An Injection-Mold Based Method with a Nested Device for Microdroplet Generation by Centrifugation

Jichen Li; Wen Li; Bizhu Wu; Wenting Bu; Miaomiao Li; Jinyan Ou; Yuxiang Xiong; Shangtao Wu; Yanyi Huang; Yong Fan; Yongfan Men

LAPSE:2024.0786v1

Published Article

LAPSE:2024.0786v1

An Injection-Mold Based Method with a Nested Device for Microdroplet Generation by Centrifugation

Jichen Li, Wen Li, Bizhu Wu, Wenting Bu, Miaomiao Li, Jinyan Ou, Yuxiang Xiong, Shangtao Wu, Yanyi Huang, Yong Fan, Yongfan Men

June 7, 2024

Abstract
Microdroplets have been widely used in different fields due to their unique properties, such as compartmentalization, single-molecule sensitivity, chemical and biological compatibility, and high throughput. Compared to intricate and labor-intensive microfluidic techniques, the centrifuge-based method is more convenient and cost-effective for generating droplets. In this study, we developed a handy injection molding based method to readily produce monodisperse droplets by centrifugation. Briefly, we used two three-dimensional (3D) printed master molds with internal cavities to forge two coupled sub-molds by injecting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and casted these two PDMS sub-molds into a nested structure that clamps the micro-channel array (MiCA) by injecting polyurethane resin. This method enables the generation of various sizes of monodispersed microdroplets by centrifugation with proper parameters within 10 min. To assess the performance of this method, homogeneous fluorescent hydrogel microspheres were generated and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was carried out. Overall, this method offers high-throughput droplet generation, reduces costs compared to other methods, and is user-friendly.

Record ID

LAPSE:2024.0786v1

Keywords

centrifuge-based, fluorescent hydrogel microspheres, injection molding, microdroplet generation

Subject

Other

Suggested Citation

Li J, Li W, Wu B, Bu W, Li M, Ou J, Xiong Y, Wu S, Huang Y, Fan Y, Men Y. An Injection-Mold Based Method with a Nested Device for Microdroplet Generation by Centrifugation. (2024). LAPSE:2024.0786v1

Author Affiliations

Li J: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; Nano Science and Technology Institute, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230052, China
Li W: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China [ORCID]
Wu B: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Bu W: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Li M: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Ou J: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Xiong Y: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Wu S: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Huang Y: Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics (ICG), College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China [ORCID]
Fan Y: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China [ORCID]
Men Y: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China [ORCID]

Journal Name

Processes

Volume

12

Issue

3

First Page

483

Year

2024

Publication Date

2024-02-27