A novel AC electrothermal micropump for biofluid transport using circular interdigitated microelectrode array

Alinaghi Salari; Colin Dalton

doi:10.1117/12.2077794

5 March 2015 A novel AC electrothermal micropump for biofluid transport using circular interdigitated microelectrode array

Alinaghi Salari, Colin Dalton

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9320, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XIII; 932016 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077794
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Electrokinetic micropumps have been widely used in lab-on-a-chip devices. The AC electrothermal (ACET) effect is highly efficient for biofluidic micropumping, but is unable to generate high flow rates. Attempts to increase ACET flows, such as applying a wide range of actuation voltages, using asymmetric microelectrode arrays and using 3D microelectrodes have been reported. In this paper a novel idea of employing circular coplanar asymmetric microelectrodes placed on the perimeter of a microchannel is explored. An array of microelectrodes is simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The micropump output shows relatively high flow rates compared to other ACET micropumps which have the same electrode dimensions. Moreover, the idea of using different micropumps with scaled dimensions is investigated. The results show that a highly efficient ACET micropump can be achieved if an appropriate electrode size-to-channel dimension ratio is selected. The results also show that a micropump with a scale of 0.2 can show negligible flow rate, but if the electrodes are used in a micropump with the scale of 1, a flow rate of 15 ×10⁶ μm³/s can be generated. This new ACET pump design can be utilized for lab-on-a-chip applications, specifically in biofluid delivery systems.

Citation Download Citation

Alinaghi Salari and Colin Dalton "A novel AC electrothermal micropump for biofluid transport using circular interdigitated microelectrode array", Proc. SPIE 9320, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems XIII, 932016 (5 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077794

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available