Dataset Information

Flow batteries for microfluidic networks: configuring an electroosmotic pump for nonterminal positions.

ABSTRACT: A micropump provides flow and pressure for a lab-on-chip device, just as a battery supplies current and voltage for an electronic system. Numerous micropumps have been developed, but none is as versatile as a battery. One cannot easily insert a micropump into a nonterminal position of a fluidic line without affecting the rest of the fluidic system, and one cannot simply connect several micropumps in series to enhance the pressure output, etc. In this work we develop a flow battery (or pressure power supply) to address this issue. A flow battery consists of a +EOP (in which the liquid flows in the same direction as the field gradient) and a -EOP (in which the liquid flows opposite to the electric field gradient), and the outlet of the +EOP is directly connected to the inlet of the -EOP. An external high voltage is applied to this outlet-inlet joint via a short gel-filled capillary that allows ions but not bulk liquid flow, while the +EOP's inlet and the -EOP's outlet (the flow battery's inlet and outlet) are grounded. This flow battery can be deployed anywhere in a fluidic network without electrically affecting the rest of the system. Several flow batteries can be connected in series to enhance the pressure output to drive HPLC separations. In a fluidic system powered by flow batteries, a hydraulic equivalent of Ohm's law can be applied to analyze system pressures and flow rates.

SUBMITTER: He C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3070358 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Flow batteries for microfluidic networks: configuring an electroosmotic pump for nonterminal positions.

He Chiyang C Lu Joann J JJ Jia Zhijian Z Wang Wei W Wang Xiayan X Dasgupta Purnendu K PK Liu Shaorong S

Analytical chemistry 20110304 7

A micropump provides flow and pressure for a lab-on-chip device, just as a battery supplies current and voltage for an electronic system. Numerous micropumps have been developed, but none is as versatile as a battery. One cannot easily insert a micropump into a nonterminal position of a fluidic line without affecting the rest of the fluidic system, and one cannot simply connect several micropumps in series to enhance the pressure output, etc. In this work we develop a flow battery (or pressure p ...[more]

PMID: 21375230

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Project description:Pancreatic islets of Langerhans release glucagon to maintain blood glucose levels, and release of this peptide is dysregulated in diabetes mellitus. Although the importance of proper secretion of this peptide has been shown, no measurement of its release at the single islet level has been reported. In previous work, a non-competitive assay for glucagon was developed with a 6 pM limit of detection, low enough to measure from a single islet. To incorporate this method in an online assay, a microfluidic system with several distinct features was developed. To maintain appropriate flow rates in the presence of the high concentration of salt that was required for the assay, a piezo-actuated pressure transducer with in-line flow sensors was used to drive sample flow through 80 × 50 μm (width × depth) channels, while electroosmotic flow was used to gate the sample away from 15 × 5 μm separation channel. Flow rates tested with this system were 50 - 200 nL min-1 with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 1 - 4 %. Use of the pressure-driven flow was found to increase the amount of clogs in the system, so a method to incorporate in-line filters into the channels was developed. A total of 4 low resistance, in-line microfabricated filters were evaluated, with all designs prolonging the operation time of the microfluidic device to more than 4 hours without clogs observed. Use of this system enabled highly reproducible injections (3-6% RSD). During initial incorporation of the noncompetitive assay for glucagon, it was determined that Joule heating was problematic and temperature measurements revealed the separation channel increased to more than 50°C during operation. A 3D-printed manifold was used to hold a Peltier cooler in place on the microfluidic device which produced a 2.6-fold improvement in the amount of the noncovalent glucagon complex that was detected compared to without cooling. These features are expected to be useful for not only long-term monitoring of the glucagon release from islets of Langerhans, but has the potential to be applied to a number of other microfluidic separation-based assays as well.

Dataset Information

Flow batteries for microfluidic networks: configuring an electroosmotic pump for nonterminal positions.

Publications

Flow batteries for microfluidic networks: configuring an electroosmotic pump for nonterminal positions.

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