A Review of Microfluidic Devices for Rheological Characterisation

The rheological characterisation of liquids finds application in several fields ranging from industrial production to the medical practice. Conventional rheometers are the gold standard for the rheological characterisation; however, they are affected by several limitations, including high costs, large volumes required and difficult integration to other systems. By contrast, microfluidic devices emerged as inexpensive platforms, requiring a little sample to operate and fashioning a very easy integration into other systems. Such advantages have prompted the development of microfluidic devices to measure rheological properties such as viscosity and longest relaxation time, using a finger-prick of volumes. This review highlights some of the microfluidic platforms introduced so far, describing their advantages and limitations, while also offering some prospective for future works.

Automated summary

The rheological characterization of liquids is widely applied in various fields. Traditional rheometers have limitations such as high costs, large sample volumes required, and difficult integration. In contrast, microfluidic devices offer advantages of low cost, small sample volumes required, and easy integration. This review introduces several microfluidic platforms for measuring rheological properties and provides prospects for future works.