The instant disclosure is related to fluidic distributors, fluidic systems, and associated methods and articles. Certain embodiments are related to fluidic distributors that comprise bays including fluidic connections with relative positions that substantially correspond to each other. In some embodiments, a fluidic distributor may comprise bays with electrical interfaces with relative positions that substantially correspond to each other.

According to some aspects, described herein is an automated droplet-based reactor that utilizes oscillatory motion of a droplet in a tubular reactor under inert atmosphere. In some cases, such a reactor may address current shortcomings of continuous multi-phase flow platforms.

A method of manufacturing a microfluidic system or microfluidic device having at least one channel includes providing a base sheet, providing a deformable intermediate layer, providing a cover film, and laminating the base sheet, the intermediate layer and the cover film so that a back surface of the intermediate layer is attached to a front surface of the base sheet and a back surface of the cover film is attached to a front surface of the intermediate layer opposite to the back surface thereof, thereby forming a laminate comprising the base sheet, the intermediate layer and the cover film. Further, the method includes applying pressure to the front surface of the intermediate layer through the cover film so as to deform the intermediate layer, thereby forming the at least one channel. The invention also relates to a microfluidic system or microfluidic device) manufactured by this method.

A fiber includes one or more layers of polymer surrounding a central lumen, and living animal cells disposed within the lumen and/or within at least one of the one or more layers, wherein the fiber has an outer diameter of between 5 and 8000 microns and wherein each individual layer of polymer has a thickness of between 0.1 and 250 microns. Also disclosed are model tissues including such fibers, and method of making such fibers. The fibers can serve as synthetic blood vessels, ducts, or nerves.

Hydrogel particles (microgels) generated using microfluidic methods have superb properties such as high size uniformity and precise control over degradation and release profiles, making them useful for applications in wound healing and injectable drug delivery. However, the throughput of microfluidics is constrained by the physics governing the flow of immiscible fluids confined within microchannels. This throughput tends to be several orders of magnitude lower than what would be necessary for commercial and clinical applications. Here, we demonstrate the scaling up of on-chip synthesis of microgels by parallelizing the microfluidic channels. Taking advantage of the established fabrication technologies developed by the semiconductor industry and a high flow control system, a 4-inch silicon microfluidic chip integrating more than 4,000 microfluidic devices is developed. By incorporating a high energy flood UV source, this chip allows the synthesis of poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate microgel particles with diameter down to 30 m at a throughput above Ikg/hr. By using photomasks that enable milli-second scale control of the UV exposure, the stiffness of microgels can be varied.

Provided herein are methods utilizing microfluidics for the oxygen-controlled generation of microparticles and hydrogels having controlled microparticle sizes and size distributions and products from provided methods. The included methods provide the generation of microparticles by polymerizing an aqueous solution dispersed in a non-aqueous continuous phase in an oxygen-controlled environment. The process allows for control of size of the size of the aqueous droplets and, thus, control of the size of the generated microparticles which may be used in biological applications.

The automated synthesis of clinically relevant amounts of 16-.sup.18F-fluoro-5-dihydrotestosterone (.sup.18F-FDHT) using a commercially available radiosynthesizer. Synthesis was performed in 90 minutes with a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 295%. The specific activity was 4.6 Ci/mol (170 GBq/mol) at end of formulation with a starting activity of 1.0 Ci (37 GBq). The formulated .sup.18F-FDHT yielded sufficient activity for multiple patient doses and passed all quality control tests required for routine clinical use.

A method for generating a hybrid reaction flows feedstock gas that is also a plasma medium through microchannels. Plasma is generated with the plasma medium via excitation with a time-varying voltage. UV or VUV emissions are generated at a wavelength selected to break a chemical bond in the feedstock gas. The UV or VUV emissions are directed into the microchannels to interact with the plasma medium and generate a reaction product from the plasma medium. A hybrid reactor device includes a microchannel plasma array having inlets and outlets for respectively flowing gas feedstock into and reaction product out of the microchannel plasma array. A UV or VUV emission lamp has its emissions directed into microchannels of the microchannel plasma array. Electrodes ignite plasma in the microchannels and stimulating the UV or VUV emission lamp to generate UV or VUV emissions. One common or plural phased time-varying voltage sources drive the plasma array and the UV or VUV emission lamp.

A fiber includes one or more layers of polymer surrounding a central lumen, and living animal cells disposed within the lumen and/or within at least one of the one or more layers, wherein the fiber has an outer diameter of between 5 and 8000 microns and wherein each individual layer of polymer has a thickness of between 0.1 and 250 microns. Also disclosed are model tissues including such fibers, and method of making such fibers. The fibers can serve as synthetic blood vessels, ducts, or nerves.

The automated synthesis of clinically relevant amounts of 16-.sup.18F-fluoro-5-dihydrotestosterone (.sup.18F-FDHT) using a commercially available radiosynthesizer. Synthesis was performed in 90 minutes with a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 295%. The specific activity was 4.6 Ci/mol (170 GBq/mol) at end of formulation with a starting activity of 1.0 Ci (37 GBq). The formulated .sup.18F-FDHT yielded sufficient activity for multiple patient doses and passed all quality control tests required for routine clinical use.