Algorithm Analysis of Gas Bubble Generation in a Microfluidic Device
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Original Article
Algorithm Analysis of Gas Bubble Generation in a Microfluidic Device Jang Ho Ha1,†, Hirak Mazumdar2,†, Tae Hyeon Kim1, Jong Min Lee1, Jeong-Geol Na3 & Bong Geun Chung 1,* Received: 16 November, 2018 / Accepted: 7 January, 2019 / Published online: 8 May, 2019 ⒸThe Korean BioChip Society and Springer 2018
Abstract We investigated the algorithm analysis of the bubble generation in a microfluidic device to study the effect of the surface tension and the flow rate on the microbubble size. For the analysis of the surface tension, five different solutions were used: 3.5% brine, mineral oil, 1% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400, 1% tween 80, and 1% triton X-100. The various flow rates were also employed: 5~15 μL/min for the liquid and 100~200 mL/min for the gas phase. The size of the bubble was measured via the algorithm analysis and the bubble defect was also detected by c chart. We observed that the microbubble size was affected by the flow rates of solution and the gas. Hence, we developed an equation to estimate the size through the flow rate ratio between the solution and gas phase, showing that the microbubble size could be controlled by the liquid properties or the flow rates. Therefore, this algorithm-based microfluidic device could be a powerful tool for generating gas microbubbles in a controlled manner. Keywords: Microfluidic device, Algorithm, Gas microbubble, Surface tension, Flow rate
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 04107 2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 04107 3 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 04107 † These authors equally contributed to this work *Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to B.G. Chung ( [email protected])
Introduction Microbubble formation is utilized for various fields, such as contrast enhancement in ultrasound imaging1-3, frictional-drag reduction in a turbulent channel flow4, or delivery of a specific gas or sludge5. To generate microbubbles, phase separation must be formed between gas and liquid biomaterial such as lipids, surfactants, proteins, and polymers. Especially, surfactants make it easier to achieve phase separation and enable the reduction of the gas-liquid interfacial tension and prevent coalescence, therefore affecting the formation of microbubbles6 and increasing their yield7. To utilize the properties of these surfactants, studies are performed by forming lipid mixed polyethylene glycol (PEG)8,9. Segers et al analyzed the size, stability, and flow rate dependency of microbubbles, which were formed by C4F10 gas and Phospholipid mixtures including PEG500010. Although the large-scale generation of monodispersed microbubbles has been generated, they investigated limited surfactant such as PEG mixture. Currently, it is difficult to understand the characteristics of microbubbles produced by various solutions. Bubble generation with only surfactants has also been studied
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