• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.545-555
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• 2010

Recently, droplet-based microfluidic systems are widely used in various areas ranging from fundamental science including chemistry, biology, and physics to material science and engineering. This article reviews recent development in the droplet based microfluidic system from basic fabrication of tiny device, principle of droplet formation, merging, mixing, control of droplets, and application for the synthesis of novel functional materials. We discuss strong advantages of the droplet based microfluidics in point of control of particle size, morphologies, shapes, and structures.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.141-153
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• 2014

Droplet based microfluidic systems have been developed for the application of biological and chemical research field. A picoliter droplet in microfluidic device provides a compartmentalized and well-defined reactor in miniaturized system. The microfluidic system with small droplets can reduce reagent cost and enhance efficiency through automated high-throughput screening system. In this review, we summarize the functionality of droplet based microfluidic system including droplet generation, precise droplet control, and various applications. In addition, this article reviews current applications in chemistry and biology, and discuss advantages of droplet based microfluidics compared with conventional manner.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.229-230
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• 2015

신생혈관 형성은 기존에 존재하는 혈관으로부터 새로운 혈관을 형성하는 기작으로 정상 세포에서 상처 치유, 세포의 발생 및 성장에 관여한다고 알려져 있다. 더 중요한 것은 이 기작이 암의 성장 및 전이에서도 매우 중요한 역할을 하고 있다는 사실이다. 특히, 엔지오제닌(Angiogenin)이 신생혈관형성을 촉진하는 것으로 알려져있다. 이러한 주요 물질을 최신 바이오칩 기술 중 하나인 액적 기반 미세유체 시스템을 활용하여 1 나노리터 수준의 시료 내에 존재하는 엔지오제닌을 정량하는 기술을 개발함으로써 현재 일반적으로 사용되고 있는 정량 기술에 비해 시간뿐만 아니라 비용을 절감할 수 있음을 보여주었다. 이외에도 본 연구에서 개발한 액적 기반 미세유체 시스템 기술은 수은과 같은 중금속의 검출도 가능하기 때문에 환경 센서로의 활용 가능성을 보여준다.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.761-766
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• 2018

Droplet-based microfluidic device has led to transformational new approaches in various applications including materials synthesis and high-throughput screening. However, efforts are required to enhance the production rate to industrial scale because of low production rate in a single droplet generator. In here, we present a method for enhancing production rate of monodisperse droplets via parallelization of flow-focusing generators. For this, we fabricated a three-dimensional monolithic elastomer device (3D MED) that has the 3D channel structures in a single layer, using a double-sided imprinting method. We demonstrated that the production rate of monodisperse droplet is increased by controlling the flow rate of continuous and dispersed phases in 3D MED with 8 droplet generators. Thus, we anticipate that this microfluidic system will be used in wide area including microparticle synthesis and screening system via encapsulation of various materials and cells in monodisperse droplets.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.760-765
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• 2013

Lysozyme crystallization was performed by using flow-focusing chip in droplet-based microfluidic system. Water-in-oil droplets were formed in the system and collected on petri-dish and cross type mold. Liquid-liquid reaction of lysozyme and sodium chloride occurred in the droplet and crystals were observed through microscope. Solution pH was varied as 4.8 and 7.2. Crystals of polyhedron and plate-like shape were obtained at pH 4.8, while needle structure crystals formed at pH 7.2. Lysozyme in single droplet for two pHs were crystallized with constant or decreased droplet size. However, crystals at pH 4.8 were only obtained in the droplet of which size was increased by the interaction between droplets. Droplet volume did not change at pH 7.2 and crystals formed in both droplets.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.597-601
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• 2013

In this study, we present simple microfluidic approach for the synthesis of monodisperse microcapsules by using droplet-based system. We generate double emulsion through single step in the microfluidic device having single junction while conventional approaches are limited in surface treatment for the generation of double emulsion. First, we have injected disperse fluid containing FC-77 oil and photocurable ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) and water containing 3 wt% poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as continuous phase into microfluidic device. Under the condition, we easily generate double emulsion with high monodispersity by using flow focusing. The double emulsion droplets are transformed into microcapsules under the UV irradiation via photopolymerization. In addition, we control thickness of double emulsion's shell by controlling flow rate of ETPTA. We also show that the size of double emulsions can be controlled by manipulation of flow rate of continuous phase. Furthermore, we synthesize microcapsules encapsulating various materials for the application of drug delivery systems.

• 기계와재료
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.22-29
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• 2010

자원의 고갈과 지구환경오염의 심각성을 인지하는 시각이 늘어남에 따라 산업계에서도 친환경적 기술에 대한 다양한 연구 개발이 이슈가 되고 있다. 정전기력 잉크젯 패터닝 기술 또한 그 예라 할 수 있겠는데, 이는 기존인쇄 기술의 시각적인 표현의 개념을 벗어나 패턴 자체의 기능을 부여함으로써 그 가치를 높이고, 현존하는 각종 미세 패터닝 기술의 다공정성과 환경에 미치는 영향 등의 문제점을 개선 할 수 있는 기술이라 할 수 있겠다. 정전기력 잉크젯 패터닝 기술은 이미 60~70년대부터 연구 개발 되어왔던 정전기력이 유체에 미치는 영향을 제어하여 극소량 미세 액적 토출 및 분무를 이끌어 내는 기술을 기반으로 토출되는 노즐 헤드의 직경 대비 극 미량의 기능성 잉크를 토출하고, 서브마이크론(submicron)급의 패턴 인쇄를 가능케 한다. 본 논문에서는 정전기력 잉크젯 패터닝 공정의 요소기술을 기반으로 프린팅 장비를 설계 및 제작하고, 미세 액적 토출을 위한 수마이크론의 직경을 갖는 노즐 헤드를 개발 및 프린팅 장비에 대응하여 통합 제어 프로그램을 이용한 기판상의 미세 패터닝 실험을 실시하였다. 정전기력 기반 미세 패터닝 실험의 공정 변수를 잉크의 특성, 노즐헤드의 특성, 기판의 특성, 장비의 특성으로 구분지어 공정 시스템의 성능을 검토 및 기능성 잉크의 미세 패터닝을 구현 하였다.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2024

The SLA (Stereolithography Apparatus) method is a type of 3D printing technique predicated on the transformation of liquid photocurable resin into a solid form through UV laser exposure, and its application is increasing in various fields. In this study, we conducted research to enhance the hydrophobicity and transparency of SLA 3D printing surfaces for microfluidic system production. The enhancement of surface hydrophobicity in SLA outputs was attainable through the application of hydrophobic coating methods, but the coating durability under different conditions varied depending on the type of hydrophobic coating. Additionally, to simultaneously achieve the required transparency and hydrophobic properties for the fabrication of microfluidic systems, we applied hydrophobic coatings to the proposed transparency enhancement method from prior research and compared the changes in contact angles. Teflon coating was proposed as a suitable hydrophobic coating method for the fabrication of microfluidic systems, given its excellent transparency and high coating durability in various environmental conditions, in comparison to titanium dioxide coating. Finally, we produced an Electrophoresis of Charged Droplet (ECD) chip, one of the digital microfluidics systems, using SLA 3D printing with the proposed Teflon coating method (Fluoropel 800). Droplet manipulation was successfully demonstrated with the fabricated chip, confirming the potential application of SLA 3D printing technology in the production of microfluidic systems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2017

In droplet-based microfluidic systems, in-droplet preconcentration of a sample is one of the important prerequisites for biochemical or medical analysis. There have been a few studies on preconcentration in a moving droplet, but they are limited to practical applications since 1) their method are time-consuming or 2) they require specific properties such as electric and magnetic properties. In this study, we demonstrated the position control of polystyrene particles of 5 and $10{\mu}m$ in diameter inside a moving water-in-oil droplet using traveling surface acoustic waves. Since the frequencies for effective control of each diameter were found, microparticles with no labels could be utilized. In addition, the proposed method enabled on-demand preconcentration inside a polydimethylsiloxane microchannel. In-droplet preconcentration of microparticles was realized by splitting a mother droplet with manipulated particles at a downstream bifurcation zone. Given these advantages, the proposed system is a promising acoustofluidic lab-on-a-chip platform for preconcentration inside a droplet.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.706-713
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• 2019

In this study, basic research was conducted to provide guidelines for selecting printers and materials suitable for each application case by analyzing 3D printing method and surface characteristics of materials suitable for microfluidic system. We have studied the surface characteristics according to the materials for the two typical printing methods: The most commonly used method of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printing and the relatively high resolution method of Stereolithography (SLA) printing. The FDM prints exhibited hydrophilic properties before post - treatment, regardless of the material, but showed hydrophobic properties after post - treatment with acetone vapor. It was confirmed by the observation of surface roughness using SEM that the change of the contact angle was due to the removal of the surface structure by post-treatment. SLA prints exhibited hydrophilic properties compared to FDM prints, but they were experimentally confirmed to be capable of surface modification using hydrophobic coatings. It was confirmed that it is impossible to make a transparent specimen in the FDM method. However, sufficient transparency is secured in the case of the SLA method. It is also confirmed that the electroporation chip of the digital electroporation system based on the droplet contact charging phenomenon was fabricated by the SLA method and the direct application to the microfluidic system by demonstrating the electroporation successfully.