Integrated microfluidic platform for instantaneous flow and localized temperature control

Abstract

We developed an integrated microfluidic platform for instantaneous flow and localized temperature control. The platform consisted of a flow-focusing region for emulsion droplet production, a cross-junction region embedded with a microheater for droplet trapping and localized temperature control by using an active feedback control system. The droplet trapping performance and trapping stability were also investigated. We further used thermotropic liquid crystal as the droplet phase to demonstrate the trapping and temperature control ability of the microfluidic platform. Our integrated platform offers the capability of manipulating non-contact, instantaneous flow with localized temperature control, which provides valuable tools for studying transient interfacial dynamics and various biological and industrial processes.