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Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip

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A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2017) | Viewed by 82852

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Prof. Dr. Yongxin Song

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Guest Editor

College of Marine Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Interests: electrokinetic microfluidics and nanofluidics; colloid and interface phenomena

Prof. Dr. Junsheng Wang

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Guest Editor

College of Information and Science Technology, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Interests: optical sensing and detection; lab-on-chip; microfluidic and nanofluidic chip
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Dongqing Li

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Interests: micro/nano fluidics; lab-on-a-chip; EMK transport

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip (2016 ICMFLOC) was held in Dalian, China, 10–12 June, 2016. At this conference, more than 300 experts and scholars from 16 countries and regions all over the world attended to exchange the most advanced scientific knowledge of research in microfluidics, nanofluidics and lab-on-a-chip technology. Many new research results were presented and discussed, and some new ideas for research and development were inspired. Based on this wonderful conference, a Special Issue of Micromachine will be launched. This Special Issue aims to collect high-quality research papers, short communications, and review articles from the 2016 ICMFLOC conference, which focus on microfluidics, nanofluidics, lab-on-a-chip, and related emerging multidisciplinary fields. We cordially invite you to submit your manuscript to this Special Issue. In addition, the works of those who did not attend this meeting are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Yonxin Song
Prof. Dr. Junsheng Wang
Prof.Dr. Dongqing Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Measurement and detection technologies
Electrowetting and droplet microfluidics
Droplet, bubble, multiphase flow and phase change in microfluidics
Optofluidics, acoustic fluidics, and magnetic fluidics
Electrokinetic based microfluidics and nanofluidics
Micro/nano-fabrication technologies and lab-on-a-chip device manufacturing,
Microscale sample processing and separation
Particles and cells
Lab-on-a-chip

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 9579 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Changeable Lab-on-a-Chip Detector for Marine Nonindigenous Microorganisms in Ship’s Ballast Water

by Myint Myint Maw, Xinxiang Pan, Zhen Peng, Yanjuan Wang, Long Zhao, Bowen Dai and Junsheng Wang

Micromachines 2018, 9(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9010020 - 05 Jan 2018

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4880

Abstract

The spread and invasion of many nonindigenous species in the ship’s ballast water around the world has been a hazard and threat to ecology, economy, and human health. The rapid and accurate detection of marine invasive species in ship’s ballast water is essential. This article is aimed at analysing ballast water quality by means of a changeable microfluidic chip detector thus comply with the D-2 standard of ship’s ballast water management and sediment convention. The detection system was designed through the integration of microfluidic chip technology, the impedance pulse sensing and LED light induced chlorophyll fluorescence (LED-LICF) detection. This system can measure the number, size, shape, and volume of targeted microorganisms, and it can also determine the chlorophyll fluorescence intensity, which is an important factor in analysing the activity of phytoplankton. The targeted samples were Chlorella volutis, Dunaliella salina, Platymonas subcordiformis, Chrysophytes, Escherichia coli, and Enterococci. The whole detection or operation can be accomplished through online detection in a few minutes with using micron volume of the sample solution. The valid data outputs are simultaneously displayed in terms of both impedance pulse amplitudes and fluorescent intensity signals. The detection system is designed for multi-sizes real time detection through changing the microchannel sizes on the microfluidic chip. Because it can successfully detect the label-free microorganisms, the system can be applicable to in-situ detections with some modifications to the system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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3139 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation of Miniature Ejector Refrigeration System Embedded with a Capillary Pump Loop

by Jing-Ming Dong, He Song, Meng-Qi Yu, Wei-Ning Wang and Xin-Xiang Pan

Micromachines 2017, 8(8), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8080235 - 28 Jul 2017

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5336

Abstract

A miniature steam ejector refrigeration system embedded with a capillary pump loop can result in a compact design which can be used for electronics cooling. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed to investigate the effects of the area ratio of the ejector constant-area mixing section to the nozzle throat, the length of the constant-area section, and the nozzle exit position (NXP), on the performance of a miniature steam ejector. Results show that the performance of the miniature steam ejector is very sensitive to the area ratio of the constant-area mixing section to the nozzle. For the needs of practical application, the area ratio of the constant-area mixing section to the nozzle should be smaller than 16 when the temperature of the primary flow is 60 °C. The NXP plays an important role in the flow phenomena inside the miniature ejector. The critical back pressure is more sensitive to length of the constant-area mixing section than the entrainment ratio. Results of this investigation provided a good solution to the miniature steam ejector embedded with a capillary pump loop for electronics cooling application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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1888 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automatic and Selective Single Cell Manipulation in a Pressure-Driven Microfluidic Lab-On-Chip Device

by Yigang Shen, Zhenyu Song, Yimo Yan, Yongxin Song, Xinxiang Pan and Qi Wang

Micromachines 2017, 8(6), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8060172 - 01 Jun 2017

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4998

Abstract

A microfluidic lab-on-chip device was developed to automatically and selectively manipulate target cells at the single cell level. The device is composed of a microfluidic chip, mini solenoid valves with negative-pressurized soft tubes, and a LabView^®-based data acquisition device. Once a target cell passes the resistive pulse sensing gate of the microfluidic chip, the solenoid valves are automatically actuated and open the negative-pressurized tubes placed at the ends of the collecting channels. As a result, the cell is transported to that collecting well. Numerical simulation shows that a 0.14 mm³ volume change of the soft tube can result in a 1.58 mm/s moving velocity of the sample solution. Experiments with single polystyrene particles and cancer cells samples were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method. Selectively manipulating a certain size of particles from a mixture solution was also achieved. Due to the very high pressure-driven flow switching, as many as 300 target cells per minute can be isolated from the sample solution and thus is particularly suitable for manipulating very rare target cells. The device is simple, automatic, and label-free and particularly suitable for isolating single cells off the chip one by one for downstream analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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3005 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of the Human Osteosarcoma Cell at Different Cell Cycle Stages †

by Guocheng Zhang, Na Fan, Xiaoying Lv, Yiyao Liu, Jian Guo, Longxiang Yang, Bei Peng and Hai Jiang

Micromachines 2017, 8(3), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030089 - 15 Mar 2017

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4768

Abstract

The mechanical properties of a single cell play substantial roles in cell mitosis, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. According to the difference of elastic modulus between the benign cell and the tumor cell, it has been shown that the mechanical properties of cells, as special biomarkers, may contribute greatly to disease diagnosis and drug screening. However, the mechanical properties of cells at different cell cycle stages are still not clear, which may mislead us when we use them as biomarkers. In this paper, the target regions of the human osteosarcoma cell were precisely scanned without causing any cell damage by using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) for the first time. Then, the elasticity properties of the human osteosarcoma cells were investigated quantitatively at various regions and cell cycle stages. The 32 × 32 resolution map of the elasticity showed that the elastic modulus of the cells at the interphase was larger than that at the telophase of mitosis. Moreover, the elastic modulus of the cell in the peripheral region was larger than that in the nuclear region of the cell. This work provides an accurate approach to measure the elasticity properties of cells at different stages of the cell cycle for further application in the disease diagnosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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3607 KiB

Open AccessArticle

1600 Parallel Microchamber Microfluidic Device for Fast Sample Array Preparation Using the Immiscibility of Two Liquids

by Chul Min Kim and Gyu Man Kim

Micromachines 2017, 8(3), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030063 - 23 Feb 2017

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4744

Abstract

We present a 1600 parallel microchamber microfluidic device for fast sample array preparation using the immiscibility of two liquids. The trapping efficiency and size of the arrayed sample in the microchambers of a parallel microfluidic device were analyzed at various flow rates. The trapping efficiency of the sample was also inspected according to the position of the microchamber. Samples were successfully arrayed using the device. The trapping efficiency of the sample was 98.69% at 1 mL/h. The trapping efficiency and diameter of the sample decreased as the flow rate increased. Trapping efficiencies also changed according to the position of the microchambers. As the distance of the microchambers from the inlet increased, the sample trapping efficiency decreased. This tendency occurred more clearly at higher flow rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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7639 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Analysis of Double-Layer Microchannel Heat Sinks under Non-Uniform Heating Conditions with Random Hotspots

by Danish Ansari and Kwang-Yong Kim

Micromachines 2017, 8(2), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8020054 - 14 Feb 2017

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 6448

Abstract

Performance analysis of double-layer microchannel heat sinks was performed under non-uniform heating conditions having randomly distributed hotspots. Two parallel-channel (parallel-flow and counter-flow) and one cross-channel (transverse-flow) designs of double-layer heat sink were evaluated with three sets of heating schemes. Each set of heating scheme consisted of eleven randomly distributed hotspots generated by Latin hypercube sampling. The heat flux, area, and location of the hotspots were selected as the design parameters. Conjugate heat transfer analysis of the heat sinks was performed by solving three-dimensional Navier–Stokes and energy equations. Water with temperature-dependent properties was selected as the coolant. The thermal resistance, pressure drop, maximum temperature rise, and temperature variation among hotspots were evaluated for all the heat sinks. The transverse-flow microchannel heat sink exhibited the lowest thermal resistance, temperature rise and temperature variation among the hotspots throughout the specified range of flow rate. The lowest pressure drop was exhibited by the counter-flow heat sink. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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17059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Microfluidic Chip for Liquid Metal Droplet Generation and Sorting

by Lu Tian, Meng Gao and Lin Gui

Micromachines 2017, 8(2), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8020039 - 27 Jan 2017

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 7648

Abstract

A liquid metal based microfluidic system was proposed and demonstrated for the generation and sorting of liquid metal droplets. This micro system utilized silicon oil as the continuous phase and Ga₆₆In_20.5Sn_13.5 (66.0 wt % Ga, 20.5 wt % In, 13.5 wt % Sn, melting point: 10.6 °C) as the dispersed phase to generate liquid metal droplets on a three-channel F-junction generator. The F-junction is an updated design similar to the classical T-junction, which has a special branch channel added to a T-junction for the supplement of 30 wt % aqueous NaOH solution. To perform active sorting of liquid metal droplets by dielectrophoresis (DEP), the micro system utilized liquid-metal-filled microchannels as noncontact electrodes to induce electrical fields through the droplet channel. The electrode channels were symmetrically located on both sides of the droplet channel in the same horizontal level. According to the results, the micro system can generate uniformly spherical liquid metal droplets, and control the flow direction of the liquid metal droplets. To better understand the control mechanism, a numerical simulation of the electrical field was performed in detail in this work. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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4219 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microfluidic Cell Cycle Analysis of Spread Cells by DAPI Staining

by Jing Sun, Jiayu Zhang, Haibo Yang, Gongzhuo Wang, Yanzhao Li, Xuxin Zhang, Qidan Chen and Ming-Fei Lang

Micromachines 2017, 8(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8020036 - 24 Jan 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7734

Abstract

Single-cell cell cycle analysis is an emerging technique that requires detailed exploration of the image analysis process. In this study, we established a microfluidic single-cell cell cycle analysis method that can analyze cells in small numbers and in situ on a microfluidic chip. In addition, factors that influenced the analysis were carefully investigated. U87 or HeLa cells were seeded and attached to microfluidic channels before measurement. Cell nucleic DNA was imaged by 4′-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining under a fluorescent microscope and subsequently fluorescent intensities of the cell nuclei DNA were converted to depict histograms for cell cycle phases. DAPI concentration, microscopic magnification, exposure time and cell number were examined for optimal cell cycle analysis conditions. The results showed that as few as a few hundred cells could be measured by DAPI staining in the range of 0.4–0.6 μg/mL to depict histograms with typical cell cycle phase distribution. Microscopic magnification during image acquisition, however, could distort the phase distribution. Exposure time did not significantly affect the cell cycle analysis. Furthermore, cell cycle inhibitor rapamycin treatment changed the cell cycle phase distribution as expected. In conclusion, a method for microfluidic single-cell cell cycle analysis of spread cells in situ was developed. Factors such as dye concentration and microscopic magnification had more influence on cell cycle phase distribution. Further studies will focus on detail differentiation of cell cycle phases and the application of such a method for biological meanings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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8948 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Organic Solvent and Surfactant Resistant Paper-Fluidic Devices Fabricated by One-Step Embossing of Nonwoven Polypropylene Sheet

by Joong Ho Shin, Juhwan Park and Je-Kyun Park

Micromachines 2017, 8(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8010030 - 22 Jan 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6188

Abstract

In this communication, we report a physical method for the fabrication of organic solvent and surfactant-resistant barriers on paper-based fluidic devices. When nonwoven polypropylene sheet is embossed with a steel mold, the embossed region acts as a physical barrier that can prevent the flow of liquids. Embossed polypropylene barriers not only block water, but also block organic solvents and surfactants, which are known to be difficult to handle on previous paper-based devices. Various amounts of embossing pressures were tested to determine the minimum embossing pressure required for leakproof barrier formation. The compatibility of the barrier was also investigated with several surfactants and organic solvents. As a demonstration, a lysis buffer, which was known to leak through wax-printed barriers, was used to detect Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to report a one-step fabrication method of paper-fluidic devices capable of handling surfactants and organic solvents, including alcohols. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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6463 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Three-Dimensional Interaction of a Large Number of Dense DEP Particles on a Plane Perpendicular to an AC Electrical Field

by Chuanchuan Xie, Bo Chen and Jiankang Wu

Micromachines 2017, 8(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8010026 - 20 Jan 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4856

Abstract

The interaction of dielectrophoresis (DEP) particles in an electric field has been observed in many experiments, known as the “particle chains phenomenon”. However, the study in 3D models (spherical particles) is rarely reported due to its complexity and significant computational cost. In this paper, we employed the iterative dipole moment (IDM) method to study the 3D interaction of a large number of dense DEP particles randomly distributed on a plane perpendicular to a uniform alternating current (AC) electric field in a bounded or unbounded space. The numerical results indicated that the particles cannot move out of the initial plane. The similar particles (either all positive or all negative DEP particles) always repelled each other, and did not form a chain. The dissimilar particles (a mixture of positive and negative DEP particles) always attracted each other, and formed particle chains consisting of alternately arranged positive and negative DEP particles. The particle chain patterns can be randomly multitudinous depending on the initial particle distribution, the electric properties of particles/fluid, the particle sizes and the number of particles. It is also found that the particle chain patterns can be effectively manipulated via tuning the frequency of the AC field and an almost uniform distribution of particles in a bounded plane chip can be achieved when all of the particles are similar, which may have potential applications in the particle manipulation of microfluidics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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3537 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Microfluidic Chip for Cell Patterning Utilizing Paired Microwells and Protein Patterns

by Chunlong Tu, Bobo Huang, Jian Zhou, Yitao Liang, Jian Tian, Lin Ji, Xiao Liang and Xuesong Ye

Micromachines 2017, 8(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8010001 - 23 Dec 2016

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 12809

Abstract

Cell patterning has been widely used in research on fundamental cell biology and in applications such as tissue engineering, neuron network formation, cell based biosensor and drug screening. Although various methods have been developed, cell patterning in an enclosed microfluidic device at single cell level remains challenging. This paper describes a microfluidic device with microwells and protein patterns paired together in a single microchannel for an easy cell patterning. Cells captured in the microwells were positioned directly onto the protein patterns within 5 min and the patterning performance was successfully demonstrated using HeLa cells and human gallbladder carcinoma cells (SGC-996). Cells survived for 6 days in the microchannel. Cell attachment, migration, proliferation and cell colony formation were observed. Our device is free of topographic constraint for the patterned cells and no complex chemical modification to the substrate is needed, offering a simple, fast, and easy-to-operate way of patterning cells at single cell level in an enclosed microfluidic channel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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1627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Dewetting Model for Double-Emulsion Droplets

by Zhanxiao Kang, Pingan Zhu, Tiantian Kong and Liqiu Wang

Micromachines 2016, 7(11), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7110196 - 01 Nov 2016

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5371

Abstract

The evolution of double-emulsion droplets is of great importance for the application of microdroplets and microparticles. We study the driving force of the dewetting process, the equilibrium configuration and the dewetting time of double-emulsion droplets. Through energy analysis, we find that the equilibrium configuration of a partial engulfed droplet depends on a dimensionless interfacial tension determined by the three relevant interfacial tensions, and the engulfing part of the inner phase becomes larger as the volume of the outer phase increases. By introducing a dewetting boundary, the dewetting time can be calculated by balancing the driving force, caused by interfacial tensions, and the viscous force. Without considering the momentum change of the continuous phase, the dewetting time is an increasing function against the viscosity of the outer phase and the volume ratio between the outer phase and inner phase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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2396 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Multi-Stage Electroosmotic Flow Pump Using Liquid Metal Electrodes

by Meng Gao and Lin Gui

Micromachines 2016, 7(9), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7090165 - 14 Sep 2016

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6084

Abstract

Injection of liquid metal into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel can provide a simple, cheap, and fast method to fabricate a noncontact electrode for micro electroosmotic flow (EOF) pumps. In this study, a multi-stage EOF pump using liquid metal noncontact electrodes was proposed and demonstrated for high-flow-velocity applications. To test the pumping performance of this EOF pump and measure the flow velocity, fluorescent particles were added into deionized (DI) water to trace the flow. According to the experimental results, the pump with a five-stage design can drive a water flow of 5.57 μm/s at 10 V, while the PDMS gap between the electrode and the pumping channel is 20 μm. To provide the guidance for the pump design, parametric studies were performed and fully discussed, such as the PDMS gap, pumping channel dimension, and stage number. This multi-stage EOF pump shows potential for many high-flow-velocity microfluidic applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from 2016 International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip)

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