Fabrication of micropump for microfluidics application

• Main Authors: Aziz, A. A., Azmi, M. A. Mohd, Nazri, M. N. A. Mohd, Zainal, M. H. F., Khalfan, M. A., Bahrain, A. K.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actuation; Actuators; Capillarity; Connectors; Corrosion resistance; Fatigue strength; Flow velocity; Microcontrollers; Microfluidics; Micropumps; Miniaturization; Piezoelectricity; Pinch force; Polydimethylsiloxane; Polymethyl methacrylate; Silicone resins; Three dimensional printing; Vacuum chambers
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5118148

In microfluidics application, micropump is essential tools to control (inlet-to-outlet) small volume of fluid (microliter) into the microfluidics device. The development of micropump have greatly become attraction among researches. Passive mechanism method such as capillarity (syringe pumps) and gravity (pressure or vacuum chambers and valves) to transport microliter fluid in microdevices are commonly used. Piezoelectric, electrostatic, thermo-pneumatic and electromagnetic micropump have been developed recently. However, this micropump requires many parts such battery, AC socket, syringe and connectors. Miniaturisation, accuracy and high cost are the main challenge in the development of micropump. Furthermore, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) that used in fabrication of micropump has poor solvent resistance and poor fatigue resistance. This paper presents a method for the fabrication of micropump using a combination of polyactic acid (PLA) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in 3D printing process. Additional features have been added for manipulation of fluid using Arduino microcontroller. These features enable the widespread adaptation of this method in academic research settings including to minimize the cost of producing micropump. The modular micropump shows continuous pinch cycle of rest and actuation modes driven by the Arduino. The flow rate of 0.45 μL/min was achieved at 2.0 mm of actuator-membrane gap which associated with highest pinch force. Repeatability and reliability test conducted suggest the micropump performed at consistence flow rate and shows no leakage during the actuation. This work introduces an excellent method to integrated micropump into LOC systems for real-time measurement and rapid analysis.