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

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.132-136
• /
• 2018

Core/shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized by a microfluidic reactor-assisted continuous reactor system. Photoluminescence and absorbance of synthesized CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs are investigated by fluorescence spectrophotometry and online UV-Vis spectrometry. Three reaction conditions, namely; the shell coating reaction temperature, the shell coating reaction time, and the ZnS/CdSe precursor volume ratio, are combined in the synthesis process. The quantum yield of the synthesized CdSe QDs is determined for each condition. CdSe/ZnS QDs with a higher quantum yield are obtained compared to the discontinuous microfluidic reactor synthesis system. The maximum quantum efficiency is 98.3% when the reaction temperature, reaction time, and ZnS/CdSe ratio are $270^{\circ}C$, 10 s, and 0.05, respectively. Obtained results indicate that a continuous synthesis of the Core/shell CdSe/ZnS QDs with a high quantum efficiency could be achieved by isolating the reaction from the external environment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2023

Microfluidic reactors have been made to achieve significant development for the generation of new functional materials to apply in a variety of fields. Over the last decade, microfluidic reactors have attracted attention as a user-friendly approach that is enabled to control physicochemical parameters such as size, shape, composition, and surface property. Here, we develop a centrifugal microfluidic reactor that can control the flow of fluid based on centrifugal force and generate multifunctional particles of various sizes and compositions. A centrifugal microfluidic reactor is fabricated by combining microneedles, micro- centrifuge tubes, and conical tubes, which are easily obtained in the laboratory. Depending on the experimental control param- eters, including centrifuge rotation speed, alginate concentration, calcium ion concentration, and distance from the needle to the calcium aqueous solution, this strategy not only enables the generation of size-controlled microparticles in a simple and reproducible manner but also achieves scalable production without the use of complicated skills or advanced equipment. Therefore, we believe that this simple strategy could serve as an on-demand platform for a wide range of industrial and academic applications, particularly for the development of advanced smart materials with new functionalities in biomedical engineering.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.717-720
• /
• 2003

A chromogenic biosensor employing microfluidics on a chip has been developed for the determination of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL-C) in human serum. We have investigated a plain and effective method to immobilize enzymes within the microchip without chemically modifying micro-channel or technically micro-fabricating column reactor and fluid channel network. In assessing risk factors of coronary heart disease, a micro-chip system would minimize requirements of instrument and reagent handling.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.143-148
• /
• 2016

A microfluidic reactor with computer-controlled programmable isocratic pumps and online detectors is employed as a combinatorial synthesis system to synthesize and analyze materials for fabricating CdSe quantum dots for various applications. Four reaction condition parameters, namely, the reaction temperature, reaction time, Cd/Se compositional ratio, and precursor concentration, are combined in synthesis condition sets, and the size of the synthesized CdSe quantum dots is determined for each condition. The average time corresponding to each reaction condition for obtaining the ultraviolet-visible absorbance and photoluminescence spectra is approximately 10 min. Using the data from the combinatorial synthesis system, the effects of the reaction conditions on the synthesized CdSe quantum dots are determined. Further, the data is used to determine the relationships between the reaction conditions and the CdSe particle size. This method should aid in determining and selecting the optimal conditions for synthesizing nanoparticles for diverse applications.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.62 no.2
• /
• pp.181-190
• /
• 2024

Here, we develop a centrifugal microfluidic reactor with simple, fast, and high-throughput manner for the generation of magnetic Janus micro-adsorbents (MAs). By using the multi-micronozzle consisting of two separate aligned needles and centrifugal tubes, we have synthesized highly monodispersed Prussian blue- and magnetic nanoparticle-laden micro-adsorbents (PB-MNP-MAs). The enhanced cesium (Cs⁺) adsorption was demonstrated by conducting the adsorption isotherm and kinetics experiment which can be contributed to the porous nature of the Ca-alginate networks with a high surface area of embedded PB nanoparticles, resulting to perform rapid adsorption activity within 10 min. After Cs⁺ adsorption process, the as-synthesized PB-MNP-MAs were successfully harvested by introducing the external magnetic fields. Therefore, we believe that our findings can be provided new direction towards the development of advanced functional adsorbents in biological and environmental fields.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.30 no.10 s.253
• /
• pp.1261-1268
• /
• 2006

This paper reports low-cost microreactor $(10{\mu}{\ell})$ biochip for the DNA PCR (polymerase chain reaction). The microbiochip $(20mm{\times}28mm)$ is a hybrid type which is composed of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) layer with serpentine micochannel $(360{\mu}m{\times}100{\mu}m)$ chamber and glass substrate integrated with microheater and thermal microsensor. Undesirable bubble is usually created during sample loading to PMDS-based microchip because of hydrophobic chip surface. Created bubbles interrupt stable biochemical reaction. We designed improved microreactor chamber using microfluidic simulation. The designed reactor has a coner-rounded serpentine channel architecture, which enables stable injection into hydrophobic surface using micropipette only. Reactor temperature needed to PCR reaction is controlled within ${\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$ by PID controller of LabVIEW software. It is experimentally confirmed that SRY gene PCR by the fabricated microreactor chip is performed for less than 54 min.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.285-292
• /
• 2022

Adsorption tower systems based on activated carbon adsorption towers have mainly been employed to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major cause of air pollution. However, the activated carbon currently used in these systems has a short lifespan and thus requires frequent replacement. An approach to overcome this shortcoming could be to develop metal oxide photocatalysis-activated carbon composites capable of degrading VOCs by simultaneously utilizing photocatalytic activation and powerful adsorption by activated carbon. TiO₂ has primarily been used as a metal oxide photocatalyst, but it has low economic efficiency due to its high cost. In this study, ZnO particles were synthesized as a photocatalyst due to their relatively low cost. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on the ZnO surface to compensate for the photocatalytic deactivation that arises from the wide band gap of ZnO. A microfluidic process was used to synthesize ZnO particles and Ag NPs in separate reactors and the solutions were continuously supplied with a pack bed reactor loaded with activated carbon powder. This microfluidic-assisted pack bed reactor efficiently prepared a Ag-ZnO-activated carbon composite for VOC removal. Analysis confirmed that Ag-ZnO photocatalytic particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the activated carbon. Conducting a toluene gasbag test and adsorption breakpoint test demonstrated that the composite had a more efficient removal performance than pure activated carbon. The process proposed in this study efficiently produces photocatalysis-activated carbon composites and may offer the potential for scalable production of VOC removal composites.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
• /
• 2005.11a
• /
• pp.755-758
• /
• 2005

This paper describes the novel immunoassay sensing system for a portable clinical diagnosis system. It consists of a bead cage reactor and a CMOS integrated biosensor. It showed the simple and easy antibody coating method on beads by flow-through avidin biotin complex technology in a microfluidic device. It showed just 90 nL sample consumption and good result for the application of alpha feto protein. The bead cage reactor has the role of the antibody coating, antigen binding and enzyme linking for the electrochemical sensing method. The CMOS biosensor consists of ISFET (ion selective field effect transistor) biosensor and temperature sensor for detecting pH that is the byproduct of enzyme reaction. The sensitivity is 8 $kHz/^{\circ}C$ in a temperature sensor and 33 mV/pH in a pH sensor. After filling the 15 um polystyrene beads in bead cage, antibody flowed and reacted to beads. Subsequently, the biotinylated antigen flowed and bound to the antibody and GOD (glucose oxidase)-avidin conjugate flowed and reacted to the biotin of the biotinylated antigen. After this reaction process, glucose solution flowed and reacted to the GOD on beads. The hydrogen was generated by glucose-GOD reaction. And it was detected by the pH sensor.