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PUBLICATIONS

Method for Measuring the Volume of Nominally 100 um Diameter Spherical Water-in-Oil Emulsion Droplets

Published

Author(s)

John A. Dagata, Natalia Farkas, John A. Kramar

Abstract

This report describes an equivalent volume measurement method using optical microscopy for estimating the mean volume of nominally 100 um diameter spherical droplets. The droplets are the aqueous phase of proprietary water in oil emulsions used in a commercial droplet digital polymerase chain reaction DNA quantitation system. This method is based on the transition of spherical droplets to polygonal structures at constant volume. Close packed spherical emulsion droplets confined within a microfluidic channel transform into a space filling polygonal lattice as the oil phase evaporates. The microfluidic channel height determines the resulting lattice dimensions such that the mean droplet volume is traceable to the unit of length through a determination of channel height.
Citation
Special Publication (NIST SP) - 260-184
Report Number
260-184
NIST Pub Series
Special Publication (NIST SP)
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) Droplet volume Optical microscopy Plateau border channels Princen’s model Water-in-oil emulsions
Bioscience, Health and Metrology

Citation

Dagata, J. , Farkas, N. and Kramar, J. (2016), Method for Measuring the Volume of Nominally 100 um Diameter Spherical Water-in-Oil Emulsion Droplets, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.260-184 (Accessed October 13, 2025)

Issues

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Created July 13, 2016, Updated November 10, 2018
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