Tunable spatial heterogeneity in structure and composition within aqueous microfluidic droplets

In this paper, we demonstrate biphasic microfluidic droplets with broadly tunable internal structures, from simple near-equilibrium drop-in-drop morphologies to complex yet uniform non-equilibrium steady-state structures. The droplets contain an aqueous mixture of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dex...

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Veröffentlicht in:Biomicrofluidics 2012-06, Vol.6 (2), p.022005-022005-8
Hauptverfasser: Hui Sophia Lee, Su, Wang, Pengzhi, Kun Yap, Swee, Alan Hatton, T., Khan, Saif A.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:In this paper, we demonstrate biphasic microfluidic droplets with broadly tunable internal structures, from simple near-equilibrium drop-in-drop morphologies to complex yet uniform non-equilibrium steady-state structures. The droplets contain an aqueous mixture of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran and are dispensed into an immiscible oil in a microfluidic T-junction device. Above a certain well-defined threshold droplet speed, the inner dextran-rich phase is “stirred” within the outer PEG-rich phase. The stirred polymer mixture is observed to exhibit a near continuum of speed and composition-dependent phase morphologies. There is increasing interest in the use of such aqueous two-phase systems in microfluidic devices for biomolecular applications in a variety of contexts. Our work presents a method to go beyond equilibrium phase morphologies in generating microfluidic “multiple” emulsions and at the same time raises the possibility of biochemical experimentation in benign yet complex biomimetic milieus.
ISSN:1932-1058
1932-1058
DOI:10.1063/1.3694841