Issue 22, 2010

Design rules for pumping and metering of highly viscous fluids in microfluidics

Abstract

The use of fluids that are significantly more viscous than water in microfluidics has been limited due to their high resistance to flow in microscale channels. This paper reports a theoretical treatment for the flow of highly viscous fluids in deforming microfluidic channels, particularly with respect to transient effects, and discusses the implications of these effects on the design of appropriate microfluidic devices for highly viscous fluids. We couple theory describing flow in a deforming channel with design equations, both for steady-state flows and for the transient periods associated with the initial deformation and final relaxation of a channel. The results of this analysis allow us to describe these systems and also to assess the significance of different parameters on various deformation and/or transient effects. To exemplify their utility, we apply these design rules to two applications: (i) pumping highly viscous fluids for a nanolitre scale mixing application and (ii) precise metering of fluids in microfluidics.

Graphical abstract: Design rules for pumping and metering of highly viscous fluids in microfluidics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 May 2010
Accepted
26 Aug 2010
First published
27 Sep 2010

Lab Chip, 2010,10, 3112-3124

Design rules for pumping and metering of highly viscous fluids in microfluidics

S. L. Perry, J. J. L. Higdon and P. J. A. Kenis, Lab Chip, 2010, 10, 3112 DOI: 10.1039/C0LC00035C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements