Abstract

Digital Droplet Generation: From Digital PCR to Digital Pipetting

Tingrui Pan, Associate Professor, University Of California Davis

Digital droplet generation enabled by microfluidic impact printing has been recently introduced, benefiting from the nature of simple device architecture, digital metering, low cost, non-contamination, scalable multiplexability and high throughput.  In this talk, we will review this novel microfluidic-based droplet generation platform, utilizing modular microfluidic cartridges and expandable combinatorial printing capacity controlled by plug-and-play multiplexed actuators.  Such a customizable microfluidic printing system allows for ultrafine control of the droplet volume from picoliters (~10pL) to nanoliters (~100nL), a 10,000 fold variation. The high flexibility of droplet manipulations can be simply achieved by controlling the magnitude of actuation (e.g., driving voltage) and the waveform shape of actuation pulses, in addition to nozzle size restrictions.  Importantly, we will discuss the recent exciting developments of the microfluidic droplet generation into an array of emerging biomedical applications, including digital PCR and digital pipetting.