Transfers, Interfaces & Processes (TIPs)

Research topics

Microfluidics

Presentation

Our research in microfluidics aims at developing lab-on-a-chips, i.e. performing chemical or biological processing at small-scale. Our activity is organised around the miniaturization of physico-chemical unit operations, such as liquid/liquid separation by membrane pervaporation, continuous flow crystallisation and bubble dissolution in bubbly flow regime. Integrating one or several of these unit operations should lead to innovative and competing lab-on-a-chip devices for the fields of fine chemistry, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Bubbles and droplets are elementary components in microfluidics and deserved a special attention as they are widely used in two-phase microfluidic applications. Therefore, modelling and predicting their dynamics in microchannels is of utmost importance. We therefore investigate on the one hand the dynamics of confined (Taylor) bubbles, and especially the influence of buoyancy and dewetting on the lubrication film. And on the other hand, we study the dynamics of unconfined bubbles in microchannels, paying a special attention to the inertial and capillary migration forces, as well as to the role of surfactants.

Applications to life sciences are also investigated such as cell/cell adhesion in micro channels, micro beads fabrication for protein purification, micro encapsulation of proteins or single-bacterium analysis and sorting.

Contact: Benoit Scheid

Media

Researchers

Selected publications

Cappello, J., Scheid, B., Brau, F., & Siefert, E. Bioinspired shape shifting of liquid-infused ribbed sheets. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120, e2216001120. 2022

de Timary, G., Cappello, J., & Scheid, B. Enhanced Pinch Flow Fractionation using inertial streamline crossing. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 27, 6. 2022

Debuysschère, R., Siconolfi, L., Rimez, B., Gallaire, F., & Scheid, B. Influence of the inlet velocity profile on the flow stability in a symmetric channel expansion. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 909, A13. 2021

Dewandre, D., Rivero-Rodriguez, J., Vitry, Y., Sobac, B., & Scheid, B. Microfluidic droplet generation based on non-embedded co-flow-focusing using 3D printed nozzle. Scientific Reports, 10, 21616. 2020

Rimez, B., Debuysschère, R., & Scheid, B. On the Effect of Flow Restrictions on the Nucleation Behavior of Molecules in Tubular Flow Nucleators. Journal of Flow Chemistry, 10, 241-249. 2020

Martinez-Calvo, A., Rivero-Rodriguez, J., Scheid B., & Sevilla, A. Natural break-up and satellite formation regimes of surfactant-laden liquid threads. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 883, A35. 2020

Iazzolino, A., Tourtit, Y., Chafaï, A., Gilet, T., Lambert, P., Tadrist, L. Pick up and release of micro-objects: A motion-free method to change the conformity of a capillary contact. Soft Matter, 16(3), 754-763. 2020

Wang, J.P., Lambert, P., De Kock, T., Cnudde, V., François, B. Investigation of the effect of specific interfacial area on strength of unsaturated granular materials by X-ray tomography. Acta Geotechnica, 14(5), 1545-1559. 2019

Tourtit, Y., Gilet, T., Lambert, P. Rupture of a Liquid Bridge between a Cone and a Plane. Langmuir, 35(37), 11979-11985. 2019

Terrazas, R., De Maeijer, A., Bolopion, A., Gauthier, M., Kinnaert, M., & Lambert, P. Thermocapillary micromanipulation: force characterization and Cheerios interactions. Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics, 15(1), 13-22. 2019

Gilet, T., Gernay, S.M., Aquilante, L., Mastrangeli, M., & Lambert, P. Adhesive elastocapillary force on a cantilever beam. Soft Matter, 15(19), 3999-4007. 2019

Rimez, B., Septavaux, J., Debuysschère, R., & Scheid, B. The creation and testing of a fully continuous tubular crystallization device suited for incorporation into flow chemistry setups. Journal of Flow Chemistry, 9, 237-249. 2019

Rivero-Rodriguez, J., & Scheid, B. Mass transfer around flowing bubbles in cylindrical microchannels. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 869, 110-142. 2019

Rimez, B., Septavaux, J., & Scheid, B. The coupling of in-flow reaction with continuous flow seedless tubular crystallization. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 4, 516-522. 2019

Rimez, B., Conté, J., Norrant, E., Cognet, P., Gourdon, C., & Scheid, B. Continuous-Flow Tubular Crystallization to Discriminate between Two Competing Crystal Polymorphs. Part II: antisolvent crystallization. Crystal Growth & Design, 18, 6440-6447. 2018

Rimez, B., Debuysschère, R., Conté, J., Norrant, E., Cognet, P., Gourdon, C., & Scheid, B. Continuous-Flow Tubular Crystallization to Discriminate between Two Competing Crystal Polymorphs. Part I: cooling crystallization. Crystal Growth & Design, 18, 6431-6439. 2018

Atasi, O., Haut, B., Dehaeck, S., Dewandre, A., Legendre, D., & Scheid, B. How to measure the thickness of a lubrication film in a pancake bubble with a single snapshot? Applied Physics Letters, 113, 173701. 2018

Atasi, O., Haut, B., Pedrono, A., Scheid, B., & Legendre, D. Infuence of soluble surfactants and deformation on the dynamics of centered bubbles in cylindrical microchannels. Langmuir, 34(34), 10048-10062. 2018

Rivero-Rodriguez, J., & Scheid, B. Bubble dynamics in microchannels: internial and capillary migration forces. Jounal of Fluid Mechanics, 842, 215-247. 2018

Atasi, O., Khodaparast, S., Scheid, B., & Stone, H.A. Effect of buoyancy on the motion of a long bubble in a horizontal tube. Physical Review Fluids, 2, 094304. 2017

Ziemecka, I., Haut, B., & Scheid, B. Continuous separation, with microfluidics, of the components of a ternary mixture: from vacuum to purge gas pervaporation. Microfluidics & Nanofluidics, 21, 84. 2017

Petit, A.E., Demotte, N., Scheid, B., Wildmann, C., Bigirimana, R., Gordon-Alonso, M., Carrasco, J., Valitutti, S., Godelaine, D., & van der Bruggen, P. A major secretory defect of tumour-infiltrating T lymphocytes due to galectin impairing LFA-1-mediated synapse completion. Nature Communications, 7, 12242. 2016

Mikaelian, D., Haut, B., & Scheid, B. Bubbly flow and gas-liquid mass transfer in square and circular microchannels for stress-free and rigid interfaces: CFD analysis. Microfluidics & Nanofluidics, 19, 523-545. 2015

Projects

  • Postdoctoral position of Omer Atasi

    Mass transfer phenomena in fluids of complex compositions.

    Funded by the FNRS
  • Postdoctoral position of Robin Debuysschère

    Development of new strategies for the continuous crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the FNRS
  • PICABO project

    Development of a medical device to improve the safety of blood transfusion. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the Walloon Region (MecaTech)
  • CARMAPHARM project

    CARbon based MAtrix for PHARMaceutical purpose. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the Walloon Region (MecaTech)
  • First Entreprise project

    Optimization of the design of a microfluidic chip for the production of adjuvant. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the Walloon Region (First Entreprise)
  • ARC ESCAPE

    Particle dynamics and sorting in microchannels. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by ULB
  • PhD thesis of Fabio Pino

    Feedback Control of Liquid Metal Coatings. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded the FNRS
  • Antibubbles

    Developing stabilisation strategies for antibubbles at macro and micro scales. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the FNRS
  • HECO2 project

    Intensification of decarbonated hydrogen generation processes by electrolysis. PI: Benoit Haut and Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the Walloon Region
  • 4DYNAMICS

    4D dynamics and tracking of tailor-made anisotropic particles using digital holographic microscope. PI: Benoit Scheid

    Funded by the FNRS