Smart electroresponsive droplets in microfluidics

Abstract

We give a short review of droplet microfluidics with the emphasis on “smart” droplets, which are based on materials that can be actively controlled and manipulated by external stimuli such as stress, temperature, pH, and electric field or magnetic field. In particular, the focus is on the generation and manipulation of droplets that are based on the giant electrorheological fluid (GERF). We elaborate on the preparation and characteristics of the GERF, the relevant microfluidics chip format, and the generation and control of droplets using GERF as either droplets or the carrier fluid. An important application of the GERF droplets, in the realization of first universal microfluidic logic device which can execute the 16 Boolean logic operations, is detailed.