![]() This changed recently with the introduction of lateral flow to under oil open microfluidics by several groups ( 9– 12). Until recently, under oil open microfluidics has lacked functionality due to the lack of lateral flow (in fluidic channels). In addition, without the need to bond to another surface, open microfluidic devices are generally easy to make and easy to use (e.g., elimination of bubble trapping and associated device failures), reducing the adoption barrier to end users ( 8).įundamental to most microfluidic systems (e.g., closed-channel microfluidics) is their ability to control mass transport (e.g., maintaining steady flow, varying flow rate, and turning flow on and off). The liquid-air or liquid-liquid interface above and surrounding the fluid provides direct physical access to the fluid of interest, e.g., enabling localized interrogation of cellular samples with their biophysics or biochemistry ( 3). Important advantages of open microfluidics include accessibility, air bubble elimination, and ease of use. Many open microfluidic systems use an oil overlay (i.e., under oil, similar to the oil-overlaid microdroplets used for decades for the in vitro study of early embryo development) ( 6, 7) to prevent detrimental fluid loss via evaporation and sample contamination. In single liquid–phase open microfluidics, fluid is directly exposed to air, which makes the systems susceptible to evaporation and airborne contamination through the liquid/air interface. Here, we further focus on open microfluidic systems with only a single planar nonfluid boundary (i.e., fluidic manipulations on a flat solid surface). Open microfluidics has been defined as a microfluidic system with at least one solid boundary confining the fluid removed, exposing the fluid either to air (i.e., single liquid phase) or a second fluid (i.e., multiliquid phase) ( 1– 5). The ensemble of added capabilities reshapes the potential application space for open microfluidics. We apply these functional advances to enable dynamic measurements of dispersion from a pathogenic fungal biofilm. Spatial trapping of different cellular samples and advanced control of mass transport (i.e., enhanced upper limit of flow rate, steady flow with passive pumping, and reversible fluidic valves) were achieved with open-channel designs. Here, enabled by exclusive liquid repellency and an under oil sweep technique, open microchannels can now be prepared under oil (rather than in air), which shrinks the channel dimensions up to three orders of magnitude compared to previously reported techniques. ![]() However, the resolution of the under oil fluidic channels reported so far is still far from comparable with that of closed-channel microfluidics (millimeters versus micrometers). Recently, the functionality of under oil open microfluidics was expanded from droplet-based operations to include lateral flow in under oil aqueous channels. ![]()
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