Reusable self driven microfluidic pump with large pumping capacity for POCT

Abstract

Abstract There is increasing demand for self-driven microfluidics to facilitate the implementation related technology for rapid point-of-care analysis. The driving flow of contemporary single modular micropumps can reach 0–9 µL·min− 1. To improve pumping capacity, pump body has to be stacked; however, this increases the total volume and reduces the driving time. To address this problem, this study proposes a single modular micropump with the following parameters: driving flow of 0.25–22 µL·min− 1, driving time up to 300 min, and volume ≤ 6000 mm3; three contact surface thicknesses of 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, and 0.5 mm are designed. The pumping capacity varies with the thickness of polydimethylsiloxane on the effective contact surface. The pump pressure range is designed to meet different pump pressure requirements. Fluid experiments are demonstrated, such as mixing and bisection of microfluidic channels, and various performance parameters of the self-driven micropump are evaluated. As proof of concept, a self-driven colorimetric test for starch detection is demonstrated.