US20120301564A1 - Microfluidic system and method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell - Google Patents
Microfluidic system and method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell Download PDFInfo
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- US20120301564A1 US20120301564A1 US13/567,158 US201213567158A US2012301564A1 US 20120301564 A1 US20120301564 A1 US 20120301564A1 US 201213567158 A US201213567158 A US 201213567158A US 2012301564 A1 US2012301564 A1 US 2012301564A1
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Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- B01J13/00—Colloid chemistry, e.g. the production of colloidal materials or their solutions, not otherwise provided for; Making microcapsules or microballoons
- B01J13/02—Making microcapsules or microballoons
- B01J13/04—Making microcapsules or microballoons by physical processes, e.g. drying, spraying
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T436/00—Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing
- Y10T436/25—Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing including sample preparation
- Y10T436/2575—Volumetric liquid transfer
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an encapsulated droplet, in particular, to a microfluidic system and a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell.
- microfluidic system which is also called the microfluidic chip, now is widely studied and highly valued. It has many advantages, such as, high response rate, high sensitivity, high reproducibility, low cost, and low pollution, so as to be applied to biology, medicine, optoelectronics and other fields.
- the volume of the driven droplet has been decreased to the level of sub-micro liter, or even to the level of pico liter.
- the rapid evaporation is consequently an issue to the shrunk droplets.
- the original one is a water droplet
- the immiscible one is an oil droplet.
- the oil droplet will wrap all around the water droplet in order to form an oil shell, preventing the water drop from evaporation.
- making the oil-shell with a controlled and reproducible volume by manually dispensing is difficult.
- a microfluidic system and a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell are disclosed, in which volume of the encapsulated droplet is able to be precisely controlled, and the shell droplet of the encapsulated droplet is able to be removed if necessary.
- the present invention provides a microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell, which includes a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate and a spacing structure.
- the first electrode plate has a first substrate and a first electrode layer.
- the first electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the first substrate.
- the first electrode layer has a first reservoir electrode, a second reservoir electrode, a third reservoir electrode, a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another, and a plurality of second channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another.
- a respective one of the first channel electrodes is adjacent to the first reservoir electrode, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the second reservoir electrode.
- a respective one of the second channel electrodes is adjacent to the third reservoir electrode, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the first channel electrodes.
- the first reservoir electrode accommodates a shell liquid
- the second reservoir electrode accommodates a core liquid
- the third reservoir electrode accommodates a removing liquid that is able to remove the shell liquid.
- the second electrode plate has a second substrate and a second electrode layer.
- the second electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer.
- the spacing structure is disposed between the first and the second electrode plates to induce a space formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
- a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell includes steps as follows: providing a microfluidic system having a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer opposite to each other; arranging a shell liquid onto a first reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; arranging a core liquid onto a second reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; arranging a removing liquid onto a third reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; moving part of the shell liquid from the first reservoir electrode to one of channel electrodes of the first electrode layer by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, so as to form a shell droplet; moving part of the core liquid from the second reservoir electrode to another one of the channel electrodes of the first electrode layer by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, so as to form a core droplet; moving the shell droplet and the core droplet to contact each other by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, the shell droplet wrapping around the core droplet to form an en
- the present invention further provides a microfluidic system for individually manipulating multiple liquids to create encapsulated droplets.
- the system includes a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate and a spacing structure.
- the first electrode plate has a first substrate and a first electrode layer.
- the first electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the first substrate.
- the first electrode layer has at least two reservoir electrodes (i.e., first reservoir electrode and second reservoir electrode), and a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another.
- a respective one of the first channel electrodes is adjacent to one of the reservoir electrodes, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the other reservoir electrode.
- the first reservoir electrode accommodates a shell liquid
- the second reservoir electrode accommodates a core liquid.
- the second electrode plate has a second substrate and a second electrode layer.
- the second electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer.
- the spacing structure is disposed between the first and the second electrode plates to induce a space formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
- Each volume of the shell droplet and the core droplet can be determined by the size of the first channel electrode and the distance between the first and second electrode plates, so that the volume thereof can be precisely calculated and experimentally obtained with high predictability and repeatability.
- the shell droplet of the encapsulated droplet can be easily removed by merging it with the removing,
- FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a top view of a first electrode layer of the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 3 is a top view of a first electrode layer of a microfluidic system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a top view of a first electrode layer of a microfluidic system in accordance with an additional embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating droplets controlled by the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is another schematic view illustrating an encapsulated droplet controlled by the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with as removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 8A to 8F are schematic views illustrating sequential steps of the method in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic views illustrating sequential steps of the method in accordance with the other embodiment of the present invention.
- microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- the “microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell” is called “microfluidic system” for short.
- the microfluidic system 1 includes a first electrode plate 11 , a second electrode plate 12 , and a spacing structure 13 . After detailed descriptions for the technical feature of the microfluidic system 1 , method for using the microfluidic system 1 will be introduced thereby.
- the first electrode plate 11 includes a first substrate 111 , a first electrode layer 112 , a dielectric layer 113 and a first hydrophobic layer 114 .
- the first substrate 111 can be a rectangular substrate, which is made of glass materials, silicon materials, poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), flexible polymer materials or insulating materials.
- PDMS poly-dimethylsiloxane
- PET polyethylene terephthalate
- PEN polyethylene naphthalate
- the glass materials would be better selections because the low surface roughness thereof may reduce the driving voltage of the microfluidic system 1 .
- the first electrode layer 112 is disposed on a surface, a top surface, of the first substrate 111 .
- the first electrode layer 112 is made of conductive materials, conductive polymeric materials or conductive oxides, such as Cr, Cu metal, PEDOT: PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrenesulfonate) or Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).
- the first electrode layer 112 includes a plurality of electrodes 1121 to 1125 , which are sequent and adjacent to one another.
- the electrodes 1121 to 1125 can be divided into a first reservoir electrode 1121 , a second reservoir electrode 1122 , a third reservoir electrode 1123 , a plurality of first channel electrodes 1124 , and a plurality of second channel electrodes 1125 .
- the first reservoir electrode 1121 is used for reserving a shell liquid 2 (shown in FIG. 8 ).
- the second reservoir electrode 1122 is used for reserving a core liquid 3 , which is immiscible to the shell liquid 2 (shown in FIG. 8 ).
- the third reservoir electrode 1123 is used for reserving a removing liquid 4 , which is able to dissolve the shell liquid 2 but unable to or hard to mix with the core liquid 3 (shown in FIG. 8 ).
- the first and second channel electrodes 1124 and 1125 are used for communicating the droplets among the three reservoir electrodes 1121 to 1123 .
- the first channel electrodes 1124 could be adjacent to one another in a sequential order, i.e. there would he a gap among them, and be arranged in a horizontal line.
- the second channel electrodes 1125 also are adjacent to one another in a sequential order, and arranged in a vertical line.
- a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 is adjacent to the first reservoir electrode 1121 .
- Another respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 is adjacent to the second reservoir electrode 1122 .
- a respective one of the second channel electrodes 1125 , the extreme bottom one, is adjacent to the third reservoir electrode 1123 .
- Another respective one of the second channel electrodes 1125 , the extreme top one is adjacent to another respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 , the one next to the extreme right one.
- the first channel electrodes 1124 and the second channel electrodes 1125 are arranged in a form of letter “T”. With respect to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first channel electrodes 1124 and the second channel electrodes 1125 could also be arranged in forms of letters “E” and “ ⁇ ”.
- each electrode 1121 - 1125 could he rectangular.
- the dimensions of the first, the second and the third reservoir electrodes 1121 - 1123 are larger than the dimensions of the first and the second channel electrodes 1124 and 1125 .
- the respective three of the first channel electrodes 1124 which are close to the first reservoir electrode 1121 , are denoted as 1124 A.
- Another respective three of the first channel electrodes 1124 which are close to the second reservoir electrode 1122 , are denoted as 1124 B.
- the dimension of each first channel electrode 1124 A could be designed to differ from that of each first channel electrode 1124 B.
- the dimension of each first channel electrode 1124 A is smaller than that of each first channel electrode 1124 B, so as to change the ratio of shell droplet to core droplet of the encapsulated droplet mentioned below.
- the dielectric layer 113 is disposed on the first electrode layer 112 to cover the electrodes 1121 - 1125 .
- the dielectric layer 113 could be made of Parylene, positive photoresist materials, negative photoresist materials, high dielectric constant materials, and low dielectric constant materials.
- the first hydrophobic layer 114 is disposed on the top of the dielectric layer 113 to cover all over the dielectric layer 113 .
- the first hydrophobic layer 114 is made of hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon, Cytop, and fluoropolymers; and its purpose is to ease the driving of the shell droplet 21 and core droplet 31 , (shown in FIG. 5 ), mentioned below.
- the first hydrophobic layer 114 is also called a low friction layer, because of to coefficient of friction between the fluid and itself, so that the fluid can easily flow over the first hydrophobic layer 114 .
- the above description is for the first electrode plate 11 , and here is description for the second electrode plate 12 .
- the second electrode plate 12 is disposed over and parallel to the first electrode plate 11 .
- the second electrode plate 12 has a second substrate 121 , a second electrode layer 122 and a second hydrophobic layer 123 .
- the second substrate 121 is a rectangular substrate, which could he also made of glass materials, silicon materials, PDMS, PET, PEN, flexible polymer materials or isolating materials.
- the glass materials could be better selections due to the low surface roughness thereof, which may reduce the driving voltage of the microfluidic system 1 .
- the second electrode layer 122 is disposed on a surface, a bottom surface, of the second substrate 121 , and is opposite to the first electrode layer 112 .
- the second electrode layer 122 is made of conductive materials, conductive, polymeric materials or conductive oxides, such as Cr, Cu, PEDOT: PSS, metal or ITO.
- the second hydrophobic layer 123 is disposed on the bottom of the second electrode layer 122 to cover all over the second electrode layer 122 .
- the second hydrophobic layer 123 similar to the first hydrophobic layer 114 , is made of hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon, Cytop, and fluoropolymers, for easing the driving of the shell droplet 21 and core droplet 31 (shown in FIG. 5 , mentioned below).
- the second hydrophobic layer 123 could be also called it low friction layer.
- the above description is for the second electrode plate 12 , and here is description for the spacing structure 13 .
- the spacing structure 13 is disposed between the first and the second electrode plates 11 , 12 to induce a space 14 formed between the first and the second electrode plates for accommodating liquid.
- the spacing structure 13 may be a continuous frame structure or several separated pillar structures.
- the fluid in the microfluidic system 1 is controlled through physical phenomena, such as Dielectrophoresis (DEP), Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD), in accordance with the properties of the liquid, such as dielectric fluid or conductive fluid.
- dielectric fluid is non-polar liquids; the conductive fluid is polar liquids. If the liquid is a dielectric fluid, it may be driven by the phenomenon of DEP. If the liquid is a conductive fluid, the liquid may be driven by the phenomenon of EWOD or DEP.
- a shell droplet 21 and a core droplet 31 are taken as an example.
- the shell droplet 21 is a dielectric fluid, such as an oil droplet, arranged in the space 14 and on a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A.
- the core droplet 31 is a conductive fluid, such as a water droplet, arranged in the space 14 and on a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 B.
- the shell droplet 21 and the core droplet 31 are individually surrounded by environmental fluid, such as air.
- a direct current is applied between the second electrode layer 122 and a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A, which is just at the right hand side of the shell droplet 21 . Due to the difference of the dielectric constant between the shell droplet 21 and the air, different electric forces on the interface will generate a pressure difference, which leads the shell droplet 21 to move toward the right hand side. The phenomenon is called DEP.
- An alternating, current (AC) is applied between the second electrode layer 122 and a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 B, which is just at the left hand side of the core droplet 31 .
- EWOD Due to the decrease of the contact angle between the core droplet 31 and the dielectric layer and/or hydrophobic layer, a pressure difference is generated so as to lead the core droplet 31 to move forward the left-hand side, where the liquid pressure is smaller.
- the phenomenon is called EWOD.
- FIG. 6 illustrates the encapsulated droplet, which is formed by the core droplet 31 wrapped in the shell droplet 21 spontaneously due to different surface tensions when they contact. Because the encapsulated droplet possesses dielectric and conductive fluids. DEP and EWOD would he chosen for the movement of the encapsulated droplet. The EWOD phenomenon is selected to implement in the preferred embodiment. Moreover, the core droplet 31 in FIG. 5 can also be driven through the DEP phenomenon, which is usually induced by a DC signal. However, the DEP phenomenon can also be induced by an AC signal.
- FIGS. 7 and 8 a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below, which is performed by the microfluidic system 1 mentioned above.
- a microfluidic system 1 is provided, and a shell liquid 2 , a core liquid 3 and a removing liquid 4 are selected to use in the microfluidic system 1 .
- the shell liquid 2 and the core liquid 3 may be respectively dielectric fluid and conductive fluid depending on the specific function that the microfluidic system 1 meets.
- the dielectric fluid such as silicone oil, which is beneficial to the biomedical field very well
- the conductive fluid such as water
- the volatile solvent such as Hexane, which can mix with and dissolve the silicone oil very well, is selected as the removing liquid.
- the shell liquid 2 is arranged in the space 14 and on the first reservoir electrode 1121
- the core liquid 3 is arranged in the space 14 and on the second reservoir electrode 1122
- the removing liquid 4 is arranged in the space 14 and on the third reservoir electrode 1123 .
- Proper electric potentials are applied to the first, second and the third reservoir electrodes 1121 , 1122 and 1123 to hold liquid 2 , 3 , and 4 thereon respectively.
- step S 109 shown in FIG. 8B , the electric potential is applied to the second electrode layer 122 and a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A, which is closest to the first reservoir electrode 1121 .
- Part of the shell liquid 2 can be moved by DEP to the one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A, to which electric potential is applied, so as to form a shell droplet 21 .
- step S 111 shown in FIG. 8C , the electric potential is applied to the second electrode layer 122 and a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 B, which is closest to the second reservoir electrode 1122 .
- Part of the core liquid 3 can be moved by EWOD to the one of the first channel electrodes 1124 B, to which electric potential is applied, so as to form a core droplet 31 .
- step S 113 shown in FIGS. 8D and 5 , the electric potential is applied to the first channel electrodes 1124 A and the second electrode layer 122 : and the electric potential is applied to the first channel electrodes 1124 B and the second electrode layer 122 . Therefore, the shell droplet 31 and the core droplet 21 move respectively on the first channel electrodes 1124 A and 1124 B so as to contact or merge with each other. The shell droplet 21 wraps around the core droplet 31 to form an encapsulated droplet.
- step S 115 shown in FIG. 8E , the electric potential is applied to the second channel electrodes 1125 and the second electrode layer 122 , so as to move the encapsulated droplet on the second channel electrodes 1125 until it approaches the third reservoir electrode 1123 .
- step S 117 shown in FIG. 8F , the removing liquid 4 on the third reservoir electrode 1123 contacts the shell droplet 21 of the encapsulated droplet.
- the removing liquid 4 mixes with the shell liquid 21 , and dissolves the shell liquid 21 , so that the encapsulated droplet is returned to the core droplet 31 .
- the electric potential is applied to the second channel electrodes 1125 and the second electrode layer 122 again, making the core droplet 31 leave the third reservoir electrode 1123 to one of the second channel electrodes 1125 .
- a part of the removing liquid 4 is also moved to the second channel electrode 1125 with core droplet 31 , and wraps around the core droplet 31 .
- the removing liquid 4 evaporates in a short period of time, leaving the core droplet 31 alone on the second channel electrode 1125 .
- steps S 101 to S 117 can be adjusted.
- the step S 107 can be set following the step S 115
- the step S 109 can be set following the step S 111 .
- the result of the adjusted steps is as same as the previous one.
- a second shell droplet (not shown) can be further formed, to be immiscible with the shell droplet 21 .
- the second shell droplet contacts the encapsulated droplet to create a second shell thereon.
- the encapsulated droplet could have multiple shells thereon.
- the volume of shell droplet 21 or the core droplet 31 can be calculated precisely.
- the volume is obtained in response to the dimension of each first channel electrode 1124 A, 1124 B and the distance between the first and the second electrode plates 11 and 12 .
- the dimension of each first channel electrode 1124 A and 1124 B is larger, the volume of the shell droplet 21 and the core droplet 31 become greater.
- the volume of the shell droplet 21 and the core droplet 31 could be increased further by the steps mentioned below.
- the shell droplet 21 is taken as an example.
- step S 201 with respect to FIG. 10A , the shell droplet 21 has been formed on a respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A, which is remote from the first reservoir electrode 1121 . Then electric potential is applied to the second electrode layer 122 and another respective one of the first channel electrodes 1124 A, which is close to the first reservoir electrode 1121 . Another partial part of the shell liquid 2 can move to the first channel electrode 1124 A, to which the electric potential is applied, so as to form another shell droplet 21 A.
- step S 203 with respect with FIG. 10B , the electric potential is applied to the first channel electrodes 1124 A and the second electrode layer 122 . Then the two shell droplets 21 and 21 A move on the first channel electrode 1124 A to contact each other. The two shell droplets 21 , 21 A merge with each other to create a lamer shell droplet 21 B.
- the step S 113 may be performed to form the encapsulated droplet having a larger quantitative shell droplet 21 B. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the steps S 201 and S 203 can be repeated more than once, so as to further increase the volume of shell droplet 21 B.
- the core liquid 3 attracts a specific molecule of the blood sample.
- the shell droplet 21 containing the specific molecule of the blood sample contacts the core droplet 31 to create an encapsulated droplet, the specific molecule of the blood sample will move into the core droplet 31 .
- the shell droplet 21 is removed by the removing liquid 4 , the core droplet 31 only includes one specific molecule of the blood sample, so as to achieve the extraction.
- the volume of the shell droplet 21 and the core droplet 31 could be calculated, so that the concentration of the extracted molecule is calculated thereby.
- the shell liquid 2 attracts a specific molecule of the blood sample.
- the core droplet 31 containing the specific molecule of the blood sample contacts the shell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet, the specific molecule of the blood sample will be moved into the shell droplet 21 .
- the core droplet 31 would not include the specific molecule of the blood sample, so as to achieve the purification.
- the core droplet 31 merges with the shell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet including the protein molecules. Because the vaporization velocity of core droplet 31 could be controlled in the encapsulated droplet, which is adjusted by the types and volume of the shell droplet 21 , the protein crystal growth and nucleation would be controlled in accordance with the vaporization velocity. Therefore, the protein molecules arrange in order slowly for crystallization.
- the core droplet 31 merges with the shell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet with a monolayer of lipid molecules self-assembled at the core-shell liquid interface.
- artificial cell membrane(s) can be formed between two encapsulated droplets.
- the shell liquid 2 or the core liquid 3 possesses sufficient hydrophobic property or surface energy, or the dielectric layer 113 and the second electrode layer 122 are hydrophobic to the shell liquid 21 or the core liquid 3 , the first hydrophobic layer 114 and the second hydrophobic 123 are not necessary to be set.
- the dielectric layer 113 are not necessary to be set.
- the second electrode layer 122 may include individual sequential electrodes, and the dimension and arrangement of each electrode would correspond to the electrodes 1221 to 1125 of the first electrode layer 112 .
- the shell liquid 2 and the core liquid 3 could he the conductive fluid or polar liquid.
- the shell liquid 2 can be high-carbon aliphatic alcohol, such as octanol or decanol alcohol, while the core liquid 2 is water.
- Each volume of the shell droplet 21 and the core droplet 31 is determined in response to the size of the first channel electrode 1124 and the distance between the first and second electrode plates 11 , 12 , so that the volume thereof can be calculated precisely and obtained with high predictability and repeatability.
- the shell droplet 21 of the encapsulated droplet can be easily removed by merging with the removing liquid 4 .
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Abstract
A microfluidic system for creating encapsulated droplets whose shells can be further removed comprises: two electrode plates and a spacing structure disposed between the two electrode plates. One of the electrode plates has three reservoir electrodes and a plurality of channel electrodes. The three electrodes are respectively used for accommodating a shell liquid, a core liquid, and a removing liquid which is able to remove the shell liquid. The channel electrodes are used for communicating droplets among the three reservoir electrodes. Via these arrangements, the microfluidic system can create a quantitative shell droplet and a quantitative core droplet, and then merge the shell and core droplets to form an encapsulated droplet. Moreover, the shell of the encapsulated droplet can be removed by mixing it with the removing liquid. This invention is further provided with a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell.
Description
- This application is a Divisional patent application of co-pending application Ser. No. 12/815,580, filed on 15 Jun. 2010, now pending. The entire disclosure of the prior application, Ser. No. 12/815,580, from which an oath or declaration is supplied, is considered a part of the disclosure of the accompanying Divisional application and is hereby incorporated by reference.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an encapsulated droplet, in particular, to a microfluidic system and a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- The microfluidic system, which is also called the microfluidic chip, now is widely studied and highly valued. It has many advantages, such as, high response rate, high sensitivity, high reproducibility, low cost, and low pollution, so as to be applied to biology, medicine, optoelectronics and other fields.
- For the latest technology of the droplet-based microfluidic system, the volume of the driven droplet has been decreased to the level of sub-micro liter, or even to the level of pico liter. The rapid evaporation is consequently an issue to the shrunk droplets.
- Then, possible solutions to this rapid-evaporation issue include enhancement of packaging and sealing of the microfluidic system or precise control of the environmental humidity and temperature. However, the straight forward solutions may increase the systems cost or limit the applicable situations and environments.
- Therefore, some scholars have proposed the concept of encapsulated droplet by encapsulating the original ease-of-evaporating droplet with another immiscible droplet. For example, the original one is a water droplet; the immiscible one is an oil droplet. The oil droplet will wrap all around the water droplet in order to form an oil shell, preventing the water drop from evaporation. However, making the oil-shell with a controlled and reproducible volume by manually dispensing is difficult.
- In view of the above-mentioned issues, a microfluidic system and a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell are disclosed, in which volume of the encapsulated droplet is able to be precisely controlled, and the shell droplet of the encapsulated droplet is able to be removed if necessary.
- To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell, which includes a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate and a spacing structure. The first electrode plate has a first substrate and a first electrode layer. The first electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the first substrate. The first electrode layer has a first reservoir electrode, a second reservoir electrode, a third reservoir electrode, a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another, and a plurality of second channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another. A respective one of the first channel electrodes is adjacent to the first reservoir electrode, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the second reservoir electrode. A respective one of the second channel electrodes is adjacent to the third reservoir electrode, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the first channel electrodes. The first reservoir electrode accommodates a shell liquid, the second reservoir electrode accommodates a core liquid, and the third reservoir electrode accommodates a removing liquid that is able to remove the shell liquid. The second electrode plate has a second substrate and a second electrode layer. The second electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer. The spacing structure is disposed between the first and the second electrode plates to induce a space formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
- To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell is provided. The method includes steps as follows: providing a microfluidic system having a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer opposite to each other; arranging a shell liquid onto a first reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; arranging a core liquid onto a second reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; arranging a removing liquid onto a third reservoir electrode of the first electrode layer; moving part of the shell liquid from the first reservoir electrode to one of channel electrodes of the first electrode layer by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, so as to form a shell droplet; moving part of the core liquid from the second reservoir electrode to another one of the channel electrodes of the first electrode layer by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, so as to form a core droplet; moving the shell droplet and the core droplet to contact each other by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers, the shell droplet wrapping around the core droplet to form an encapsulated droplet; moving the encapsulated droplet on the channel electrodes to approach the third reservoir electrode by applying an electric potential across the first and the second electrode layers; and removing the shell droplet of the encapsulated droplet by contacting the removing liquid and the encapsulated droplet.
- The present invention further provides a microfluidic system for individually manipulating multiple liquids to create encapsulated droplets. The system includes a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate and a spacing structure. The first electrode plate has a first substrate and a first electrode layer. The first electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the first substrate. The first electrode layer has at least two reservoir electrodes (i.e., first reservoir electrode and second reservoir electrode), and a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another. A respective one of the first channel electrodes is adjacent to one of the reservoir electrodes, while another respective one of those is adjacent to the other reservoir electrode. The first reservoir electrode accommodates a shell liquid, and the second reservoir electrode accommodates a core liquid. The second electrode plate has a second substrate and a second electrode layer. The second electrode layer is disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer. The spacing structure is disposed between the first and the second electrode plates to induce a space formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
- It is worth mentioning that there are some advantages as follows:
- 1. Each volume of the shell droplet and the core droplet can be determined by the size of the first channel electrode and the distance between the first and second electrode plates, so that the volume thereof can be precisely calculated and experimentally obtained with high predictability and repeatability.
- 2. The shell droplet of the encapsulated droplet can be easily removed by merging it with the removing,
- in order to further understand the techniques, means and effects the present invention takes for achieving the prescribed objectives, the following detailed descriptions and appended drawings are hereby referred, such that, through which, the purposes, features and aspects of the present invention can be thoroughly and concretely appreciated; however, the appended drawings are merely provided for reference and illustration, without any intention to he used for limiting the present invention.
-
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a top view of a first electrode layer of the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 3 is a top view of a first electrode layer of a microfluidic system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 4 is a top view of a first electrode layer of a microfluidic system in accordance with an additional embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating droplets controlled by the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is another schematic view illustrating an encapsulated droplet controlled by the microfluidic system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with as removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIGS. 8A to 8F are schematic views illustrating sequential steps of the method in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; -
FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic views illustrating sequential steps of the method in accordance with the other embodiment of the present invention. - Referring now to
FIGS. 1 and 2 , in which a microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. For conciseness of illustration, the “microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell” is called “microfluidic system” for short. The microfluidic system 1 includes afirst electrode plate 11, asecond electrode plate 12, and aspacing structure 13. After detailed descriptions for the technical feature of the microfluidic system 1, method for using the microfluidic system 1 will be introduced thereby. - The
first electrode plate 11 includes afirst substrate 111, afirst electrode layer 112, adielectric layer 113 and a firsthydrophobic layer 114. - The
first substrate 111 can be a rectangular substrate, which is made of glass materials, silicon materials, poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), flexible polymer materials or insulating materials. The glass materials would be better selections because the low surface roughness thereof may reduce the driving voltage of the microfluidic system 1. - The
first electrode layer 112 is disposed on a surface, a top surface, of thefirst substrate 111. Thefirst electrode layer 112 is made of conductive materials, conductive polymeric materials or conductive oxides, such as Cr, Cu metal, PEDOT: PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrenesulfonate) or Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). Thefirst electrode layer 112 includes a plurality ofelectrodes 1121 to 1125, which are sequent and adjacent to one another. According to their functional or dimensional requirements, theelectrodes 1121 to 1125 can be divided into afirst reservoir electrode 1121, asecond reservoir electrode 1122, athird reservoir electrode 1123, a plurality offirst channel electrodes 1124, and a plurality ofsecond channel electrodes 1125. - The
first reservoir electrode 1121 is used for reserving a shell liquid 2 (shown inFIG. 8 ). Thesecond reservoir electrode 1122 is used for reserving acore liquid 3, which is immiscible to the shell liquid 2 (shown inFIG. 8 ). Thethird reservoir electrode 1123 is used for reserving a removing liquid 4, which is able to dissolve theshell liquid 2 but unable to or hard to mix with the core liquid 3 (shown inFIG. 8 ). The first andsecond channel electrodes reservoir electrodes 1121 to 1123. - The
first channel electrodes 1124 could be adjacent to one another in a sequential order, i.e. there would he a gap among them, and be arranged in a horizontal line. Likely, thesecond channel electrodes 1125 also are adjacent to one another in a sequential order, and arranged in a vertical line. A respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124, the extreme left one, is adjacent to thefirst reservoir electrode 1121. Another respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124, the extreme right one, is adjacent to thesecond reservoir electrode 1122. A respective one of thesecond channel electrodes 1125, the extreme bottom one, is adjacent to thethird reservoir electrode 1123. Another respective one of thesecond channel electrodes 1125, the extreme top one, is adjacent to another respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124, the one next to the extreme right one. - In accordance with the top view of the channel electrodes, the
first channel electrodes 1124 and thesecond channel electrodes 1125 are arranged in a form of letter “T”. With respect toFIGS. 3 and 4 , thefirst channel electrodes 1124 and thesecond channel electrodes 1125 could also be arranged in forms of letters “E” and “λ”. - With respect to
FIG. 2 , the top view of each electrode 1121-1125 could he rectangular. Moreover, the dimensions of the first, the second and the third reservoir electrodes 1121-1123 are larger than the dimensions of the first and thesecond channel electrodes first channel electrodes 1124, which are close to thefirst reservoir electrode 1121, are denoted as 1124A. Another respective three of thefirst channel electrodes 1124, which are close to thesecond reservoir electrode 1122, are denoted as 1124B. The dimension of eachfirst channel electrode 1124A could be designed to differ from that of eachfirst channel electrode 1124B. For example, the dimension of eachfirst channel electrode 1124A is smaller than that of eachfirst channel electrode 1124B, so as to change the ratio of shell droplet to core droplet of the encapsulated droplet mentioned below. - Here are descriptions of other components of the microfluidic system 1. The
dielectric layer 113 is disposed on thefirst electrode layer 112 to cover the electrodes 1121-1125. Thedielectric layer 113 could be made of Parylene, positive photoresist materials, negative photoresist materials, high dielectric constant materials, and low dielectric constant materials. - The first
hydrophobic layer 114 is disposed on the top of thedielectric layer 113 to cover all over thedielectric layer 113. The firsthydrophobic layer 114 is made of hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon, Cytop, and fluoropolymers; and its purpose is to ease the driving of theshell droplet 21 andcore droplet 31, (shown inFIG. 5 ), mentioned below. The firsthydrophobic layer 114 is also called a low friction layer, because of to coefficient of friction between the fluid and itself, so that the fluid can easily flow over the firsthydrophobic layer 114. - The above description is for the
first electrode plate 11, and here is description for thesecond electrode plate 12. Thesecond electrode plate 12 is disposed over and parallel to thefirst electrode plate 11. Thesecond electrode plate 12 has asecond substrate 121, asecond electrode layer 122 and a secondhydrophobic layer 123. - Similarly, the
second substrate 121 is a rectangular substrate, which could he also made of glass materials, silicon materials, PDMS, PET, PEN, flexible polymer materials or isolating materials. The glass materials could be better selections due to the low surface roughness thereof, which may reduce the driving voltage of the microfluidic system 1. - The
second electrode layer 122 is disposed on a surface, a bottom surface, of thesecond substrate 121, and is opposite to thefirst electrode layer 112. Thesecond electrode layer 122 is made of conductive materials, conductive, polymeric materials or conductive oxides, such as Cr, Cu, PEDOT: PSS, metal or ITO. - The second
hydrophobic layer 123 is disposed on the bottom of thesecond electrode layer 122 to cover all over thesecond electrode layer 122. The secondhydrophobic layer 123, similar to the firsthydrophobic layer 114, is made of hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon, Cytop, and fluoropolymers, for easing the driving of theshell droplet 21 and core droplet 31 (shown inFIG. 5 , mentioned below). The secondhydrophobic layer 123 could be also called it low friction layer. - The above description is for the
second electrode plate 12, and here is description for thespacing structure 13. Thespacing structure 13 is disposed between the first and thesecond electrode plates space 14 formed between the first and the second electrode plates for accommodating liquid. Thespacing structure 13 may be a continuous frame structure or several separated pillar structures. - The fluid in the microfluidic system 1 is controlled through physical phenomena, such as Dielectrophoresis (DEP), Electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD), in accordance with the properties of the liquid, such as dielectric fluid or conductive fluid. Usually, dielectric fluid is non-polar liquids; the conductive fluid is polar liquids. If the liquid is a dielectric fluid, it may be driven by the phenomenon of DEP. If the liquid is a conductive fluid, the liquid may be driven by the phenomenon of EWOD or DEP.
- With respect to
FIGS. 5 and 6 , more details regarding how the microfluidic system 1 controls the fluid or droplet and creates the encapsulated droplet are described below. Ashell droplet 21 and acore droplet 31 are taken as an example. - The
shell droplet 21 is a dielectric fluid, such as an oil droplet, arranged in thespace 14 and on a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A. Thecore droplet 31 is a conductive fluid, such as a water droplet, arranged in thespace 14 and on a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124B. Theshell droplet 21 and thecore droplet 31 are individually surrounded by environmental fluid, such as air. - With respect to
FIG. 5 , a direct current (DC) is applied between thesecond electrode layer 122 and a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A, which is just at the right hand side of theshell droplet 21. Due to the difference of the dielectric constant between theshell droplet 21 and the air, different electric forces on the interface will generate a pressure difference, which leads theshell droplet 21 to move toward the right hand side. The phenomenon is called DEP. An alternating, current (AC)is applied between thesecond electrode layer 122 and a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124B, which is just at the left hand side of thecore droplet 31. Due to the decrease of the contact angle between thecore droplet 31 and the dielectric layer and/or hydrophobic layer, a pressure difference is generated so as to lead thecore droplet 31 to move forward the left-hand side, where the liquid pressure is smaller. The phenomenon is called EWOD. -
FIG. 6 illustrates the encapsulated droplet, which is formed by thecore droplet 31 wrapped in theshell droplet 21 spontaneously due to different surface tensions when they contact. Because the encapsulated droplet possesses dielectric and conductive fluids. DEP and EWOD would he chosen for the movement of the encapsulated droplet. The EWOD phenomenon is selected to implement in the preferred embodiment. Moreover, thecore droplet 31 inFIG. 5 can also be driven through the DEP phenomenon, which is usually induced by a DC signal. However, the DEP phenomenon can also be induced by an AC signal. - Referring to
FIGS. 7 and 8 , a method for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below, which is performed by the microfluidic system 1 mentioned above. - Referred in step S101: a microfluidic system 1 is provided, and a
shell liquid 2, acore liquid 3 and a removing liquid 4 are selected to use in the microfluidic system 1. Theshell liquid 2 and thecore liquid 3 may be respectively dielectric fluid and conductive fluid depending on the specific function that the microfluidic system 1 meets. In this embodiment, the dielectric fluid, such as silicone oil, which is beneficial to the biomedical field very well, is selected as theshell liquid 2; the conductive fluid, such as water, is selected as thecore liquid 3; and the volatile solvent, such as Hexane, which can mix with and dissolve the silicone oil very well, is selected as the removing liquid. - Referred in steps S103 to S107: shown in
FIG. 8A , theshell liquid 2 is arranged in thespace 14 and on thefirst reservoir electrode 1121, thecore liquid 3 is arranged in thespace 14 and on thesecond reservoir electrode 1122, and the removing liquid 4 is arranged in thespace 14 and on thethird reservoir electrode 1123. Proper electric potentials are applied to the first, second and thethird reservoir electrodes liquid - Referred in step S109: shown in
FIG. 8B , the electric potential is applied to thesecond electrode layer 122 and a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A, which is closest to thefirst reservoir electrode 1121. Part of theshell liquid 2 can be moved by DEP to the one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A, to which electric potential is applied, so as to form ashell droplet 21. - Referred in step S111: shown in
FIG. 8C , the electric potential is applied to thesecond electrode layer 122 and a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124B, which is closest to thesecond reservoir electrode 1122. Part of thecore liquid 3, can be moved by EWOD to the one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124B, to which electric potential is applied, so as to form acore droplet 31. - Referred in step S113: shown in
FIGS. 8D and 5 , the electric potential is applied to thefirst channel electrodes 1124A and the second electrode layer 122: and the electric potential is applied to thefirst channel electrodes 1124B and thesecond electrode layer 122. Therefore, theshell droplet 31 and thecore droplet 21 move respectively on thefirst channel electrodes shell droplet 21 wraps around thecore droplet 31 to form an encapsulated droplet. - Referred in step S115: shown in
FIG. 8E , the electric potential is applied to thesecond channel electrodes 1125 and thesecond electrode layer 122, so as to move the encapsulated droplet on thesecond channel electrodes 1125 until it approaches thethird reservoir electrode 1123. - Referred in step S117: shown in
FIG. 8F , the removing liquid 4 on thethird reservoir electrode 1123 contacts theshell droplet 21 of the encapsulated droplet. The removing liquid 4 mixes with theshell liquid 21, and dissolves theshell liquid 21, so that the encapsulated droplet is returned to thecore droplet 31. Then, the electric potential is applied to thesecond channel electrodes 1125 and thesecond electrode layer 122 again, making thecore droplet 31 leave thethird reservoir electrode 1123 to one of thesecond channel electrodes 1125. A part of the removing liquid 4 is also moved to thesecond channel electrode 1125 withcore droplet 31, and wraps around thecore droplet 31. However, the removing liquid 4 evaporates in a short period of time, leaving thecore droplet 31 alone on thesecond channel electrode 1125. - The procedures of steps S101 to S117 can be adjusted. For example, the step S107 can be set following the step S115, and the step S109 can be set following the step S111. The result of the adjusted steps is as same as the previous one.
- Moreover, after the step S113, a second shell droplet (not shown) can be further formed, to be immiscible with the
shell droplet 21. The second shell droplet contacts the encapsulated droplet to create a second shell thereon. To repeat this step, the encapsulated droplet could have multiple shells thereon. - By the method of creating the encapsulated droplet, the volume of
shell droplet 21 or thecore droplet 31 can be calculated precisely. The volume is obtained in response to the dimension of eachfirst channel electrode second electrode plates first channel electrode shell droplet 21 and thecore droplet 31 become greater. - In addition to increasing the dimension of the
first channel electrodes shell droplet 21 and thecore droplet 31 could be increased further by the steps mentioned below. With respect toFIGS. 9 and 10 , theshell droplet 21 is taken as an example. - Referred in step S201: with respect to
FIG. 10A , theshell droplet 21 has been formed on a respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A, which is remote from thefirst reservoir electrode 1121. Then electric potential is applied to thesecond electrode layer 122 and another respective one of thefirst channel electrodes 1124A, which is close to thefirst reservoir electrode 1121. Another partial part of theshell liquid 2 can move to thefirst channel electrode 1124A, to which the electric potential is applied, so as to form anothershell droplet 21A. - Referred in step S203: with respect with
FIG. 10B , the electric potential is applied to thefirst channel electrodes 1124A and thesecond electrode layer 122. Then the twoshell droplets first channel electrode 1124A to contact each other. The twoshell droplets - After the step S203, the step S113 may be performed to form the encapsulated droplet having a larger quantitative shell droplet 21B. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the steps S201 and S203 can be repeated more than once, so as to further increase the volume of shell droplet 21B.
- Here are descriptions for real applications of the microfluidic system 1, such as extraction, purification, protein crystallization, and artificial cell membrane formation. Take extraction fur instance, while the user injects the blood sample into the
shell liquid 2, thecore liquid 3 attracts a specific molecule of the blood sample. When theshell droplet 21 containing the specific molecule of the blood sample contacts thecore droplet 31 to create an encapsulated droplet, the specific molecule of the blood sample will move into thecore droplet 31. Alter theshell droplet 21 is removed by the removing liquid 4, thecore droplet 31 only includes one specific molecule of the blood sample, so as to achieve the extraction. In addition, the volume of theshell droplet 21 and thecore droplet 31 could be calculated, so that the concentration of the extracted molecule is calculated thereby. - Take purification for instance, while the user injects the blood sample into the
core liquid 3, theshell liquid 2 attracts a specific molecule of the blood sample. When thecore droplet 31 containing the specific molecule of the blood sample contacts theshell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet, the specific molecule of the blood sample will be moved into theshell droplet 21. After theshell droplet 21 is removed by the removing liquid 4, thecore droplet 31 would not include the specific molecule of the blood sample, so as to achieve the purification. - Take protein crystallization for instance, while the user injects the protein molecules into the
core liquid 3, thecore droplet 31 merges with theshell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet including the protein molecules. Because the vaporization velocity ofcore droplet 31 could be controlled in the encapsulated droplet, which is adjusted by the types and volume of theshell droplet 21, the protein crystal growth and nucleation would be controlled in accordance with the vaporization velocity. Therefore, the protein molecules arrange in order slowly for crystallization. - Take artificial cell membrane formation for instance, while the user injects lipid molecules into the
core liquid 3 or theshell liquid 2, thecore droplet 31 merges with theshell droplet 21 to create an encapsulated droplet with a monolayer of lipid molecules self-assembled at the core-shell liquid interface. When contact two or more encapsulated droplets, artificial cell membrane(s) can be formed between two encapsulated droplets. - Other embodiments of the microfluidic system 1 are detailed below. If the
shell liquid 2 or thecore liquid 3 possesses sufficient hydrophobic property or surface energy, or thedielectric layer 113 and thesecond electrode layer 122 are hydrophobic to theshell liquid 21 or thecore liquid 3, the firsthydrophobic layer 114 and the second hydrophobic 123 are not necessary to be set. - Moreover, if the
shell liquid 21 and thecore liquid 31 are both controlled through the DEP phenomenon, and the dielectric property of theshell liquid 2 and thecore liquid 3 has met usage requirements, thedielectric layer 113 are not necessary to be set. - Moreover, the
second electrode layer 122 may include individual sequential electrodes, and the dimension and arrangement of each electrode would correspond to the electrodes 1221 to 1125 of thefirst electrode layer 112. - Furthermore, the
shell liquid 2 and thecore liquid 3 could he the conductive fluid or polar liquid. For example, theshell liquid 2 can be high-carbon aliphatic alcohol, such as octanol or decanol alcohol, while thecore liquid 2 is water. - In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that there are some advantages as follows:
- 1. Each volume of the
shell droplet 21 and thecore droplet 31 is determined in response to the size of thefirst channel electrode 1124 and the distance between the first andsecond electrode plates - 2. The
shell droplet 21 of the encapsulated droplet can be easily removed by merging with the removing liquid 4. - The above-mentioned descriptions represent merely the preferred embodiment Of the present invention, without any intention to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various equivalent changes, alternations or modifications based on the claims of present invention are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present invention.
Claims (9)
1. A microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell comprising:
a first electrode plate having a first substrate and a first electrode layer, the first electrode layer being disposed on a surface of the first substrate, the first electrode layer having a first reservoir electrode, a second reservoir electrode, a third reservoir electrode, a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another, and a plurality of second channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another, one of the first channel electrodes being adjacent to the first reservoir electrode, another one of the first channel electrodes being adjacent to the second reservoir electrode, one of the second channel electrodes being adjacent to the third reservoir electrode, another one of the second channel electrodes being adjacent to the first channel electrodes, the first reservoir electrode being used for accommodating a shell liquid, the second reservoir electrode being used for accommodating a core liquid, and the third reservoir electrode being used for accommodating a removing liquid capable of removing the shell liquid;
a second electrode plate having a second substrate and a second electrode layer, the second electrode layer being disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer; and
a spacing structure disposed between the first and the second electrode plates, wherein a space is formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
2. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the shell liquid or the core liquid is a dielectric fluid.
3. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the shell liquid or the core liquid is a conductive fluid.
4. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode plate includes a dielectric layer disposed on the first electrode layer.
5. The microfluidic system according to claim 4 , wherein the first electrode plate includes a hydrophobic layer disposed on the dielectric layer.
6. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the second electrode plate includes a hydrophobic layer disposed on the second electrode layer.
7. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the first channel electrodes and the second channel electrodes are arranged in forms of letters “T”, “λ” or “E”.
8. The microfluidic system according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second substrates are made of glass materials.
9. A microfluidic system for creating an encapsulated droplet with a removable shell comprising:
a first electrode plate having a first substrate and a first electrode layer, the first electrode layer being disposed on a surface of the first substrate, the first electrode layer having a first reservoir electrode, a second reservoir electrode, a plurality of first channel electrodes being sequent and adjacent to one another, one of the first channel electrodes being adjacent to the first reservoir electrode, another one of the first channel electrodes being adjacent to the second reservoir electrode, the first reservoir electrode being used for accommodating a shell liquid, the second reservoir electrode being used for accommodating a core liquid;
a second electrode plate having a second substrate and a second electrode layer, the second electrode layer being disposed on a surface of the second substrate and opposite to the first electrode layer; and
a spacing structure disposed between the first and the second electrode pates, wherein a space is formed between the first and the second electrode plates.
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Also Published As
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US20110147216A1 (en) | 2011-06-23 |
TW201121653A (en) | 2011-07-01 |
US8287708B2 (en) | 2012-10-16 |
TWI385029B (en) | 2013-02-11 |
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