K-State engineer developing novel electrical method to create controllable droplets
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024
MANHATTAN — A Kansas State University engineer is developing a new method for creating large quantities of liquid droplets with uniform and adjustable volumes through a novel electrical technique called electrowetting bursting.
Shih-Kang "Scott" Fan, professor in the Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, received a three-year grant for more than $450,000 from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical Bioengineering Environmental and Transport Systems for the project.
The research also includes as co-principal investigator Mingjun Wei, holder of the Harold O. and Jane C. Massey Neff Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering.
The project aims to explore the feasibility of using electrowetting bursting to create controllable droplets while significantly reducing the size and weight of the systems used to create them.
"Producing large quantities of liquid droplets with uniform and adjustable volumes is crucial yet challenging," Fan said. "Current droplet generation systems depend heavily on mechanical components such as pumps, centrifuges or mixers, which are bulky and difficult to provide droplet uniformity. The electrowetting bursting approach has potential applications in point-of-care settings for disease diagnostics, drug synthesis and vaccine manufacturing."
Fan said the study combines analytical, experimental and numerical methods and will deepen the understanding of droplet bursting via electrowetting while exploring its applications.
"These include emulsion production, digital chemical and biological assay, single-cell analysis, drug delivery and nanoparticle synthesis," Fan said. "Additionally, education for both undergraduate and graduate students, along with outreach events, will be integrated into this project to promote STEM in the classroom and to the wider public."
