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Facile microfluidic device for droplets emulsion from small samples

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Abstract

We presented a microfluidic device for the preparation of monodisperse microdroplets with a small volume of samples or reagents, which is power-free, user-friendly and based only on a highly portable syringe. Our method requires only hand-operated syringes and sharpened capillaries without any complicated experimental setups, making the entire system portable and user-friendly for non-technical users. Vacuum is generated by pulling the plunger of the syringe on site, and fluid is generated by vacuum. The droplet size can be flexibly controlled by adjusting the size of micropores and capillary or vacuum degree. More potentially, microliter samples or reagents can also be prepared from it into emulsions. Unlike traditional methods, our device is self-activated, avoiding the need for external power supply while ensuring fewer samples or reagents consumption, simplifying operations and saving costs, facilitating immediate diagnostic testing or field trace substance detection.

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Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Nos. 31970754).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, 230027, Hefei, China

      Dongliang He, Zerui Wu, Guoyuan Li, Yuheng Qiu, Yanan Ma, Chengqi Jia, Shan Wei, Guangzhu Shang, Xingyue Lei, Peng Hu & Liqun He

    2. The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, 230027, Hefei, China

      Yao Lin

    3. School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230027, Hefei, China

      Zhanhao Zhang

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    1. Dongliang He
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    Dongliang He and Zerui Wu contributed equally to this work. Liqun He and Peng Hu planned the work and revised this paper. Other authors supplied for experimental assistance and fruitful discussions.

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    Correspondence to Peng Hu or Liqun He.

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    Dongliang He and Zerui Wu contributed equally to this work.

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    He, D., Wu, Z., Lin, Y. et al. Facile microfluidic device for droplets emulsion from small samples. J Flow Chem 13, 53–62 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41981-022-00229-x

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