New liquid 'lab on a chip' automates chemical reactions

A team at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is interested in applying 3D printing technology to liquids. Last year, one of Berkeley Lab’s staff scientists teamed up with a visiting scholar, and the two of them developed an innovative approach that allowed forming various kinds of liquid shapes — such as droplets or rotating threads — inside of other liquids. The researchers’ published paper on their findings indicated that they constructed shapes out of water within oil. That feat stimulated the research team to think about the possibility of printing liquids inside of defined channels and making liquid flow through them without causing damage to the structures. They eventually realized that succeeding in that goal would open a world of possibilities that could positively affect numerous industries — the pharmaceutical sector among them. That revelation resulted in the design and printing of the functional fluidic device that came about with help from last year’s conclusions.