OpenDrop Makes Precision Fluid Control Accessible to Home Science Labs

The maker movement is huge in scope, and is inclusive of hobbies ranging from needlework to space exploration. One of the most intriguing subsets of the maker community is in the arena of scientific research. The potential for everyday people to conduct real scientific experiments is huge, but good lab equipment is expensive. That’s why OpenDrop is designed specifically to make precision fluid control accessible to everyone.

OpenDrop is an open source project that grew out of the hackteria.org community and the DIYBio movement. The goal is to make actual scientific research affordable enough that it can be performed outside of corporate labs and without government grants. OpenDrop, which is currently in its third iteration, is just one component of that growing ecosystem. It’s a small device created by GaudiLabs which gives professional and amateur researchers access to digital microfluidics on a budget.

Digital microfluidics is a way of controlling small amounts of fluid accurately, so that they can be mixed and tested without contamination. OpenDrop does that with an electrode array that pulls drops of liquid to defined areas on a hydrophobic surface. That surface reduces friction so the liquid can move freely, while preventing contamination by ensuring nothing remains when the liquid moves. A 32-bit SAMD21G18 microprocessor controls everything, letting you separate, mix, or move droplets anywhere on the 14x8 electrode matrix. OpenDrop would be very useful in a wide range of lab experiments, and an assembled model costs just €695.00 (about $800).