Controlling drop size and polydispersity using chemically patterned surfaces

TL;DR

This study demonstrates through simulations that chemical patterning on surfaces can effectively control drop size and polydispersity, enabling sorting and monodisperse drop generation for microfluidic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical approach using lattice Boltzmann simulations to design chemically patterned surfaces for controlling drop behavior in microfluidics.

Findings

Drops can be sorted by size or wetting properties using hydrophilic stripe arrays.

Monodisperse drops can be generated by pinning on hydrophilic stripes.

The approach is applicable for designing microfluidic devices.

Abstract

We explore numerically the feasibility of using chemical patterning to control the size and polydispersity of micron-scale drops. The simulations suggest that it is possible to sort drops by size or wetting properties by using an array of hydrophilic stripes of different widths. We also demonstrate that monodisperse drops can be generated by exploiting the pinning of a drop on a hydrophilic stripe. Our results follow from using a lattice Boltzmann algorithm to solve the hydrodynamic equations of motion of the drops and demonstrate the applicability of this approach as a design tool for micofluidic devices with chemically patterned surfaces.