Photoactive integrated microfluidic valves for on-chip fluid control

Photoactive integrated microfluidic valves for on-chip fluid control

Blog Article

In microfluidics, on-chip fluid control is crucial for applications where programmable and automated fluid handling with low dead volume and limited auxiliary equipment is desired.This is, for instance, the case for point-of-care (POC) devices, especially in low Cutting Board Brushes resource settings.The integration of photoactive valves into a disposable microfluidic chip is one method of attaining low-power and non-contact fluid control in the blink of an LED.

A liquid crystal network (LCN) based micro-valve was developed, which enables rapid fluid transfer on-chip by opening a venting channel upon illumination at 80 mW cm-2 with a 455 nm wavelength MAG CIT TROPICAL LED.We show in two proof-of-principle devices that multiple valves can be integrated into a 3D-printed microfluidic chip.Their individual actuation leads to directed sequential filling as well as draining of a reaction chamber, providing the prerequisite for intricate on-chip processes.

Thus, our photoactive valves show the potential of facilitating programmable lab-on-a-chip experiments, for instance, for sample preparation such as for bind-wash-elute protocols, for immunoassay, or for amplification-based detection methods.