Magnetic active-valve micropump actuated by a rotating magnetic assembly

We report on a high-efficiency and self-priming active-valve micropump consisting of a microfluidic chamber structure in glass that is assembled with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastic sheet. The latter comprises two valving membranes and a central pumping chamber actuation membrane, having each an integrated permanent magnet that is magnetically actuated by arc-shaped NdFeB permanent magnets mounted on the rotation axis of a DC minimotor. The choice of this actuation principle allows very low-voltage (0.7 V) and low power (a few 10 mW) operation of the micropump. For the realisation, we use affordable powder blasting glass micropatterning and PDMS molding technologies. A flow rate of 2.4 mL/min and up to 70 mbar backpressure are obtained at the micropump resonance frequency of around 12 Hz, values that are much higher than reported so far for such type of micropump.

Magnetically actuated micropumps

Christophe Yamahata

"Lab-On-a-Chip" (LOC) systems are intended to transpose complete laboratory instrumentations on the few square centimetres of a single microfluidic chip. With such devices the objective is to minimize the time and cost associated with routine biological analysis while improving reproducibility. At the heart of these systems, a fluid delivery unit controls and transfers tiny quantities of liquids enabling the biological assays. This explains the need for robust integrated micropumps as a precondition for the development of many LOC devices. In this context, we have developed a rapid prototyping method for the fabrication of microfluidic chips in plastic and glass materials. The microfabrication principle, which is based on the powder blasting microstructuring process, was used to build devices in either polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or borosilicate glass. Various types of micropumps have been developed which were all based on external magnetic actuation. The use of ferrofluids (or magnetic liquids) has been the subject of the first part of the research. A piston pump using a ferrofluid plug moved by an external magnet has been studied. The integration of a rare-earth material (NdFeB) in a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane, in the form of a powder or as a classical permanent magnet, has then been proposed. An external electromagnet was used to actuate the magnet-containing diaphragm of a reciprocating micropump. Different types of valves, which constitute the critical element in reciprocating micropumps, have also been investigated. We have studied silicone membrane valves, nozzle-diffuser elements and ball valves. While nozzle-diffuser elements present the simplest valving solution from a manufacturing point of view, ball valves have been proposed as a very promising alternative due to their high efficiency. Together with the detailed characterization of the prototypes, we have proposed analytical models that predict the hydrodynamic behaviour of the micropumps. The performances of our micropumps indicate that magnetic actuation is well adapted for LOC microsystems. While we have demonstrated that our proposed microfabrication technique is an excellent rapid prototyping method for disposable plastic devices, our glass micropumps present a competitive low-cost alternative satisfying criteria of biocompatibility and high temperature (130 °C) resistance.

EPFL2005

A ball valve micropump in glass fabricated by powder blasting

Martinus Gijs, Frédéric Lacharme, Christophe Yamahata

We present the microfabrication and characterisation of a ball valve micropump in glass, which is magnetically actuated using the sinusoidal current of an external electromagnet. We employ the use of a simple powder blasting technology for microstructuring the glass substrates and fusion bonding for assembly of the multi-layered microfluidic chip. The use of a polymer membrane with embedded permanent magnet gives rise to a large actuation stroke, making the micropump bubble-tolerant and self-priming. The micropump exhibits a backpressure as high as 280 mbar and water flow rates up to 5 mL/min thanks to the large magnetic actuation force and the use of high-efficiency ball valves. The frequency-dependent characteristics are in excellent agreement with a hydrodynamic damped oscillator model.

2005

Magnetically actuated micropumps

Christophe Yamahata

EPFL2005