A Microfluidic Platform for Five‐Order‐of‐Magnitude Concentration Control With Stable Droplet Size

Generating monodisperse droplets with tunable concentrations is essential for a wide range of microfluidic applications. We present a platform that overcomes the trade-off between concentration range and droplet size stability using a passive, water-head-driven system with asymmetric fluidic resistances. This design effectively decouples concentration tuning from droplet generation within the tested regime by stabilizing the junction pressure to ensure a steady total aqueous flow rate. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that this results in monodisperse droplets of nearly constant size across the programmed concentration range. Concurrently, by adjusting a single passive pressure inlet, the system achieves continuous control of the concentration ratio over a five-order-of-magnitude dynamic range. This robust, simple method eliminates complex pumps, offering a powerful tool for high-throughput screening and combinatorial studies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Electrophoresis
Published
2026-03-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.70085
Primary Topic
Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

A Microfluidic Platform for Five‐Order‐of‐Magnitude Concentration Control With Stable Droplet Size

Sung‐Jin Kim
Electrophoresis
Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation
article

A Microfluidic Platform for Five‐Order‐of‐Magnitude Concentration Control With Stable Droplet Size

Sung‐Jin Kim
article en

Abstract

Generating monodisperse droplets with tunable concentrations is essential for a wide range of microfluidic applications. We present a platform that overcomes the trade-off between concentration range and droplet size stability using a passive, water-head-driven system with asymmetric fluidic resistances. This design effectively decouples concentration tuning from droplet generation within the tested regime by stabilizing the junction pressure to ensure a steady total aqueous flow rate. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that this results in monodisperse droplets of nearly constant size across the programmed concentration range. Concurrently, by adjusting a single passive pressure inlet, the system achieves continuous control of the concentration ratio over a five-order-of-magnitude dynamic range. This robust, simple method eliminates complex pumps, offering a powerful tool for high-throughput screening and combinatorial studies.

Electrophoresis
Konkuk University (KR)
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 38%
Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation
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