Issue 6, 2018

Closed-loop feedback control for microfluidic systems through automated capacitive fluid height sensing

Abstract

Precise fluid height sensing in open-channel microfluidics has long been a desirable feature for a wide range of applications. However, performing accurate measurements of the fluid level in small-scale reservoirs (<1 mL) has proven to be an elusive goal, especially if direct fluid-sensor contact needs to be avoided. In particular, gravity-driven systems used in several microfluidic applications to establish pressure gradients and impose flow remain open-loop and largely unmonitored due to these sensing limitations. Here we present an optimized self-shielded coplanar capacitive sensor design and automated control system to provide submillimeter fluid-height resolution (∼250 μm) and control of small-scale open reservoirs without the need for direct fluid contact. Results from testing and validation of our optimized sensor and system also suggest that accurate fluid height information can be used to robustly characterize, calibrate and dynamically control a range of microfluidic systems with complex pumping mechanisms, even in cell culture conditions. Capacitive sensing technology provides a scalable and cost-effective way to enable continuous monitoring and closed-loop feedback control of fluid volumes in small-scale gravity-dominated wells in a variety of microfluidic applications.

Graphical abstract: Closed-loop feedback control for microfluidic systems through automated capacitive fluid height sensing

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 11月 2017
Accepted
02 2月 2018
First published
05 2月 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Lab Chip, 2018,18, 902-914

Closed-loop feedback control for microfluidic systems through automated capacitive fluid height sensing

L. R. Soenksen, T. Kassis, M. Noh, L. G. Griffith and D. L. Trumper, Lab Chip, 2018, 18, 902 DOI: 10.1039/C7LC01223C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, 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 commercial 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