title: Droplet-based microfluidics.
abstract: Droplet-based microfluidics or digital microfluidics is a subclass of microfluidic devices, wherein droplets are generated using active or passive methods. The active method for generation of droplets involves the use of an external factor such as an electric field for droplet generation. Two techniques that fall in this category are dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD). In passive methods, the droplet generation depends on the geometry and dimensions of the device. T-junction and flow focusing methods are examples of passive methods used for generation of droplets. In this chapter the methods used for droplet generation, mixing of contents of droplets, and the manipulation of droplets are described in brief. A review of the applications of digital microfluidics with emphasis on the last decade is presented.
authors: Institute of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London, UK. sanjiv.sharma@imperial.ac.uk
authors: Sanjiv
authors: S
authors: Sharma
authors: Monpichar
authors: M
authors: Srisa-Art
authors: Steven
authors: S
authors: Scott
authors: Amit
authors: A
authors: Asthana
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Cass
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D003460:Crystallization; D003584:Cytological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D007700:Kinetics; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins