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Micromachines
Special Issues
Microfluidic Droplet Array
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Microfluidic Droplet Array

A Special Issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X) belonging to the section "B: Biology and Biomedicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2027 | Viewed by 1934

Editors

Dr. Yun Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768, USA
Interests: microfluidics; fluid mechanics; interfacial phenomena; droplets; surfactants
Prof. Dr. Gordon Christopher

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Interests: interfacial and bulk rheology using microfluidics and other novel techniques

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, microfluidic droplet technologies have emerged as a powerful platform for precise manipulation of fluids at the microscale, enabling unprecedented control over droplet generation, transport, trapping, and analysis. In particular, microfluidic droplet arrays provide highly ordered, high-throughput, and reproducible architectures that are essential for scalable chemical, biological, and physical processes. This Special Issue aims to advance the development of microfluidic devices and systems that enable efficient, robust, and tunable droplet generation and array formation while addressing key challenges related to stability, scalability, integration, and manufacturability. The scope of this Special Issue spans fundamental advances in device design, materials, and interfacial physics, and emerging strategies for passive and active droplet control, multiplexed operation, and system integration. Beyond methodological innovations, we emphasize the expanding role of microfluidic droplet arrays in a wide range of applications, including biosensing and diagnostics, environmental monitoring and water treatment, and chemical synthesis. By bringing together contributions from academia and industry, this Special Issue seeks to highlight both state-of-the-art research and translational perspectives, fostering cross-disciplinary studies and accelerating the adoption of droplet-based microfluidics in real-world applications.

Dr. Yun Chen
Prof. Dr. Gordon Christopher
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microfluidics
  • droplet generation
  • interfacial physics
  • droplet manipulation
  • biosensors
  • water treatment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 23838 KB  
Article
From Simulation to Application: Droplet-Based Microfluidics for Thermal Targeting of Cancer Cells
by Zsombor Szomor, Eszter L. Tóth, János M. Bozorádi, Tamás Pardy, Rauno Jõemaa and Péter Fürjes
Micromachines 2026, 17(7), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17070782 - 27 Jun 2026
Viewed by 1551
Abstract
This paper presents the development, fabrication, and characterization of a droplet-based microfluidic platform designed for precise local thermal treatment of cancer cells, with prospective chemical targeting as a future application. The workflow begins with a finite element model (FEM) using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 [...] Read more.
This paper presents the development, fabrication, and characterization of a droplet-based microfluidic platform designed for precise local thermal treatment of cancer cells, with prospective chemical targeting as a future application. The workflow begins with a finite element model (FEM) using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 to characterize coupled hydrodynamic and thermal behavior, specifically analyzing temperature distributions across single-phase and three-phase regimes. Following the simulation, work has progressed to the fabrication of a microfluidic device and the characterization of its platinum heat source and temperature detector to ensure precise thermal control. To replicate realistic biochemical conditions, experiments have employed a three-phase configuration of oil, water, and fluorescent BSA solution. In the final stage, DX5-GFP MES-SA cancer cells have replaced the BSA solution to complete the measurements. To ensure reagent homogenization and consistent cellular exposure, a serpentine channel design was utilized to induce Dean vortices, which significantly enhanced internal mixing within the droplets. Fluorescence-loss experiments demonstrated that localized heating above ~60 °C induces irreversible thermal damage in both model proteins (fluorescent BSA) and cancer cells, establishing a proof-of-concept basis for precise thermal regulation at the single-droplet level. By deactivating specific thermo-sensitive proteins responsible for drug resistance, this integrated approach to thermal and hydrodynamic optimization enhances the efficacy of chemical stimuli and provides a robust platform for investigating the modulation of cellular defense mechanisms in future biotechnological applications. The platform holds significant potential for advancing precision oncology by enabling systematic, single-cell-level investigation of heat-shock-mediated drug sensitization, with long-term implications for overcoming multidrug resistance in aggressive cancer therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Droplet Array)
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