Controlled production of emulsions using membrane and microchannel technology

Monodispersed emulsion droplets are advantageous in both fundamental study and practical applications. Two main manufacturing approaches for production of monosized droplets are: (a) direct drop-by-drop manufacture, and (b) passive droplet break up in a confined geometry. The typical examples of the first approach are: (i) direct membrane emulsification (ME) [1]; (ii) microchannel (MC) emulsification [2], (iii) direct generation of droplets in flow focusing microfluidic devices and in microfluidic devices with T-junctions [3], and (iv) nanoliter injection. The examples of the second approach are: (i) premix ME [4], (ii) droplet break up in MCs containing T-junctions or obstacles [5], and (iii) droplet break up in micromixers. This lecture aims to introduce the latest development on the utilization of the membrane and MC emulsification techniques to the controlled production of emulsions.