Robotic automation of droplet microfluidics

Abstract

Droplet microfluidics enables powerful analytic capabilities but often requires workflows involving macro- and microfluidic processing steps that are cumbersome to perform manually. Here, we demonstrate the automation of droplet microfluidics with commercial fluid-handling robotics. The workflows incorporate common microfluidic devices including droplet generators, mergers, and sorters and utilize the robot's native capabilities for thermal control, incubation, and plate scanning. The ability to automate microfluidic devices using commercial fluid handling will speed up the integration of these methods into biological workflows.