Microfluidic High-Throughput Platforms for Discovery of Novel Materials
Peipei Zhou,
Jinxu He,
Lu Huang,
Ziming Yu,
Zhenning Su,
Xuetao Shi,
Jianhua Zhou
Affiliations
Peipei Zhou
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jinxu He
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Lu Huang
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Ziming Yu
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Zhenning Su
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xuetao Shi
National Engineering Research Centre for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jianhua Zhou
Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
High-throughput screening is a potent technique to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials. By performing massive synthesis and characterization processes in parallel, it can rapidly discover materials with desired components, structures and functions. Among the various approaches for high-throughput screening, microfluidic platforms have attracted increasing attention. Compared with many current strategies that are generally based on robotic dispensers and automatic microplates, microfluidic platforms can significantly increase the throughput and reduce the consumption of reagents by several orders of magnitude. In this review, we first introduce current advances of the two types of microfluidic high-throughput platforms based on microarrays and microdroplets, respectively. Then the utilization of these platforms for screening different types of materials, including inorganic metals, metal alloys and organic polymers are described in detail. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in this promising field are critically discussed.
