limitations in performance and adaptability.
- Chemical and physical computing offer alternative processing paradigms.
- Existing systems often rely on static hardware architectures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a reconfigurable microfluidic platform for dynamic chemical computation.
- To demonstrate hardware-reconfigurable control over chemical information processing.
- To explore adaptable physical environments for expanding computational capabilities.
Main Methods:
- 3D printing and in situ erasure of soft hydrogel structures within microfluidics.
- Implementing switchable Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) logic gates (AND/OR).
- Utilizing a feedback-controlled pH oscillator for studying reaction kinetics and pattern formation.
- Constructing a physical reservoir computer with reconfigurable microfluidic hardware.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated hardware-reconfigurable control over chemical information processing.
- Achieved switchable DNA logic gates without altering molecular composition.
- Showcased geometry-dependent spatiotemporal states in a pH oscillator.
- Implemented a physical reservoir computer realizing diverse nonlinear functions.
Conclusions:
- Reconfigurable soft microfluidic hardware acts as a control layer for chemical computation.
- Adaptable physical environments actively expand the computational state space of chemical software.
- This approach decouples logic function from molecular composition, enhancing computational flexibility.
