A novel sub-picoliter monodispersed droplet generation device based on liquid dielectrophoresis

Abstract

This paper reports a new phenomenon for jetting of droplets and demonstrates its use for generation and transfer of monodispersed droplets in sub-picoliter volumes. This technique obtains jetting at lower voltages (combination of 470Vac and −250Vdc), even for high surface tension liquids. The reported technique is fast in achieving a dense transfer of micro-droplets (14,000/mm2) in less than 10s. Compared to other microfluidic techniques, the new technique uses simpler fabrication and does not require bulky components (e.g. pumps). The technique is extremely easy and economical to scale making it suitable for portable applications.