IDEA #95PBVR A new type of microcapillary devices for generating uniform-sized multiple emulsion drops. 20A0006

KEY WORDS: microfluidics, microcapillary, multiple emulsion, drops. Purpose: The invention significantly simplifies the manufacturing/assembly of microcapillary devices. Therefore, the invention may make the microfluidic technique for production of multiple emulsions easily accessible to more users. The current fabrication of microcapillary devices requires careful alignment of capillaries under a microscope. With our new design of microcapillary devices, users can easily assemble the glass capillaries by hand without using any sophisticated equipment like a microscope, if provided with capillaries with the specific geometries. The capillary geometry is a significant part of the invention. Utility: The new type of microcapillary devices can be used for producing monodisperse tunable emulsion drops, including single emulsion, double emulsion, and multiple emulsions; these emulsion drops can be further transformed to particles, capsules, and vesicles with tunable properties and functions. Our preliminary results show that the new device can produce emulsions drops in a more stable manner compared to existing microcapillary devices first developed in 2005 (Science 308(5721): 537-541).