droplets formation and merging in two-phase flow microfluidics在两相流流体液滴形成和合并.pdf

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12, 2572-2597; doi:10.3390/ijm OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 /journal/ijms Review Droplets Formation and Merging in Two-Phase Flow Microfluidics Hao Gu *, Michel H. G. Duits and Frieder Mugele Physics of Complex Fluids, Faculty of Science and Technology, IMPACT and MESA + Institutes, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands; E-Mails: m.h.g.duits@utwente.nl (M.H.G.D.); f.mugele@utwente.nl (F.M.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: h.gu@tnw.utwente.nl; Tel.: + 31 53 489 4236; Fax: +31 53 489 1096. Received: 17 February 2011; in revised form: 11 March 2011 / Accepted: 2 April 2011 / Published: 15 April 2011 Abstract: Two-phase flow microfluidics is emerging as a popular technology for a wide range of applications involving high throughput such as encapsulation, chemical synthesis and biochemical assays. Within this platform, the formation and merging of droplets inside an immiscible carrier fluid are two key procedures: (i) the emulsification step should lead to a very well controlled drop size (distribution); and (ii) the use of droplet as micro-reactors requires a reliable merging. A novel trend within this field is the use of additional active means of control besides the commonly used hydrodynamic manipulation. Electric fields are especially suitable for this, due to quantitative control over the amplitude