Microfluidic systems are rapidly becoming commonplace tools for high-precision materials synthesis, biochemical sample preparation, and biophysical analysis. Typically, microfluidic systems are constructed in monolithic form by means of microfabrication and, increasingly, by additive techniques. These methods restrict the design and assembly of truly complex systems by placing unnecessary emphasis on complete functional integration of operational elements in a planar environment. Here, we present a solution based on discrete elements that liberates designers to build large-scale microfluidic systems in three dimensions that are modular, diverse, and predictable by simple network analysis techniques. We develop a sample library of standardized components and connectors manufactured using stereolithography. We predict and validate the flow characteristics of these individual components to design and construct a tunable concentration gradient generator with a scalable number of parallel outputs. We show that these systems are rapidly reconfigurable by constructing three variations of a device for generating monodisperse microdroplets in two distinct size regimes and in a high-throughput mode by simple replacement of emulsifier subcircuits. Finally, we demonstrate the capability for active process monitoring by constructing an optical sensing element for detecting water droplets in a fluorocarbon stream and quantifying their size and frequency. By moving away from large-scale integration toward standardized discrete elements, we demonstrate the potential to reduce the practice of designing and assembling complex 3D microfluidic circuits to a methodology comparable to that found in the electronics industry. modular microfluidics | microfluidic circuit design | 3D-printed microfluidics

Although membrane channel proteins are important to drug discovery and hold great promise as engineered nanopore sensing elements, their widespread application to these areas has been limited by difficulties in fabricating planar lipid-bilayer membranes. We present a method for forming these sub-5-nm-thick free-standing structures based on a self-assembly process driven by solvent extraction in a microfluidic channel. This facile automatable process forms high-quality membranes able to host channel proteins measurable at single-molecule conductance resolution.

Oxidation of unsaturated lipids in cellular membranes has been shown to cause severe membrane damage and potentially cell death. The presence of oxidized lipid species in the membrane is known to cause changes in membrane properties, such as decreased fluidity. This study uses giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to measure passive transport across membranes containing defined concentrations of oxidized lipid species. GUVs consisting of a saturated phospholipid, an unsaturated phospholipid, and cholesterol were used as model membranes. By replacing defined amounts of the unsaturated lipid with a corresponding oxidized product, the oxidation process could be mimicked, yielding vesicles of varying oxidized lipid concentration. Oxidized lipid concentration was varied from 0 mol% to 18 mol% of the total lipid concentration. Passive transport of PEG12-NBD, an uncharged fluorescent molecule, was measured using a microfluidic trap to capture the GUVs and spinning disk confocal microscopy (SDCM) to track the transport of a fluorescent species in the equatorial plane of each GUV. Membrane permeability was determined by fitting the resulting concentration profiles to a finite difference model of diffusion and permeation around and through the membrane. Experiments showed three permeability regimes. Without oxidation, transport was slow, with a measured permeability on the order of 1.5×10−6 cm/s. At 2.5–10% oxidized species permeation was fast (1.5×10−5 cm/s). Above 12.5% oxidized species, the bilayer was disrupted by the formation of pore defects. As passive transport is an important mechanism for drug delivery, understanding the relationship between oxidation and permeation could provide insight into the pharmaceutical characteristics of tissues with oxidative damage.