Abstract
A simple, external in-line valve for use in microfluidic devices constructed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is described. The actuation of the valve is based on the principle that flexible polymer walls of a liquid channel can be pressed together by the aid of a permanent magnet and a small metal bar. In the presence of a small NdFeB magnet lying below the channel of interest, the metal bar is pulled downward simultaneously pushing the thin layer of PDMS down thereby closing the channel stopping any flow of fluid. The operation of the valve is dependent on the thickness of the PDMS layer, the height of the channel, the gap between the chip and the magnet and the strength of the magnet. The microfluidic channels are completely closed to fluid flows ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 μL/min commonly used in microfluidic applications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bae B, Kee H, Kim S, Lee Y, Sim T, Kim Y, Park K (2003) In vitro experiment of the pressure regulating valve for a glaucoma implant. J Micromech Microeng 13:613–619
Bae B, Kim N, Kee H, Kim S, Lee Y, Lee S, Park K (2002) Feasibility test of an electromagnetically driven valve. Actuator for glaucoma treatment. J Microelectromech Syst 11:344–354
Bosh D, Heimhofer B, Muck B, Seidel H, Thumser U, Welser W (1993) A silicon microvalve with combined electromagnetic/electrostatic actuation. Sensors Actuators A 37/38:684–692
Duffy DC, McDonald JC, Schueller OJA, Whitesides GM (1998) Rapid prototyping of microfluidic systems in poly(dimethylsiloxane). Anal Chem 70:4974–4984
Fu C, Rummler Z, Chomburg W (2003) Magnetically driven micro ball valves fabricated by multilayer adhesive film bonding. J Micromech Microeng 13:S96–S102
Jackson WC, Tran HD, O’Brien MJ, Rabinovich E, Lopez GP (2001) Rapid prototyping of active microfluidic components based on magnetically modified elastomeric materials. J Vac Sci Technol B 19:596–599
Oh KW, Ahn CH (2006) A review of microvalves. J Micromech Microeng 16:R13–R39
Oh KW, Han A, Bhansali S, Ahn CH (2002) A low-temperature bonding technique using spin-on fluorocarbon polymers to assemble microsystems. J Micromech Microeng 12:187–191
Oh KW, Rong R, Ahn CH (2001) In-line micro ball valve through polymer tubing. Proc microTAS 2001 407–408
Siegel AC, Shevkoplyas SS, Weibel DB, Bruzewicz DA, Martinez AW, Whitesides GM (2006) Cofabrication of electromagnets and microfluidic systems in poly(dimethylsiloxane). Angew Chem Int Ed 45:6877–6882
Terry SC, Jerman JH, Angell JB (1979) A gas chromatographic air analyzer fabricated on a silicon wafer. IEEE Trans Electron Devices 26:1880–1886
Unger MA, Chou H, Thorsen T, Scherer A, Quake SR (2000) Monolithic microfabricated valves and pumps by multilayer soft lithography. Science 288:113–116
Zhang WY, Ferguson GS, Tatic-Lucic S (2004) Elastomer-supported cold welding for room temperature wafer-level bonding. In: 17th IEEE international conference on MEMS 741–744
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research by grants from the National Science Foundation (CHE-0515363 and DMR-0351848), and the National Institutes of Health (1R15AI65468-01). Additional funds were supplied by the European Community for the Marie Curie Fellowship (MOIF-CT-2006-021447) of A. Gaspar at California State University, Los Angeles.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gaspar, A., Piyasena, M.E., Daroczi, L. et al. Magnetically controlled valve for flow manipulation in polymer microfluidic devices. Microfluid Nanofluid 4, 525–531 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-007-0204-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-007-0204-1