Droplet microfluidics for lab-on-a-chip devices.

• Main Author: Lee, Stanley Jun Jie.
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Bioengineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52849
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This project involves the complete process of soft lithography for creating lab-on-a-chip devices for droplet generation. The micro-droplets of about 50μm can be used for single cell encapsulation as a micro-reactor to study cell growth, cell secretion, cell-cell interaction and therapeutic agent reactions. The soft lithography process involves rapid prototyping, replica moulding and sealing. Rapid prototyping begins with creation of channel design using computer-aided software (CAD) and fabrication of a master using SU-8 photoresist in a cleanroom environment. Next replica moulding is the preparation and curing of elastomeric poly(dimethlysiloxane) to imitate the negative pattern of the master. Finally sealing is done between the cured PDMS and glass substrate. This provides the lab-on-a-chip device for droplet generation. Droplet generation begins with the choice of dimensions for the lab-on-a-chip device and is subsequently controlled by the flow rates of the continuous oil phase and the dispersed water phase. The techniques investigated will lay the foundation for future generation of stable hydrogel droplets for three-dimensional studies related to cell proliferation.