McIntyre David, Arguijo Diana, Kawata Kaede, Densmore Douglas
Biomedical Engineering Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Microsyst Nanoeng. 2025 Jan 14;11(1):6. doi: 10.1038/s41378-024-00839-6.
Droplet microfluidics enable high-throughput screening, sequencing, and formulation of biological and chemical systems at the microscale. Such devices are generally fabricated in a soft polymer such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). However, developing design masks for PDMS devices can be a slow and expensive process, requiring an internal cleanroom facility or using an external vendor. Here, we present the first complete droplet-based component library using low-cost rapid prototyping and electrode integration. This fabrication method for droplet microfluidic devices costs less than $12 per device and a full design-build-test cycle can be completed within a day. Discrete microfluidic components for droplet generation, re-injection, picoinjection, anchoring, fluorescence sensing, and sorting were built and characterized. These devices are biocompatible, low-cost, and high-throughput. To show its ability to perform multistep workflows, these components were used to assemble droplet "pixel" arrays, where droplets were generated, sensed, sorted, and anchored onto a grid to produce images.
微滴微流控技术能够在微观尺度上对生物和化学系统进行高通量筛选、测序和配方设计。此类设备通常由聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）等软质聚合物制成。然而，为PDMS设备开发设计掩膜可能是一个缓慢且昂贵的过程，需要内部洁净室设施或使用外部供应商。在此，我们展示了首个使用低成本快速成型和电极集成的完整的基于微滴的组件库。这种用于微滴微流控设备的制造方法，每个设备成本低于12美元，并且一天内即可完成完整的设计-构建-测试周期。构建并表征了用于微滴生成、再注入、皮升注射、锚定、荧光传感和分选的离散微流控组件。这些设备具有生物相容性、低成本且高通量。为展示其执行多步工作流程的能力，这些组件被用于组装微滴“像素”阵列，在该阵列中，微滴被生成、传感、分选并锚定到一个网格上以生成图像。
