On-chip monitoring of chemical syntheses in microdroplets via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

Conducting organic syntheses in microfluidic chips allows studying and optimising chemical reactions at minimal time-scales and resource consumption. Herein, we describe a multi-channel microdroplet chip, which allows fast and directed dispensing of reactants into individual droplets in a segmented flow. This gives access to study the reaction progress in situ via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic monitoring of fast moving individual droplets. This opens up new avenues for high-throughput screening of organic reactions at the micro- and nano-scale.