Active mixing inside double emulsion segments in continuous flow

Fast mixing is essential for many microfluidic applications, especially for flow at low Reynolds numbers. A capillary tube-in-tube coaxial flow setup in combination with a glass microreactor was used to produce immiscible multiphase segments. These double emulsion segments are composed of an organic solvent as the shell (outer) phase and a completely fluorinated liquid (Fluorinert® FC-40) as the core (inner) phase. Due to the higher density of the core droplets, they are responsive to changing their position to the force of gravity (g-force). By gently shaking or jiggling the reactor, the core drop flows very fast in the direction of the g-field without leaving the shell organic phase segme…