Emulsions are widely used in food industry, among others. Monosized droplets in emulsions have advantages for control of their properties, and application fields. We have developed microchannel emulsification (MC) technology for monosized droplets formation. The grooved type MC and module were used to characterize MC emulsification, and straight-through MC and module were developed for higher p...

We have demonstrated a new approach for detecting biomolecular mass in the aqueous environment. Known as the suspended microchannel resonator (SMR), target molecules flow through a suspended microchannel and are captured by receptor molecules attached to the interior channel walls [1]. As with other resonant mass sensors, the SMR detects the amount of captured target molecules via the change in...

Three-dimensional Li ion microbatteries are known for their high surface area which leads to high current and capacity compared to traditional planar batteries. This paper describes economical approaches to prepare half 3D microbatteries based on silicon microchannel plates (MCP). The high aspect ratio silicon MCP is formed by electrochemical etching and a nickel layer is coated onto the silico...

We demonstrated a liquid/liquid and a gas/liquid two-phase crossing flow in glass microchips. A 250-microm-wide microchannel for aqueous-phase flow was fabricated on a top glass plate. Then, as a way to utilize the surface energy difference for stable phase confluence and separation, a 250-microm-wide microchannel for organic-phase (or gas-phase) flow was fabricated on a bottom glass plate and ...

We present a microfluidic technique for sensitive, real-time, optimized detection of airborne water-soluble molecules by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The method is based on a free-surface fluidic device in which a pressure-driven liquid microchannel flow is constrained by surface tension. A colloidal suspension of silver nanoparticles flowing through the microchannel that is open...

1 We report on a fabrication and packaging process for a microsystem consisting of a mass-based 2 protein detector and a fully integrated preconcentrator. Preconcentration of protein is achieved 3 by means of a nanofluidic concentrator, which takes advantage of fast non-linear electro-osmotic 4 flow near a nanochannel-microchannel junction to concentrate charged molecules inside a 5 volume of f...

Understanding the interaction between soluble factors and cells in the cellular microenvironment is critical to understanding a wide range of diseases. Microchannel culture systems provide a tool for separating diffusion and convection based transport making possible controlled studies of the effects of soluble factors in the cellular microenvironment. In this paper we compare the proliferation...

Accumulation of particles in a high concentration on a microchannel wall is a common phenomenon in a colloidal fluid. Gradual accumulation/deposition of particles can eventually obstruct the fluid flow and lead to clogging, which seriously affects the accuracy and reliability of nozzle-based printing and causes damage to the nozzle. Particle accumulation in a 100 μm microchannel was investigate...

Riparian areas link streams with their terrestrial catchments and decrease water pollution by trapping sediments from upland sources before they reach streams or lakes. Livestock grazing in riparian areas is a controversial practice. If not properly managed, cattle can cause degradation to both the riparian zone and adjacent water body. Vegetative, soil microtopographical, microchannel and hydr...

The present article reports the numerical and experimental investigations on the laser-assisted photothermal heating of a nanoliter-sized droplet in a microchannel when plasmonic particles are suspended in the droplet. Plasmonic nanoparticles exhibit strong light absorption and scattering upon the excitation of localized surface plasmons (LSPs), resulting in intense and rapid photothermal heati...