Experimental validation of a simple, low-cost, T-junction droplet generator fabricated through 3D printing

Three-dimensional printing has been recently proposed and assessed for continuous flow microfluidic devices. In this paper the focus is on a new application of this rapid and low cost method for microfluidic device prototyping: droplets production through a T-junction generator. The feasibility of this new methodology is assessed by means of an experimental study in which the statistical parameters which characterize the production of droplets are analyzed. Furthermore, this study assesses the validity of previous theoretical and experimental results, obtained for a PDMS T-junction droplet generator, also in the case of a 3D printed Acrylonitrile microfluidic chip. Finally, the feasibility of producing monodisperse droplets by analyzing the polydispersity index of the prepared droplets is demonstrated. (paper)