Sensitive and predictable separation of microfluidic droplets by size using in-line passive filter.
Active manipulation of droplets is crucial in droplet microfluidics. However, droplet polydispersity decreases the accuracy of active manipulation. We develop a microfluidic "droplet filter" that accurately separates droplets by size. The droplet filter has a sharp size cutoff and is capable of distinguishing droplets differing in volume by 20%. A simple model explains the behavior of the droplets as they pass through the filter. We show application of the filter in improving dielectric sorting efficiency.
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Ruihua
0000-0002-7388-1887
R
Ding
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
W Lloyd
0000-0003-3352-9974
WL
Ung
John A
0000-0003-0344-3694
JA
Heyman
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
David A
0000-0001-6678-5208
DA
Weitz