H2020Индивидуална стипендия2018–2019

El_CapiTun · An elastocapillary-enabled self-tunable microfluidic chip

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2018-01-01 → 2019-12-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 175 420 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Хибридни системи от твърди микровлакна в течни капки се изследват чрез микрофлуидни чипове, за да се види как влакната повишават устойчивостта на капките при поток. Това помага за по-доброто проектиране на течни микроконтейнери и управляеми вериги за биоинженерни приложения.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

An elastocapillary-enabled self-tunable microfluidic chip

Capillary forces act at fluid interfaces and can maintain dense objects afloat. Their relative importance is strongest at small scales. For instance, they can collapse elastic microstructures, and has been a major struggle for high quality microfabrication. Recently, this mechanism has been elegantly harnessed to control the self-assembly of complex 3D shapes in microfabricated systems. Spiders also use this trick to enhance the mechanical resilience of their web, by spooling extra fibre into water droplets. Here we take to opposite point of view, and focus on how solid fibres may increase the resilience of liquid droplets. We fabricate a hybrid fibre-in-drop system in a controlled microfluidic environment by curing a controlled microjet of photopolymer (PEG-DA) liquid precursor into a soft (solid) fibre, which is then coated by the uncured (liquid) solution. The resulting sample is then trapped at an area of locally decreased confinement. The mechanical properties of the hybrid system are then investigated under increasing flow rates: hydrodynamic forces deform the system and may also actuate the deployment of the microfibre from its originally coiled state. Our results show that the effective surface tension of the drop container is increased, as well as their resilience under flow. These results open opportunities for a better design of liquid microcontainers and tunable microfluidic circuits with high on-off ratio for bioengineering applications.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

I am a French citizen with international training in Soft Matter, a growing field that combines Physics, Chemistry and Mechanics. My publications include high-impact factors journals and attract media attention. I am applying to MSCA fellowships to work with Prof. Gallaire and his group at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.This project aims at implementing elastocapillary interactions in confined channels, and from this new knowledge build a groundbreaking functionalized microfluidic element.Microfluidics is the science of manipulating fluids in channels with dimensions of microns. This opportunity towards miniaturisation of biological and chemical analysis devices is quickly growing into a complex network, as did the integrated circuits industry during its infancy. While microfluidics devices become more intricate, new basic components are paradoxically lacking, due to the challenges of fluid flows at the microscale.The proposed research will address this gap by adding a degree of complexity to the current state of the art. I will study experimentally, theoretically and numerically the complex flow response of a channel enhanced with in-drop storage of thin fibres, developed during my PhD.By grafting a microchannel with fibers that can be reeled into droplets, I will build a self-tunable system that adapts to incoming flow conditions and can be controlled by local chemistry.My double expertise in fluid and solid mechanics, combined with the host's knowledge in microfluidics, is a unique configuration towards successful project completion. The experience gained during the fellowship will establish me as a leader in the field of Soft Matter, and prepare me for the role of permanent academic and group leader. By this ambitious and multidisciplinary project, I will further build my reputation as a mature and original researcher, and will foster intra-european scientific exchange and innovation through the current academic and industrial collaborations of Prof. Gallaire.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE · LausanneКоординаторШвейцария