Challenges and opportunities for droplet-based microfluidic technology
Innovative droplet-based microfluidic technology combines multiple laboratory functions into a single chip, enabling manual intervention, reducing sample consumption, and enhancing analysis speed and precision. These features have made it a valuable tool in biological and biomedical research. However, there are still significant challenges, particularly in developing effective methods for real-time droplet analysis and manipulation.
To tackle these issues, our highly sensitive optical device ODIN with advanced algorithms for real-time, label-free monitoring was combined with microfluidics to manipulate droplets, developed by Christopher Frey et al., featured in VIEW in 2020.
This combined device can measure various droplet production parameters and detect cells within droplets without the need for labels.
Additionally, it integrates with a dielectrophoretic system to manipulate droplets based on the measured parameters. For instance, cell-containing droplets were sorted successfully from empty ones using an actively triggered, alternating electric field and achieved efficient size-based droplet separation.
Reference: Frey C, Pfeil J, Neckernuss T, et al. Label-free monitoring and manipulation of microfluidic water-in-oil droplets. VIEW. 2020; 1:20200101.