Issue 18, 2024

Branch-convergence structure based on double-layer chip: a universal method for enhancing microfluidic mixing

Abstract

Microfluidic mixing has significant applications in various fields, including materials synthesis and biochemical analysis. In this study, we propose a universal strategy to enhance mixing efficiency in microfluidic chips. This strategy initially divides the liquid into branches, which then converge in an interdigitated manner at the beginning of the mixing segment. This branch-convergence structure reduces the flow width of each liquid, thereby decreasing the diffusion distances required for mixing. Under the conditions of this study, the mixing efficiency could be improved by approximately 10 times. Importantly, this enhancement strategy only requires changing the structure of the liquid inflow channel without changing the structure of the mixing segment. Thus, this strategy has broad applicability, any mixing section with different principles and structures can be connected downstream of the branch-convergence structure. In addition, we applied this universal mixing enhancement strategy to the continuous synthesis of lactic-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles, resulting in a higher uniformity of synthesized nanoparticles compared to unenhanced devices.

Graphical abstract: Branch-convergence structure based on double-layer chip: a universal method for enhancing microfluidic mixing

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 May 2024
Accepted
26 Jul 2024
First published
22 Aug 2024

Lab Chip, 2024,24, 4296-4305

Branch-convergence structure based on double-layer chip: a universal method for enhancing microfluidic mixing

S. Wang, Z. Zhang, Q. Xu, Y. Chen, Q. Wang, B. Lu, X. Luo, D. Wang and X. Jiang, Lab Chip, 2024, 24, 4296 DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00405A

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