A peristaltic pump integrated on a 100% glass microchip using computer controlled piezoelectric actuators

Abstract

Lab-on-a-chip technology is promising for the miniaturization of chemistry, biochemistry, and/or biology researchers looking to exploit the advantages of a microspace. To manipulate fluid on a microchip, on-chip pumps are indispensable. To date, there have been several types of on-chip pumps including pneumatic, electroactive, and magnetically driven. However these pumps introduce polymers, metals, and/or silicon to the microchip, and these materials have several disadvantages, including chemical or physical instability, or an inherent optical detection limit. To overcome/avoid these issues, glass has been one of the most commonly utilized materials for the production of multi-purpose integrated chemical systems. However, glass is very rigid, and it is difficult to incorporate pumps onto glass microchips. This paper reports the use of a very flexible, ultra-thin glass sheet (minimum thickness of a few micrometers) to realize a pump installed on an entirely glass-based microchip. The pump is a peristaltic-type, composed of four serial valves sealing a cavity with two penetrate holes using ultra-thin glass sheet. By this pump, an on-chip circulating flow was demonstrated by directly observing fluid flow, visualized via polystyrene tracking particles. The flow rate was proportional to the pumping frequency, with a maximum flow rate of approximately 0.80 μL/min. This on-chip pump could likely be utilized in a wide range of applications which require the stability of a glass microchip. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.