Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)

Electrically conducting liquid droplets can be activated and moved by electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) and optoelectrowetting (OEW). An important application is droplet manipulation in digital microfluidics (DMF, lab-on-a-chip 2.0) as a chip-sized chemical laboratory. For spectroscopic analyses o...

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Main Authors: Christoph Doering, Johannes Strassner, Henning Fouckhardt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-01-01
Series:International Journal of Analytical Chemistry
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2011170
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author Christoph Doering
Johannes Strassner
Henning Fouckhardt
author_facet Christoph Doering
Johannes Strassner
Henning Fouckhardt
author_sort Christoph Doering
collection DOAJ
description Electrically conducting liquid droplets can be activated and moved by electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) and optoelectrowetting (OEW). An important application is droplet manipulation in digital microfluidics (DMF, lab-on-a-chip 2.0) as a chip-sized chemical laboratory. For spectroscopic analyses of chemical reactions, it is often necessary to prepare or examine the reagent droplets before, during, and after the reaction. With OEW, single droplets with volumes of 50–250 nl can be moved, analyzed, and merged in one pipetting step. To ensure analysis sensitivity in many applications, lab-chips should only be used once due to contamination of the surface and chemical modification of the layers by the droplets. Single-use chip preparation without a lithographic step, e.g., for the definition of the spacer layer, reduces efforts and costs. Here, exemplarily, we demonstrate the OEW-driven movement and mixing of chemical reagents in a simple color change reaction analyzed by absorption spectroscopy. Stripes made from the insulating tape serve as spacers between sub and superstrate, and any lithographic step can be avoided.
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spelling doaj-art-51a8dca7f43f4350a2808b0101c5e1e22025-08-20T03:36:37ZengWileyInternational Journal of Analytical Chemistry1687-87792022-01-01202210.1155/2022/2011170Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)Christoph Doering0Johannes Strassner1Henning Fouckhardt2Integrated Optoelectronics and Microoptics Research GroupIntegrated Optoelectronics and Microoptics Research GroupIntegrated Optoelectronics and Microoptics Research GroupElectrically conducting liquid droplets can be activated and moved by electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) and optoelectrowetting (OEW). An important application is droplet manipulation in digital microfluidics (DMF, lab-on-a-chip 2.0) as a chip-sized chemical laboratory. For spectroscopic analyses of chemical reactions, it is often necessary to prepare or examine the reagent droplets before, during, and after the reaction. With OEW, single droplets with volumes of 50–250 nl can be moved, analyzed, and merged in one pipetting step. To ensure analysis sensitivity in many applications, lab-chips should only be used once due to contamination of the surface and chemical modification of the layers by the droplets. Single-use chip preparation without a lithographic step, e.g., for the definition of the spacer layer, reduces efforts and costs. Here, exemplarily, we demonstrate the OEW-driven movement and mixing of chemical reagents in a simple color change reaction analyzed by absorption spectroscopy. Stripes made from the insulating tape serve as spacers between sub and superstrate, and any lithographic step can be avoided.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2011170
spellingShingle Christoph Doering
Johannes Strassner
Henning Fouckhardt
Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
International Journal of Analytical Chemistry
title Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
title_full Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
title_fullStr Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
title_full_unstemmed Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
title_short Lithography-Free Technology for the Preparation of Digital Microfluidic (DMF) Lab-Chips with Droplet Actuation by Optoelectrowetting (OEW)
title_sort lithography free technology for the preparation of digital microfluidic dmf lab chips with droplet actuation by optoelectrowetting oew
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/2011170
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