Centrifugo-pneumatic valve for metering of highly wetting liquids on centrifugal microfluidic platforms†
Abstract
We designed and experimentally validated a new type of passive valve for centrifugal microfluidic platforms. A liquid column entering an unvented receiving chamber is stopped by the counter-pressure of compressed air. This valve opens under defined conditions at high centrifugal frequencies at which the interface between liquid and air becomes unstable and enables a phase exchange, forwarding the liquid. Burst frequencies of the valve were determined for liquids typically used in biochemical assays: pure