Zhou Wuping, Liu Cong, Zhang Tao, Jiang Keming, Li Haiwen, Zhang Zhiqiang, Tang Yuguo
Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2022 Jan 24;13(2):171. doi: 10.3390/mi13020171.
Microfluidic-based droplet generation approaches require the design of microfluidic chips and a precise lithography process, which require skilled technicians and a long manufacturing time. Here we developed a centrifugal buoyancy-based emulsification (CBbE) method for producing droplets with high efficiency and minimal fabrication time. Our approach is to fabricate a droplet generation module that can be easily assembled using syringe needles and PCR tubes. With this module and a common centrifuge, high-throughput droplet generation with controllable droplet size could be realized in a few minutes. Experiments showed that the droplet diameter depended mainly on centrifugal speed, and droplets with controllable diameter from 206 to 158 μm could be generated under a centrifugal acceleration range from 14 to 171.9 . Excellent droplet uniformity was achieved (CV < 3%) when centrifugal acceleration was greater than 108 . We performed digital PCR tests through the CBbE approach and demonstrated that this cost-effective method not only eliminates the usage of complex microfluidic devices and control systems but also greatly suppresses the loss of materials and cross-contamination. CBbE-enabled droplet generation combines both easiness and robustness, and breaks the technical challenges by using conventional lab equipment and supplies.
基于微流控的液滴生成方法需要设计微流控芯片并进行精确的光刻工艺，这需要熟练的技术人员且制造时间较长。在此，我们开发了一种基于离心浮力的乳化（CBbE）方法，用于高效且以最少制造时间生产液滴。我们的方法是制造一个液滴生成模块，该模块可使用注射器针头和PCR管轻松组装。利用这个模块和普通离心机，几分钟内就能实现具有可控液滴尺寸的高通量液滴生成。实验表明，液滴直径主要取决于离心速度，在14至171.9的离心加速度范围内可生成直径在206至158μm之间可控的液滴。当离心加速度大于108时，可实现出色的液滴均匀性（CV < 3%）。我们通过CBbE方法进行了数字PCR测试，并证明这种经济高效的方法不仅无需使用复杂的微流控设备和控制系统，还能极大地抑制材料损失和交叉污染。基于CBbE的液滴生成兼具简便性和稳健性，通过使用传统实验室设备和耗材突破了技术挑战。
