In microfluidics, droplet generation is an important but very complicated topic. The goal is to create droplets of a specific size depending on the application. Droplet generation in microfluidics is based on the use of two immiscible phases. These two are:
- the continuous phase (oil, medium in which droplets flow) and
- the dispersed phase (water, the droplet).
For generating droplets, microfluidic systems generally include a microfluidic chip, a fluid handling system and tubing. You can then connect this system to a computer and a microscope to visualize the droplet formation.