Digital microfluidics is a new technology that permits manipulation of liquid droplets on an array of electrodes. Using this technology, nanoliter to microliter size droplets of different samples and reagents can be dispensed from reservoirs, moved, split, and merged together. Digital microfluidics is poised to become an important and useful tool for biomedical applications because of its capacity to precisely and automatically carry out sequential chemical reactions. In this thesis, a set of tools is presented to accelerate the integration of digital microfluidics into Lab-on-a-Chip platforms for a wide range of applications. An important contribution in this thesis is the development of three rapid prototyping techniques, including the use of laser printing to pattern flexible printed circuit board (PCB) substrates, to make the technology accessible and less expensive. Using these techniques, both digital and channel microfluidic devices can be produced in less than 30 minutes at a minimal cost. These rapid prototyping techniques led to a new method for manipulating liquid droplets on non-planar surfaces. The method, called All Terrain Droplet Actuation (ATDA), was used for several applications, including DNA enrichment by liquid-liquid extraction. ATDA has great potential for the integration of different physico-chemical environments on Lab-on-a-Chip devices. A second important contribution described herein is the development of a new microfluidic format, hybrid microfluidics, which combines digital and channel microfluidics on the same platform. The new hybrid device architecture was used to perform biological sample processing (e.g. enzymatic digestion and fluorescent labeling) followed by electrophoretic separation of the analytes. This new format will facilitate complete automation of Lab-on-a-Chip devices and will eliminate the need for extensive manual sample processing (e.g. pipetting) or expensive robotic stations. Finally, numerical modeling of droplet actuation on single-plate digital microfluidic devices, using electrodynamics, was used to evaluate the droplet actuation forces. Modeling results were verified experimentally using an innovative technique that estimates actuation forces based on resistive forces against droplet motion. The results suggested a list of design tips to produce better devices. It is hoped that the work presented in this thesis will help introduce digital microfluidics to many of the existing Lab-on-a-Chip applications and inspire the development of new ones.

Electrowetting is an electromechanical response that can be used to change the equilibrium shape of droplets on a surface through the application of an electric potential. By applying this potential asymmetrically to a droplet, the droplet can be moved. Typical electrowetting devices use an electrode covered by a dielectric to reduce electrochemical interactions. Successful electrowetting requires electrodes and dielectric layers that can resist damage through many cycles of voltage. Continuous Electrowetting (CEW) is performed on high resistivity silicon wafers. In this process, when an electric potential difference is applied between the substrate ends, the droplet on the substrate moves towards the side with positive voltage. The diode behavior of consecutive metallic spots, placed in the oxide layer, is the root of the droplet movement. This thesis investigates electrode, dielectric, and electrolyte material combinations that can achieve long stable performance with a particular emphasis on continuous electrowetting. Incorporation of diodes can also improve standard EW conditions to achieve lower voltage operation. In passivating systems, a reverse biased electrode becomes electrochemically passive. This way we have performed low voltage and reliable Electrowetting on Dielectric (EWOD) for 5000 test cycles. This is while, in non-passivating systems, EWOD degrades significantly from the first cycles. In CEW devices, SiO2 can also serve as a steady dielectric. It is observed that, with larger electrolytes, contact angle change would remain consistent for 10000 cycles with less than 19% degradation, while would be as high as 47% with small electrolytes. In CEW device, consistent and ideal behavior of electrochemical diodes is expected. Even though diode pairs reduces current flow and the extend of electrochemical reactions, the diode behavior can degrade over test cycles due to electrochemical reactions. To evaluate the diode behavior of different electrodes, a coefficient (referred to as actuation coefficient) is introduced which varies between zero (the least favorable diode behavior) and one (the best diode behavior) It is shown that, with the use of titanium as the electrode, the diodes behave more ideally and they behave consistently over 2000 test cycles. The best diode performance was observed with Na2SO4 electrolyte solution, where actuation coefficient remains at around 0.8 for 10000 test cycles. Aluminum can perform well in the beginning of the test cycles, but its performance degrades significantly over the first cycles.

Orientador: Nilson Cristino da Cruz / Banca: Antônio Riul Júnior / Banca: Rogério Pinto Mota / O Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais, PosMat, tem caráter institucional e integra as atividades de pesquisa em materiais de diversos campi da Unesp / Resumo: A modificação da tensão superficial de um líquido depositado sobre uma superfície sólida pela aplicação de um campo elétrico entre estes dois elementos é denominada eletromolhabilidade. Neste trabalho foi avaliada a eletromolhabilidade em filmes poliméricos depositados sobre amostras de alumínio pela técnica de Implantação Iônica e Deposição por Imersão em Plasma, IIDIP, usando descargas produzidas a partir de misturas de acetileno ('C IND. 2 'H IND.2') e argônio. Imediatamente após as deposições, os filmes foram expostos a plasmas de 'SF IND. 6' para a obtenção de superfícies mais hidrofóbicas. Em uma primeira etapa do estudo foi variada a condição de deposição, enquanto em etapas posteriores foram variados o tempo e a potência do tratamento com 'SF IND. 6'. A composição dos filmes e a estrutura química foram analisadas por espectroscopias de fotoelétrons de raios X e de absorção no infravermelho. A energia livre de superfície e a molhabilidade foram obtidas através de medidas de ângulo de contato, usando água e diiodometano como líquidos de teste. O fenômeno da eletromolhabilidade foi avaliado medindo-se o ângulo de contato em função da diferença de potencial aplicada entre um fio de cobre em contato com uma gota de água colocada sobre o filme e o substrato de alumínio. A resistividade elétrica superficial foi medida por um eletrômetro digital usando o método das duas pontas. Foi observado que as propriedades dos filmes são fortemente dependentes das condições de deposição e tratamento. Variações tão grandes do ângulo de contato quanto 45° foram obtidas com aplicação de 110 V. / Abstract: The modification of the superficial tension of a liquid deposited onto a solid surface by the application of an electric field between these two elements is denominated electrowetting. In this work it has been evaluated the electrowetting ability of thin polymeric films. The films were deposited onto aluminum plates by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition technique, PIIID, from acetylene ('C IND. 2 'H IND.2') and argon atmospheres. Immediately after the depositions the films were exposed to 'SF IND. 6' plasmas to enhance the hydrophobicity of the surfaces. A set of samples were produced under different deposition parameters and a second set of experiments were performed submitting the samples to 'SF IND. 6' plasmas under different excitation power and exposure times. The composition of the films has been analyzed by xray photoelectron and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. Surface free energy and wettability have been evaluated by contact angle measurements using water and diiodomethane as probe liquids. The electrowetting effect was quantified by measuring the contact angle as a function of the DC voltage applied between a copper wire in contact with the water droplet placed onto the film and the aluminum substrate. Surface electrical resistivity was measured by a digital electrometer using the two-point probe method. It has been observed that film properties are strongly dependent on both the conditions of deposition and treatment. Variation as high as 45° in the contact angle have been observed with the application of 110 V. / Mestre

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This dissertation serves to study a protein's conformation-function relationship since immobilized proteins often behave differently from their solution-state counterparts. Therefore, this study is important to the application of protein-based biodevices. Another aim of this dissertation is to explore a new approach to realize low voltage electrowetting without the help of oil bath. Utilizing this approach, a protein micro-separation was realized. Additionally, the interfacial properties of ionic liquid (IL) solid-like layer, which played a key role in electrowetting, was studied for further developments of IL-based applications. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was utilized in the study and played multiple roles in this dissertation. First, AFM was used as a fabrication tool. In the contact mode, conductive AFM tip was used to conduct the electrochemical oxidation to create a chemical pattern or to conduct an electrowetting experiment. Subsequently, AFM was used as a characterization tool in the tapping mode to characterize the surface structure, the thickness, and the surface potential. Furthermore, AFM in the contact mode was used as a measurement tool to measure the tribological force properties of sample. The results of the study concerning the conformational change in immobilized calmodulin showed that the immobilized CaM retained its activity. Additionally, the immobilization of CaM on a solid support did not interfere with the ability of the protein to bind calcium, as well as CaM kinase binding domain. For the electrowetting experiment, our data suggested that the ultra-high capacitance density of the IL dielectric layer leads to the low voltage electrowetting. We also successfully demonstrated the streptavidin and GFP proteins separation by Electrowetting-on-Dielectric (EWOD) force. The results of the surface properties study indicated that the charge and dipole of the substrate can influence the structures and properties of the IL interfacial layer. Our study would be beneficial in research and assay work involving engineered proteins, as well as the study and development of electrowetting applications.