TW201912244A - Method and apparatus of generating substantially monodisperse droplets - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating substantially monodisperse droplets. The invention involves flowing a continuous phase fluid in a microfluidic passageway which extends along a longitudinal length direction and has a substantially constant cross section along the length direction. Subsequently, a dispersed phase fluid is introduced into the microfluidic passageway along a traverse direction to the length direction through a plurality of inlet orifices to generate droplets of the dispersed phase fluid in the continuous phase fluid. The aforementioned inlet orifices have a substantially uniform diameter, and any adjacent two of the inlet orifices are arranged to be offset from each other in the length direction. The dispersed phase fluid is broken up by the shearing force generated by the continuous phase fluid to produce a large amount of monodisperse droplets. By the offsetting arrangement of the inlet orifices, droplets formed by two adjacent inlet orifices will not interfere with each other, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the droplets.

Description

Method and apparatus for producing droplets having substantially monodisperse

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a plurality of monodisperse droplets.

In the past 20 years, the fields of biology and chemistry have become more and more focused on miniaturization, and the development of Microfluidics technology in this area is particularly worthy of attention. "Microfluidic" is a new interdisciplinary subject developed on the basis of microelectronics, micro-production, bioengineering and nanotechnology. It utilizes microchannels in a microfluidic device (aperture 5∼500 μm). Manipulate, process and control microscopic liquids or samples on a microscopic scale. The microfluidic device is usually a microfluidic chip featuring microchannel network and various functional unit integration, which can realize the integration of sample preparation, reaction, separation and detection, and can also perform these processes. Regulation. Early research efforts focused on the manipulation of continuous flow systems in microchannels, including injection, mixing, reaction, separation, and detection. However, due to the limitations of the traditional continuous flow system, such as large sample consumption, complex structure and manufacturing process of the micropump and microvalve, it is easy to cause cross-contamination and difficult to mix quickly between liquid flows under low Reynolds coefficient.

In recent years, a new branch-discontinuous flow microfluidic system has emerged in the field of microfluidics, also known as microfluidic microfluidic systems. The microfluidic microfluidic system uses incompatible two-phase fluid to form droplets at the microchannel interface. Compared to continuous flow systems, droplets have the characteristics of small volume, low diffusion, no cross-contamination, rapid reaction kinetics, and the potential for high-throughput analysis. It is precisely because of these potential advantages that microfluidic microfluidic technology is attracting more and more researchers' attention. And after several years of development, the preparation technology of droplets has become more and more mature, and it has been gradually applied to many fields such as chemical and biochemical analysis.

Microfluidic microfluidic technology includes droplet generation and droplet driving. According to the generation method, the methods of controlling droplets can be divided into two categories. One type is the passive method, in which the droplets are manipulated locally by the special design of the microchannel structure to produce a velocity gradient, mainly multiphase flow. The main feature of the method is that it can rapidly generate droplets in batches; the other is the active method, which uses the external force such as electric field force and thermal energy to locally generate an energy gradient to control the droplets, mainly including electrowetting, Dielectrophoresis, pneumatics and thermal capillary methods, the main feature of this method is the manipulation of individual droplets.

Among them, the principle of multiphase flow method is to make the dispersed phase fluid in the interaction between the shear force, the viscosity of the fluid and the surface tension through the unique design of the fluid microchannel structure and the control of the fluid flow rate. The microchannel locally generates a velocity gradient that is split to generate droplets, and the resulting droplets are evenly distributed in the mutually incompatible continuous phase to form a monodisperse system. The advantage of the multiphase flow method is that it is easy to control the bulk droplets as a whole. A retrospective paper by GF Christopher and SL Anna (GF Christopher and SL Anna, Microfluidic methods for producing continuous droplet streams, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys . 40 (2007), R319–R336) There are three main ways to prepare droplets: T-junction, flow-focusing, and co-axial flow. The design of the microchannels in these modes is different, and the factors affecting the preparation of the droplets include the properties of the microchannel material, the geometry and shape of the microchannel, the properties of the fluid (such as viscosity, surface tension), and the flow ratio.

The promising microfluidic technology has attracted wide attention, and related research has made a series of remarkable progress, but the industry can quickly produce a large number of uniform droplets with precise control by simple process. There is still an ardent demand.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for producing a large number of monodisperse droplets, the main purpose of which.

The present invention produces a method of substantially monodisperse droplets comprising at least the steps of: flowing a continuous phase fluid in a microchannel extending along a lengthwise length along which the microchannel follows a substantially constant cross section in the length direction; and a dispersed phase fluid introduced into the microchannel along the lateral direction relative to the length direction to form a dispersed phase fluid in the continuous phase fluid A monodisperse droplet is constructed in which a plurality of input apertures have substantially the same aperture, and adjacent two input apertures are arranged to be staggered from each other in the length direction.

According to the above technical feature, the step of introducing the dispersed phase fluid comprises introducing the dispersed phase fluid at an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the length direction.

The invention further provides an apparatus for producing droplets having substantially monodisperse properties. The device includes a substantially rigid first member; and a substantially rigid second member disposed opposite the first member to define a micro flow passage therebetween for a continuous phase fluid flow The microchannel extends along a longitudinal length and the microchannel has a substantially constant cross section along the length. The apparatus is formed with a plurality of input apertures for introducing a dispersed phase fluid into the microchannel along a lateral direction relative to the length direction to form a monodisperse of the dispersed phase fluid in the continuous phase fluid And a plurality of input apertures having substantially the same aperture, and adjacent two input apertures are staggered from each other along a length direction of the microchannel.

According to the present invention, the dispersed phase fluid enters the continuous phase fluid through the plurality of input holes, and the continuous phase fluid is restricted to flow at a high speed in the direction of the microchannel length of the narrow annular gap, and the shear formed by the fluid can be formed. The force cuts off the dispersed phase fluid to produce a large number of monodisperse droplets of substantially equal size. The monodisperse droplets formed by the adjacent two input holes do not interfere with each other by a plurality of input holes arranged in a staggered manner in the longitudinal direction, and preferably having substantially equal separation distances between the input holes To ensure the forming quality of the monodisperse droplets, and to ensure the uniform quality of the monodisperse droplets produced by the characteristics of the microchannels and the input pores.

According to the above technical feature, the first member is configured as a rod extending along the length direction, the second member is configured as a tubular outer casing and is disposed concentrically outside the first member, and The microchannel is defined as an annular configuration. The first component and the second component can be selectively configured to have a circular, square, hexagonal, or other geometric cross section.

According to the above technical feature, the plurality of input holes are located in the first component or the second component. When the input aperture is disposed in the first component, the first component is configured to form a hollow rod extending along the lengthwise direction.

According to the above technical feature, the first member has a first end, and the first end is provided with a first fixing member, the first fixing member is fixed to the first end of the second member to prevent the first end The component is displaced relative to the second component.

According to the above technical feature, the first member has a second end opposite to the first end, and the second end is provided with a second fixing member, the second fixing member radially abuts against the second member Relative to the second end of the first end thereof to prevent radial displacement of the first component relative to the second component.

According to the above technical feature, the first fixing member is formed with an inlet for the continuous phase fluid to enter, and wherein the first end of the first member is tapered in size in the length direction toward the inlet, thereby being second The first ends of the components collectively define a first connecting passage, and the first connecting passage connects the inlet and the micro flow passage in fluid communication.

According to the above technical feature, the second fixing member is formed with an outlet, and wherein the second end of the first member is dimensioned toward the outlet in the length direction, thereby being defined together with the second end of the second member A second connecting passage is provided, and the second connecting passage connects the outlet and the micro flow passage in fluid communication.

According to the above technical feature, the input aperture is configured to enable the dispersed phase fluid to be introduced into the microchannel at an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the length direction.

Unless otherwise stated, the following terms used in the specification and claims of the present application have the definitions given below. It is to be understood that the singular <RTI ID=0.0>&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot; A single item. In addition, the open-ended conjunctions such as "including" and "having" used in the claims are intended to mean that the components or components described in the claims are not excluded. It should also be noted that the term "or" generally includes "and/or" in the sense, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "about" or "substantially" as used in the specification and claims of the present application are intended to modify any error that may vary slightly, but such minor variations do not alter the nature.

The method of producing monodisperse droplets in the present invention generally involves the use of orthogonal structures (T-junction) microchannels as described in the retrospective papers previously mentioned by GF Christopher and SL Anna, which are used to make droplets. A paper is fully incorporated herein by reference. In the art of microfluidics, the term "orthogonal structure" generally refers to the incorporation of a dispersed phase fluid into a continuous phase fluid at an angle. The angle is typically in the range of 60 to 90 degrees, preferably in the range of 80 to 90 degrees, especially near 90 degrees. The term "continuous phase" as used in the present invention means a phase in which the same substance is interconnected, and in the continuous phase, a plurality of mutually separated heterogeneous substances can be accommodated. The "dispersed phase" is a phase composed of a plurality of mutually isolated trace substances dispersed in the aforementioned continuous phase, each of which is surrounded by a continuous phase. A two-phase system consisting of one continuous phase and one dispersed phase is known as a disperse system. The "dispersed phase fluid" and the "continuous phase fluid" are generally two immiscible fluids which can be formed at the confluence of the orthogonal structure by the dispersed phase fluid dispersed in the continuous phase flow. Microdroplets in the body. As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art, the size of the droplets and the frequency of their generation are typically determined by the configuration of the flow channels, the flow rate of the fluid, and the nature of the fluid.

First, the method of the present invention involves flowing a continuous phase fluid within the microchannel 3. Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a first schematic view of the apparatus of the present invention. The microchannel 3 is an area defined by the first and second members 2, 3. In the embodiment shown, the first member 1 is disposed opposite to the second member 2, and preferably the second member 2 is disposed substantially parallel to the first member 1 side, whereby the first and second members are 1, 2 interval configuration to define the micro flow channel 3. The microchannel 3 extends along a longitudinal length direction T1 for the continuous phase fluid to flow along the length direction T1. The microchannel 3 has a substantially constant cross section along the length direction T1 such that the fluid passing through the microchannel 3 does not substantially change its flow rate. The first and second members 1, 2 can be independently made of the same or different rigid materials. The term "rigid" as used in this context means that substantial deformation does not occur in the practice of the present invention. Examples of rigid materials suitable for use in the present invention include, but are not limited to, metals (e.g., stainless steel), glass, quartz, ceramics, non-flexible plastics (e.g., acrylic plastic), and the like. Based on the rigid nature of the first component 1 and the second component 2, the microchannels 3 defined by the two can be kept constant in size.

The manufacturing process of the first member 1 and the second member 2 is familiar to those of ordinary skill in the related art, and can be adjusted depending on the material. For example, when the first member 1 and the second member 2 are made of a metal material, they can be produced by a conventional metal working process such as stamping, rolling, turning, press molding, forging, and the like.

The device of the present application is formed with a plurality of input holes. In the illustrated embodiment, the second member 2 is formed with a plurality of input apertures 21 for introducing the dispersed phase fluid into the microchannels 3 along the lateral direction with respect to the length direction T1. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the input apertures 21 is configured to enable the dispersed phase fluid to be introduced into the microchannel 3 at an angle in the range of 60 to 90 degrees with respect to the length direction T1, preferably The angle is in the range of 80 to 90 degrees, more preferably the angle is about 90 degrees. The input holes 21 have substantially the same size. Referring to FIG. 2 at the same time, the adjacent two input holes 21 are arranged offset from each other along the longitudinal direction T1, and it is preferable that the input holes have substantially equal separation distances between the input holes. Of course, these input holes 21 can also be located on the first component 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the dispersed phase fluid is introduced into the microchannel 3 via the input hole 21, the dispersed phase fluid is cut by the shear force F1 formed by the flow of the continuous phase fluid in the microchannel, and A plurality of droplets 4 dispersed in the continuous phase fluid by the dispersed phase fluid are formed in the flow channel 3. Since the cross section of the microchannel 3 along the longitudinal direction T1 is substantially constant, and the volume ratio of the monodisperse droplet to the continuous phase is low, the flow velocity of the continuous phase fluid flowing through the microchannel 3 is made constant, and The plurality of input apertures 21 are substantially equal in size, so that a large number of monodisperse droplets 4 can be produced. As used herein, "monodisperse" means that the resulting plurality of droplets 4 have a narrow size distribution, preferably having a polydispersity index of less than 8%. The monodisperse droplets 4 formed by the adjacent two input holes 21 are staggered from each other by the plurality of input holes 21 arranged in a staggered manner, and do not interfere with each other when flowing in the longitudinal direction T1, and are in contact with each other to cause sticking or cracking. The integrity of the monodisperse droplets can be maintained to ensure the forming quality of the monodisperse droplets 4.

In a preferred embodiment, the first component 1 is spaced from the second component 2 by a distance in the range of 150 microns to 1 millimeter such that the microchannel 3 has a width in the range of 150 microns to 1 mm. However, the above width range is not represented as the lower limit or upper limit of the distance. In general, the aperture of the individual input apertures 21 is set to be substantially smaller than the width of the microchannels 3.

As shown in Fig. 2, the input holes 21 may be arranged in a zigzag shape along the longitudinal direction T1 such that the adjacent two input holes 21 are shifted from each other in the longitudinal direction T1. As shown in Fig. 4, the arrangement direction of the input holes 21 may be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction T1. As shown in FIG. 5, the input holes 21 may be arranged in a plurality of columns, respectively perpendicular to the longitudinal direction T1, and the input holes 21 in the adjacent two columns are shifted from each other in the longitudinal direction T1 such that the adjacent two input holes 21 are in the length. The directions T1 are staggered from each other.

The first and second components may be any structural element capable of defining a microchannel 3 having a substantially constant cross section along the length direction T1. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the first component 1 is configured as a hollow or solid rod, such as a hollow or solid cylindrical rod extending along the length direction T1. And the second component 2 is configured as a tubular outer casing, and the second component 2 is disposed concentrically outside the first component 1 , whereby the first and second components 1 , 2 define the micro flow channel 3 as a ring Shape configuration. Compared to other configurations, microchannels having a ring configuration are more suitable for molding through precision machining. Since the width of the microchannel 3 is small and uniform, the fluid moves nearly twice between the plates, so that near the first, there is a large flow variable and shear force near the surface of the second member. The first component 1 has a first end 101 and a second end 102 opposite the first end 101, while the second component 2 has a first end 201 and a second end 202 opposite the first end 201. In order to fix the relative positions between the first and second members 1, 2, at least one fixing member is disposed between the first member 1 and the second member 2. In the embodiment shown, a first fixing member 11 is provided at the first end 101 for fixing to the second member 2. In a specific example, the first fixing member 11 is configured as an enlarged portion protruding from the outside of the second member 2 for holding the outer edge of the second member 2. The first fixing member 11 can be used to prevent the first member 1 from being displaced relative to the second member 2 in the longitudinal direction T1 and in the radial direction relative to the second member 2, so that the first and second members 1, 2 are not separated by the continuous phase. The flow of the fluid or dispersed phase fluid is dragged and displaced. In a specific example, the second end 102 is further provided with a second fixing member 12 for fixing to the second member 2 to prevent the first member 1 from being radially offset from the second member 2, facilitating the second member. 2 Maintain a concentric alignment. Preferably, the first fixing member 11 is configured as a bulging portion located in the second member 2 for radially abutting against the second end 202 of the second member 2.

As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the first fixture 11 is formed with an inlet 111 for continuous phase fluid entry. The first end 101 of the first component 1 is gradually reduced in size in the length direction T1 toward the inlet 111, whereby a first connecting passage 301 is defined together with the first end 201 of the second component 2. The first connecting passage 301 connects the inlet 111 and the micro flow passage 3 in fluid communication. The first connecting passage 301 is gradually narrowed toward the micro flow passage 3 by the inlet 111, so that the continuous phase fluid passing through the inlet 111 can be stably accelerated in the first connecting passage 301 and then reaches the micro flow passage 3. Similarly, the second fixture 12 is formed with an outlet 121 for the continuous phase fluid to flow out. The second end 102 of the first component 1 is gradually reduced in size in the length direction T1 toward the outlet 121, thereby cooperating with the second end 202 of the second component 2 to define a second connecting passage 302. The second connecting passage 302 connects the outlet 121 and the micro flow passage 3 in fluid communication. The second connecting passage 302 is gradually widened by the micro flow passage 3 toward the outlet 121, so that the continuous phase fluid passing through the micro flow passage 3 can be stably decelerated in the second connecting passage 302 and then discharged through the outlet 121.

Further, a first feeding unit 51 is further provided, as shown in Fig. 6, which is fastened to the first fixing member 11 and is in fluid communication with the inlet 111, whereby the continuous phase fluid is supplied via the inlet 111. The first feeding unit 51 may be any one capable of replenishing the continuous phase fluid and circulating the continuous phase fluid to the micro flow channel, which may include, but is not limited to, a tank having a liquid storage function, and has no particular limitation in structure or shape. A feed unit 51 preferably maintains a minimum contamination probability of the internal continuous phase fluid and has the function of adjusting the output pressure, flow rate, and/or unit time output of the continuous phase fluid. Additionally, a second feed unit 52 may be further provided in fluid communication with the plurality of input apertures 21 for supplying the dispersed phase fluid. In a preferred embodiment, the second feeding unit 52 can be any form that can easily fill the dispersed phase fluid as a gas, and circulates the gas in the form of a gas stream to the input hole 21, which can be, for example but not limited to, There are no particular restrictions on the tank, structure or shape of the gas storage function. The second feeding unit 52 preferably has a function of maintaining a minimum internal contamination rate of the internal gas and having an adjustable discharge pressure, a flow velocity, and/or a gas output per unit time.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the first member is preferably configured as a hollow or solid cylindrical rod, and the second member is preferably configured as a circular tubular housing, the input holes It is located in the second part. The first and second components may also be configured to have a cross-section having a square, hexagonal or other geometric shape. As shown in the third embodiment of Fig. 8, the first and second members 1, 2 are configured as two tubular bodies which are mutually nested and have a square cross section, whereby the two are defined The flow passage 3 has a cross section of a square annular configuration, and the input holes 13 are located in the first member 1. In a third embodiment, the first component 1 is configured as a hollow cylindrical rod such that the input aperture 13 can be in fluid communication with a second feed unit 52 (not shown) to supply the dispersed phase fluid.

According to the papers mentioned by GF Christopher and SL Anna, the size of the droplets can usually be determined by the following parameters: d is the diameter of the droplet, σ is the surface tension between the continuous phase fluid and the dispersed phase fluid, η is the viscosity of the continuous phase fluid, and ̇ ε is the continuous phase fluid near the input hole The shear rate, τ is the shear stress of the continuous phase fluid near the input hole. Therefore, the present invention can adjust the diameter of the input hole 21, the width of the microchannel 3, the feed pressure of the continuous phase fluid, the flow rate of the dispersed phase fluid, the viscosity of the dispersed phase fluid, the surface between the continuous phase fluid and the dispersed phase fluid. Parameters such as tension to control the size of the droplet 4. A large number of droplets of uniform size can be produced by the method and apparatus disclosed in the present invention. By adjusting several of the above parameters, the droplet diameter can be correspondingly adjusted to a specific size, which can range from 50 microns to 1 mm and have a polydispersity index of less than 8%.

In a preferred embodiment, the viscosity of the continuous phase fluid ranges from 50 CP to 200 CP, the flow rate of the continuous phase fluid ranges from 100 ml/min to 500 ml/min, and the pressure of the dispersed phase fluid ranges from 0.1 bar to 0.5 bar. Monodisperse droplets having a diameter between 100 μm and 500 μm can be produced.

The monodisperse droplets may form different structural compositions according to different types of continuous phase fluids and dispersed phase fluids, for example, a continuous phase flow system is a liquid, and the dispersed phase flow system is a gas, and the monodisperse droplets are formed. It is a bubble; in a preferred embodiment, the continuous phase fluid is an aqueous solution or an organic solution, and the dispersed phase fluid is air, nitrogen or a mixed gas. In another preferred embodiment, the continuous phase fluid and the dispersed phase flow system are immiscible liquids, and the monodisperse droplets formed are in the form of an emulsion. In another preferred embodiment, the continuous phase fluid and the dispersed phase flow system may physically or chemically react with each other, and the monodisperse droplets formed have a core-shell structure and are applicable to the field of medicine or catalyst.

The monodisperse droplets formed in this case can be applied to many fields such as the above-mentioned chemical and biochemical analysis after collection; among them, monodisperse droplets will be collected during the process of collecting monodisperse droplets. Spontaneously in a spherical configuration and self-assembled and stacked in a tight arrangement. When the monodisperse droplet is a bubble, the solution contained in the bubble wall between the bubble and the bubble can be gelled by a chemical reaction to fix the relative positions of the adjacent two bubbles to form a flexible three-dimensional shape. support. The bubble wall between the adjacent two bubbles can generate small holes through the low pressure expansion process, and the two bubbles can be formed into a continuous space. The monodisperse bubble assembly has a sponge-like or honeycomb-like structure, and has a large number of continuous through-holes suitable for attaching or seeding cells. The above-mentioned three-dimensional scaffold has special physical properties, such as light weight, low thermal conductivity, porosity, etc., and thus is often used in many engineering and medical fields, and the most noticeable one is as a tissue scaffold for culturing cells, and its function is Imitate the extracellular matrix so that the cells can grow in the scaffold, attach or inoculate or inoculate the selected cells onto the scaffold, or the three-dimensional scaffold itself is the medium of the cells, allowing the cells to grow in the scaffold. After that, the cells are given appropriate growth signals and chemical stimulation, so that the cells can proliferate, grow and differentiate under the simulated environment, and then form a regenerative tissue or organ that is intended to be treated as a therapeutic target. When transplanted into the patient, it can replace the original one. Damage, or dysfunctional or necrotic tissue and organs for medical purposes. The most commonly used natural material for tissue scaffolds is collagen or hydrocolloids obtained from animals, such as gelatin, collagen, chitosan or sodium alginate. The man-made material comprises polylactate (PLLA), polyglycolate (PGA), poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), and the like. In addition to supplying the cell growth environment, tissue scaffolds can also regulate the connections between cells and prevent extrusion, allowing cells to get the best growth space.

It is worth noting that, according to the method and apparatus for producing monodisperse droplets in the present invention, only a plurality of input channels having a microchannel have a large number of monodisperse flow of the continuous phase fluid and the dispersed phase fluid flowing therethrough. Sexual droplets are an easy and fast way to prepare. In addition, the method for producing monodisperse droplets of the present invention and the continuous phase fluid used in the device can be easily replaced according to the needs of the user, thereby producing monodisperse droplets of different sizes, and can also be customized. Monodisperse droplets of different composition (such as bubbles, emulsions or core-shell structures). In some embodiments of the invention, monodisperse droplets made in accordance with the methods of the present invention are substantially equal in size, using appropriate conditional control. Furthermore, the monodisperse droplets prepared by the preparation method of the present invention can be further applied to a three-dimensional scaffold which can be utilized for cell culture or tissue engineering, and is not only easy to operate and mass-produced, but also can reduce the cost in the manufacturing process.

In summary, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for producing a monodisperse droplet, and an apparatus for presenting an invention patent according to the law; the technical content and technical features of the present invention are disclosed above, but are familiar with the technology. The person skilled in the art may still make various substitutions and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be construed as being limited by the scope of the appended claims

F1‧‧‧ shear force

T1‧‧‧ length direction

1‧‧‧ first part

101‧‧‧ first end

102‧‧‧ second end

11‧‧‧First fixture

111‧‧‧ Entrance

12‧‧‧Second fixture

121‧‧‧Export

13‧‧‧Input hole

2‧‧‧ second part

201‧‧‧ first end

202‧‧‧ second end

21‧‧‧Input hole

3‧‧‧microchannel

301‧‧‧The first link

302‧‧‧Second link

4‧‧‧microdroplets

52‧‧‧First feeding unit

53‧‧‧second feed unit

Figure 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a first embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of the first embodiment of the plurality of input holes in the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the formation of monodisperse droplets in the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the plurality of input holes in the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of a third embodiment of a plurality of input holes in the present invention. Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. Figure 8 is a schematic view showing the structure of a third embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.

Claims (11)

A method of producing droplets having substantially monodispersity, comprising at least the steps of: flowing a continuous phase fluid in a microchannel extending along a lengthwise length along which the microchannel follows a substantially constant cross section in the length direction; and a dispersed phase fluid introduced into the microchannel along the lateral direction relative to the length direction to form a dispersed phase fluid in the continuous phase fluid A monodisperse droplet is constructed in which a plurality of input apertures have substantially the same aperture, and adjacent two input apertures are arranged to be staggered from each other in the length direction. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of introducing the dispersed phase fluid comprises introducing the dispersed phase fluid at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to the length direction. A device for producing substantially monodisperse droplets, comprising: a substantially rigid first component; and a substantially rigid second component disposed opposite the first component to intervene therebetween Defining a microchannel for flowing a continuous phase fluid, the microchannel extending along a lengthwise direction, and the microchannel having a substantially constant cross section along the length; wherein the device is formed a plurality of input apertures for introducing a dispersed phase fluid into the microchannel along a lateral direction relative to the length direction to form a monodisperse droplet of the dispersed phase fluid in the continuous phase fluid, And wherein the plurality of input holes have substantially the same aperture, and the adjacent two input holes are staggered from each other along the length direction of the micro flow channel. The device of claim 3, wherein the first member is configured as a rod extending along the length direction, the second member is configured as a tubular outer casing and is disposed concentrically in the first Outside the component, the microchannel is defined as an annular configuration. The device of claim 4, wherein the input apertures are located in the second component. The device of claim 4, wherein the input apertures are located in the first component and the first component is configured as a hollow rod. The device of claim 4, wherein the first member has a first end, and the first end is provided with a first fixing member, the first fixing member being fixed to the first end of the second member, To prevent displacement of the first component relative to the second component. The device of claim 7, wherein the first member has a second end opposite the first end, and the second end is provided with a second fixing member, the second fixing member abuts radially The second member is opposite the second end of the first end thereof to prevent radial displacement of the first member relative to the second member. The device of claim 8, wherein the first fixing member is formed with an inlet for the continuous phase fluid to enter, and wherein the first end of the first member is tapered in size toward the inlet in the length direction, Thereby, a first connecting passage is defined together with the first end of the second member, and the first connecting passage connects the inlet and the micro flow passage in fluid communication. The device of claim 9, wherein the second fixing member is formed with an outlet, and wherein the second end of the first member is dimensioned toward the outlet in the length direction, thereby being combined with the second member The second end collectively defines a second connecting passage, and the second connecting passage connects the outlet and the micro flow passage in fluid communication. The apparatus for producing a monodisperse droplet according to claim 10, wherein the input holes are arranged to enable the dispersed phase fluid to be introduced into the microchannel at an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the length direction.