New Microfluidic System Showcases Droplet Merging at Nanoliter Sample Scale

Dolomite has released the Mitos Dropix® Droplet Merging System. It meets the needs of microfluidic applications that benefit from an advanced capability; the ability to combine pairs of droplets in a controlled manner. Applications include automated screening experiments (sample/screen pairing), dose-response testing (sample/diluent pairing to deliver to screen) concentration/stoichiometric testing (variation of mix ratio) and combinatorial chemistry (AnBn reagent pairings).

The system creates a droplet sequence and merges successive pairs of droplets using a microfluidic Droplet Pillar Merger Chip. In this device, a droplet can be held indefinitely in a trap until the next droplet in the sequence approaches. This feature allows for droplet fusion to occur, even if inter-droplet spacing does not remain constant. Using proprietary technology, the system performs automated and reproducible generation of nanoliter droplets from volumes of 40nL to 175nL, with consistent smooth flow generated by the Mitos Duo XS-Pump. The droplet merging process can be easily analysed by placing the Droplet Pillar Merger Chip on to the microscope stage provided, which allows image capture at speeds of over 1000fps via FireWire link to a desktop PC. Fluorinated solvents can be used with the system, making it ideal for bio processes that require gas dissolution and also insert separation of chemistry.

The approach of sequential merging greatly reduces the technical complexity of the assay and presents possibilities of multiple detection schemes in-line. The Mitos Dropix® Droplet Merging System further harnesses the complexity of such screening and simplifies it as a programmable flow-through process. There are no comparable automated continuous flow fluid handling systems currently available in the market, making it a highly desirable system that offers a complete solution for performing droplet merging.