An active-matrix digital microfluidic platform based on printed-circuit board technology is developed as a robust, highly scalable, low cost, easy to use, and contamination-insensitive device for automatic and parallel droplet handling.

This paper reports the use of electrohydrodynamic jet (E-jet) printing technique for producing a wide range of graphene micro-scale structures. Ethyl cellulose-dispersed graphene ink and Nafion-dispersed graphene ink were prepared and used for E-Jet printing. A glass slide and PDMS substrate were used for E-Jet printing of graphene ink. The E-jet printed graphene micro-scale structures using ethyl cellulose-dispersed graphene ink presented a feature of center arrayed graphene surrounded by the track of evaporated solution. However, the E-Jet printed graphene structures using Nafion-dispersed graphene ink exhibited uniform arranged features. It was observed that the resistivity of the graphene structures printed from the ethyl cellulose-dispersed graphene ink was much lower than that from the Nafion-dispersed graphene ink. In addition, the graphene micro-scale electrodes were E-Jet printed for preliminary electrochemical applications. The results showed that the graphene micro-scale electrodes had a distinct response for the lead ion. Furthermore, a Pt/graphene composite electrode was formed and an electrochemistry test was conducted. It was found that the Pt /graphene composite electrode had a more sensitive response compared with the pure Pt electrode for electrochemical sensing.

Mercury ion is a highly toxic anthropogenic pollutants and has serious well-known effects on human. There is an ever-growing demand for convenient detection of mercury driven contaminants in environment, including coastal seawater. However, most of the reported methods are instrument-based and are not easy for portable detection. Our protocol described an efficient Digital Microfluidics method for detecting mercury in coastal seawater samples. It combined the miniaturization/automation potential of digital microfluidics and the sensitivity of fluorescence probe. To overcome a potential risk of driven failure, induced by diversity ion ingredients in seawater, a feedback control loop was included into control system. The method showed satisfied stability and selectivity in Hg sensing under high salinity condition, with the sensitivity of Hg2+ at the parts-per-billion level and total testing time of less than 20 s. With the advantages of being fast, amenable to automation and low cost, this protocol is promising for the formation of simple and rapid sensor device, especially for a routine monitoring and emergency detection of Hg/or other metals in coastal waters.