Dong-Joon Won

Three-dimensional digital microfluidic manipulation of droplets in oil medium.

We here develop a three-dimensional DMF (3D DMF) platform with patterned electrodes submerged in an oil medium to provide fundamental solutions to the technical limitations of 2D DMF platforms and water–air systems. 3D droplet manipulation on patterned electrodes is demonstrated by programmably controlling electrical signals. We also demonstrate the formation of precipitates on the 3D DMF platform through the reaction of different chemical samples. A droplet containing precipitates, hanging on the top electrode, can be manipulated without adhesion of precipitates to the solid surface. This method could be a good alternative strategy to alleviate the existing problems of 2D DMF systems such as cross-contamination and solute adsorption. In addition, we ascertain the feasibility of temperature-controlled chemical reaction on the 3D DMF platform by introducing a simple heating process. To demonstrate applicability of the 3D DMF system to 3D biological process, we examine the 3D manipulation of droplets containing mouse fibroblasts in the 3D DMF platform. Finally, we show detachment of droplets wrapped by a flexible thin film by adopting the electro-elasto-capillarity (EEC). The employment of the EEC may offer a strong potential in the development of 3D DMF platforms for drug encapsulation and actuation of microelectromechanical devices.

Development and analysis of a capacitive touch sensor using a liquid metal droplet

In this paper, we introduce a small-sized capacitive touch sensor with large variations in its capacitance. This sensor uses the changes in capacitance caused by the variation of the overlap area between a liquid metal (LM) droplet and a flat electrode while keeping the gap between the droplet and the bottom electrode at a small constant value (i.e. thickness of dielectric layer). Initially, the droplet is placed inside a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chamber, and a thin silicon dioxide film separates the droplet and the electrode. Owing to the high surface tension of the LM, the droplet retains its spherical shape and the overlap area remains small, which means that the capacitance between the droplet and the electrode also remains small. When normal force is applied, the pressure on the membrane pushes the droplet downward, thus spreading the droplet to the bottom of the chamber and increasing the capacitance. To verify our concept, we performed theoretical analyses and experiments using a 2 mm × 2 mm × 2 mm 1-cell touch sensor. Finally, we obtained a capacitance variation of ~30 pF by applying forces between 0 N and 1 N.

Design optimization of duct-type AUVs using CFD analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine the ideal design for the external and internal shapes of duct-type autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The most important design factors for duct-type AUVs are minimizing the drag force and increasing the thrust because these determine the propulsive efficiency. To improve the propulsive efficiency, the various factors that affect the drag force and thrust of duct-type AUVs were examined. All of the experiments were performed using CFD analysis because physical experiments are inefficient in terms of cost and time. To improve the CFD analysis efficiency, the Taguchi method was used to minimize the number of CFD analyses. Through these processes, design factors that reduce the drag force and increase the thrust according to the external and internal shapes were analyzed. We propose an optimized model that can improve the propulsive efficiency.

Deterministic bead-in-droplet ejection utilizing an integrated plug-in bead dispenser for single bead–based applications

This paper presents a deterministic bead-in-droplet ejection (BIDE) technique that regulates the precise distribution of microbeads in an ejected droplet. The deterministic BIDE was realized through the effective integration of a microfluidic single-particle handling technique with a liquid dispensing system. The integrated bead dispenser facilitates the transfer of the desired number of beads into a dispensing volume and the on-demand ejection of bead-encapsulated droplets. Single bead–encapsulated droplets were ejected every 3 s without any failure. Multiple-bead dispensing with deterministic control of the number of beads was demonstrated to emphasize the originality and quality of the proposed dispensing technique. The dispenser was mounted using a plug-socket type connection, and the dispensing process was completely automated using a programmed sequence without any microscopic observation. To demonstrate a potential application of the technique, bead-based streptavidin–biotin binding assay in an evaporating droplet was conducted using ultralow numbers of beads. The results evidenced the number of beads in the droplet crucially influences the reliability of the assay. Therefore, the proposed deterministic bead-in-droplet technology can be utilized to deliver desired beads onto a reaction site, particularly to reliably and efficiently enrich and detect target biomolecules.

Movement of Liquid Metal Droplet in Channel by Continuous Electrowetting Effect

In this paper, the movement of a liquid metal droplet in a channel by continuous electrowetting effect is analyzed. The channel is fabricated using two glass substrates and silicone rubber as spacers, and a mercury droplet and dilute sulfuric acid are added into the channel. The droplet is moved according to voltage applied at both ends of the channel through an electrolyte. According to the shape of the droplet and the applied voltage, the velocity of the droplet is changed. The velocity is proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the length of the droplet, both theoretically and experimentally. Contact angle hysteresis and a meniscus change were also found in the moving state. This implies the existence of a threshold in movement by Laplace pressure difference. The experiment indicated that the sliding angle was inversely proportional to the width of the droplet but that the voltage threshold was proportional to the width.