Droplet formation in a microchannel network

A method is given for generating droplets in a microchannel network. With oil as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed phase, pico/nanoliter-sized water droplets can be generated in a continuous phase flow at a T-junction. The channel for the dispersed phase is 100 mum wide and 100 mum deep, whereas the channel for the continuous phase is 500 mum wide and 100 mum deep. For given experimental parameters, regular- sized droplets are reproducibly formed at a uniform speed. The diameter of these droplets is controllable in the range from 100-380 m m as the flow velocity of the continuous phase is varied from 0.01 m s(-1) to 0.15 m s(-1).