Holographic control of droplet microfluidics

Maria-Luisa Cordero (1) , D.R. Burnham (2) , Charles N. Baroud (1) , D. Mcgloin (3)

1 LadHyX - Laboratoire d'hydrodynamique
2 SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy [University of St Andrews]
3 Electronic Engineering and Physics Division, University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN, United Kingdom

Droplet microfluidics is an emerging area in miniaturisation of chemical and biological assays, or "lab-on-a-chip" devices. Normally consisting of droplets flowing in rigid microfluidic channels they offer many advantages over conventional microfluidic design but lack any form of active control over the droplets. We present work, using holographic beam shaping, that allows the real time reconfigurability of microfluidic channels allowing us to redirect, slow, stop, and merge droplets with diameters of approximately 200 microns. A single beam is be sufficient to perform simple tasks on the droplets but by using holographic beam shaping we can produce multiple foci or continuous patterns of light that enable a far more versatile tool.

Maria-Luisa Cordero, D.R. Burnham, Charles N. Baroud, D. Mcgloin. Holographic control of droplet microfluidics. Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation V, Aug 2008, France. pp.703801, ⟨10.1117/12.794855⟩. ⟨hal-01026005⟩