Pressure Driven Pump for Portable Microfluidic Devices

Abstract

Microfluidic devices have become interesting areas of research for their ability to create high throughput chemical analysis and other functions. In some microfluidic devices, fluids are actively moved through the valves to maintain a characteristic flow using a number of different devices. One such device employs pressure to move the flow media through the microvalves. The research will be for the development of a pressure controlled microfluidic pump using a microcontrolled solenoid valve coupled with a pressure sensor. Pressure driven microfluidic devices are important in some applications. The device can be used in studies such as impedance spectroscopy to measure the phase and magnitude change in microfluidics where pressure control is important. Additionally, the creation of a portable device for pressure driven microfluidic devices will allow for on-site testing of cells and other such organisms or reactions. This may become important for disease diagnosing, bacterial testing, or other such applications.