{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:19:45Z","timestamp":1760059185900,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,26]],"date-time":"2025-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748217600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004608","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (China)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BK20220489","62073230"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BK20220489","62073230"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004608","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["BK20220489","62073230"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BK20220489","62073230"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Symmetry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Concentration gradient generation plays a pivotal role in advancing applications across drug screening, chemical synthesis, and biomolecular studies, yet conventional methods remain constrained by labor-intensive workflows, limited throughput, and inflexible gradient control. This study presents a novel multilayer microfluidic chip leveraging shear flow-driven partitioning\u2013recombination mechanisms to enable the flexible and high-throughput generation of concentration gradient droplets. The chip integrates interactive upper and lower polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers, where sequential fluid distribution and recombination are achieved through circular and radial channels while shear forces from the oil phase induce droplet formation. Numerical simulations validated the dynamic pressure-driven concentration gradient formation, demonstrating linear gradient profiles across multiple outlets under varied flow conditions. The experimental results revealed that the shear flow mode significantly enhances mixing uniformity and droplet generation efficiency compared to continuous flow operations, attributed to intensified interfacial interactions within contraction\u2013expansion serpentine channels. By modulating hydrodynamic parameters such as aqueous- and oil-phase flow rates, this system achieved tunable gradient slopes and droplet sizes, underscoring the intrinsic relationship between flow dynamics and gradient formation. The proposed device eliminates reliance on complex channel networks, offering a compact and scalable platform for parallelized gradient generation. This work provides a robust framework for optimizing microfluidic-based concentration gradient systems, with broad implications for high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, and precision biomolecular assays.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym17060826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T04:46:38Z","timestamp":1748493998000},"page":"826","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Flexible Concentration Gradient Droplet Generation via Partitioning\u2013Recombination in a Shear Flow-Driven Multilayer Microfluidic Chip"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Linkai","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"given":"Qingyang","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"given":"Yifan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"},{"name":"School of Future Science and Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"given":"Yongji","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"given":"Haizhen","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4516-1321","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hao","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]},{"given":"Lining","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215299, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6938","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrev.1c00459","article-title":"Microfluidic Evaporation, Pervaporation, and Osmosis: From Passive Pumping to Solute Concentration","volume":"122","author":"Bacchin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Chem. 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