PDMS droplet generators or droplet chips are among the most commonly used devices for producing droplets and microspheres in laboratories. The other two materials are glass and PMMA/COC.
PDMS droplet generation chips has T-shaped structures and flow-focused structures (commonly known as cross-shaped). Since flow-focused droplet generation chips can stably produce uniform droplet microspheres at high throughput in dripping mode while accommodating a wide range of droplet microsphere diameters, PDMS droplet generators predominantly utilize flow-focused structures.
Here, we introduce a PDMS droplet generation chip based on a flow-focusing structure, capable of producing droplet microspheres with diameters ranging from 25 to 30 μm.
Specifications for the PDMS Droplet Generation Chip:
1. PDMS material, standard glass slide dimensions (75 × 25 mm)
2. Each chip contains six independent droplet generation units, equivalent to six droplet chips.
3. Two inlets (oil phase and water phase) and one outlet (product collection)
4. Size of inlets and outlet: 1.0mm, compatible with rigid tubing with an outer diameter of 1.06mm or insertion into 18G steel needles.
5. Cross-shaped Width: 10μm, Channel Height: 15μm, Collection Channel Width: 30μm
6. Droplet diameter range : 25–30 μm
Connection of the PDMS Droplet Generator Device
Experimental Procedure
1. OB1 MK3+ pressure controller channel 1 combined with BFS1+ Coriolis mass flow meter is used to drive constant flow rate of oil phase surf-DG7500.
2. OB1 MK3+ pressure controller channel 2 combined with the MFS2 thermal flow sensor is used to drive the constant flow rate of PBS solution.
3. Adjust the relative flow rates of the two phases to produce the desired droplet microspheres.
(Alternatively, droplet microspheres can be generated in constant pressure mode first, then switched to constant flow mode for continuous droplet generation for a long time.)
4. Continuously run 16 hours
5. Upon finishing the experiment, take a small sample and examine it under an optical microscope.
Experimental results
Observation at 4x objective lens
Observation at 10x objective lens
Observation at 20x objective lens
Experimental Video