A clip-on electroosmotic pump for oscillating flow in microfluidic cell culture devices

Abstract

Recent advances in microfluidic devices put a high demand on small, robust and reliable pumps suitable for high-throughput applications. Here we demonstrate a compact, low-cost, directly attachable (clip-on) electroosmotic pump that couples with standard Luer connectors on a microfluidic device. The pump is easy to make and consists of a porous polycarbonate membrane and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes. The soft electrode and membrane materials make it possible to incorporate the pump into a standard syringe filter holder, which in turn can be attached to commercial chips. The pump is less than half the size of the microscope slide used for many commercial lab-on-a-chip devices, meaning that these pumps can be used to control fluid flow in individual reactors in highly parallelized chemistry and biology experiments. Flow rates at various electric current and device dimensions are reported. We demonstrate the feasibility and safety of the pump for biological experiments by exposing endothelial cells to oscillating shear stress (up to 5 dyn/cm 2 ) and by controlling the movement of both micro-and macroparticles, generating steady or oscillatory flow rates up to ± 400 μL/min.

Pulsatile Flow in Microfluidic Systems

“…Bengtsson et al recently developed a clip‐on electroosmotic pump with standardized Luer connectors for microfluidic cell culture devices, shown in Figure . This device could easily be adapted for other oscillatory microfluidic flows . It has the advantages of low‐cost, low‐footprint, and easy implementation with demonstrated oscillatory flow rates of ± 400 µL min −1 and frequencies up to 0.25 Hz.…”

“…B) Exploded schematic of the modified syringe filter holder and pump, consisting of a porous polycarbonate membrane and two poly(3,4‐ethylene dioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2018, Springer Nature.…”

“…This device could easily be adapted for other oscillatory microfluidic flows. [62] It has the advantages of low-cost, low-footprint, and easy implementation with demonstrated oscillatory flow rates of ± 400 µL min −1 and frequencies up to 0.25 Hz.…”

Conceptual Design of Micro-Bioreactors and Organ-on-Chips for Studies of Cell Cultures

“…Thus, common components, such as plastic containers, micro-pumps, temperature and pH sensors, impellers, or robotic racks are introduced and compared. In a second ranking table, the need specifications are used again and component alternatives scored (pumps, gravity mixers, osmotic pumps, and optical and electrical sensor devices) according to their ability to meet the requirements of the specifications (see ranking Table S1 in Supplementary Information ) [ 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. With these ranked components, a first prototype is blueprinted, constructed, and tested ( Figure 7 ).…”

Detection of Molecular Adsorbate in Aqueous Solution Based on Electroosmosis

“…An electroosmotic pump (EOP) is a small pump based on electroosmotic flow (EOF), which was operated by a low voltage without pulsation and mechanical noise. For practical application, many types of EOP, such as polymer-based, (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) inorganic, (6)(7)(8)(9) and microfabricated (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) EOPs, have been developed so far. In particular, the microfabricated EOP has great potential as the micropump of point-of-care testing devices because microfluidic techniques can integrate various experimental operations on a small substrate.…”