A microfluidic concentration gradient generator for simultaneous delivery of two reagents on a millimeter-sized sample

Abstract

Microfluidic concentration gradient generators (μCGGs) are indispensable parts of many emerging lab-on-a-chip platforms for biological studies and drug delivery applications. Most of the μCGGs reported in the literature can only generate the desired concentration gradients in a micron-sized sample (e.g., cells). As such, there is an unmet need to design a μCGG that can generate continuous concentration gradients of multi reagents (e.g., drugs) in a millimeter-sized sample (e.g., tissue). Herein, we report the proof-of-concept of this class of μCGG by combining a modified tree-like CGG with a micromixer. By conducting both experimental investigation and numerical analysis, we show that the proposed device can generate a continuous concentration gradient of two reagents and deliver all the possible combinations of their concentrations to a millimeter-sized sample. The proposed device can be used in a broad range of applications, especially ex-vivo drug chemosensitivity testing in personalized medicine.