A Monolithic 3D Printed Axisymmetric Co-Flow Single and Compound Emulsion Generator

Amirreza Ghaznavi; Yang Lin; Mark Douvidzon; Adam Szmelter; Alannah Rodrigues; Malik Blackman; David Eddington; Tal Carmon; Lev Deych; Lan Yang; Jie Xu

doi:10.3390/mi13020188

Micromachines (Jan 2022)

A Monolithic 3D Printed Axisymmetric Co-Flow Single and Compound Emulsion Generator

Amirreza Ghaznavi,
Yang Lin,
Mark Douvidzon,
Adam Szmelter,
Alannah Rodrigues,
Malik Blackman,
David Eddington,
Tal Carmon,
Lev Deych,
Lan Yang,
Jie Xu

Affiliations

Amirreza Ghaznavi: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Yang Lin: Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
Mark Douvidzon: Physics Department and Solid-State Institute, Technion, Haifa 3200000, Israel
Adam Szmelter: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Alannah Rodrigues: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Malik Blackman: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
David Eddington: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Tal Carmon: School of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6997801, Israel
Lev Deych: Physics Department, Queens College of CUNY, New York, NY 11367, USA
Lan Yang: Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Jie Xu: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13020188
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 2
p. 188

Abstract

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We report a microfluidic droplet generator which can produce single and compound droplets using a 3D axisymmetric co-flow structure. The design considered for the fabrication of the device integrated a user-friendly and cost-effective 3D printing process. To verify the performance of the device, single and compound emulsions of deionized water and mineral oil were generated and their features such as size, generation frequency, and emulsion structures were successfully characterized. In addition, the generation of bio emulsions such as alginate and collagen aqueous droplets in mineral oil was demonstrated in this study. Overall, the monolithic 3D printed axisymmetric droplet generator could offer any user an accessible and easy-to-utilize device for the generation of single and compound emulsions.

Published in Micromachines

ISSN: 2072-666X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Mechanical engineering and machinery
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/micromachines

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