Water-Mineral Oil Microdroplets Generation Using T-Shaped Microchannel

Microfluidics is a rapidly growing field with diverse applications in chemical synthesis, drug delivery, and biological studies. One of the critical aspects of microfluidic systems is the ability to generate and control microdroplets with high precision. This study focuses on the formation dynamics of water-in-oil microdroplets or droplet microfluidics (DMF) within a T-shaped microchannel under varying water flow rates while maintaining a constant oil flow rate. The microfluidic device was fabricated using xurography technique and thermal lamination bonding method. Characterization of the microchannel geometry was done using a stereo microscope and iSolution Lite software. The experimental setup included dual syringe pumps for controlled fluid delivery and an inverted microscope for real-time observation of fluid dynamics. In the geometry characterization results using xurography technique, the percentage errors were 3.6% for the water inlet diameter, 20% for the water channel width, 4.4% for the oil inlet diameter, 5% for the oil channel width, 8% for the outlet diameter, and 5% for the outlet channel width were obtained compared to the original design. Furthermore, experimental results show a direct correlation between water flow rate and microdroplet size. At a constant oil flow rate of 50 μL/min, increasing water flow rates from 5.56 μL/min to 16.67 μL/min resulted in larger microdroplets, with droplet areas ranging from 149,226 μm2 to 192,919 μm2. By understanding the relationship between fluid flow rates and droplet size, the aim to enhance the precision and efficiency of microdroplet generation will contribute to advancements in microfluidic technologies.