Modular Droplet‐Based Fluidics for Large Volume Libraries of Individual Multiparametric Codes in Lab‐On‐Chip Systems

Abstract

Abstract Droplet‐based lab‐on‐a‐chip systems offer vast possibilities in the manipulation, guidance, tracking, and labeling of individual droplet‐based bioreactors. One of the targeted application scenarios is in drug discovery where millions of unique codes are required, which is out of reach for current technologies. Here, a concept for the realization of multiparametric codes, where information is stored in distinct physical and chemical parameters, is proposed and validated. Exemplarily, the focus is on the use of impedance and magnetic sensing by monitoring ionic concentration as well as magnetic content per droplet and droplet volume. Codes based on aqueous ferrofluid droplets are prepared using a tubing‐based millifluidic setup and consist of up to six droplets of different combinations of volumes and magnetic concentration. It is demonstrated that a droplet chain of three single droplets of different volumes with nine different magnetic nanoparticle concentrations accompanied with four different ionic concentrations per droplet offers up to 3 million unique codes. The developed fluidic platform can be readily extended to other types of sensors including optical ones to boost the coding capacity even further.

Keywords

• μTAS, coding
• contactless sensing
• droplet‐based fluidics
• ferrofluids
• micro‐magnetofluidics
• planar Hall effect