Direct transportation and electrofusion of oil droplets in a microfluidic device

A hybrid bio-electrical system for direct transportation and electrofusion of oil droplets is proposed. A motor protein system, kinesin/microtubule, was used to transport kinesin-coated oil droplets along microtubules oriented and immobilized on a glass surface. The attachment between the biotinylated-kinesin and the functionalized oil droplet was achieved using the biotin-streptavidin binding. Fusion of the oil droplets was accomplished by applying AC voltage on the electrodes placed inside a flow cell. Together with encapsulation of particles/reactants within oil droplets, this method may lead to the fabrication of a nanoscale reactor.