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A micropump based on water potential difference in plants

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Abstract

In land plants, water vapor diffuses into the air through the stomata. The loss of water vapor creates a water potential difference between the leaf and the soil, which draws the water upward. Quantitatively, the water potential difference is 1–2 MPa which can support a water column of 100–200 m. Here we present the design and operation of a biomimetic micropump. The micropump is mainly composed of a 48-μm thick metal screen plate with a group of 102-μm diameter micropores and an agarose gel sheet with nanopores of 100 nm diameter. The micropores in the screen plate imitate the stomata to regulate the flow rate of the micropump. The agarose gel sheet is used to imitate the mesophyll cells around the stomata. The lost of water from the nanopores in the gel sheet can generate a water potential difference (more than 30 kPa) which can drive solution flow in a microfluidic chip. Results have shown that a precise flow rate of 4–8 nl/min can be obtained by using this micropump, and its ultra-high flow rate is 113–126 nl/min. The advantages of this biomimetic micropump include adjustable flow rate, simple structure and low fabrication cost. It can be used as a “plug and play” fluid-driven unit in microfluidic chips without any external power sources or equipments.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (20890024), Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (No. 2007CB714502), National Natural Science Foundation of China (91023017; 91023046) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20100481237).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Technology and System of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116023, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Min Li, Chong Liu, Kai Ping Zhang, Xue Ke, Zheng Xu, Chun Yu Li & Li Ding Wang

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  1. Jing Min Li
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  2. Chong Liu
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  3. Kai Ping Zhang
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  4. Xue Ke
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  5. Zheng Xu
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  6. Chun Yu Li
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  7. Li Ding Wang
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Correspondence to Chong Liu.

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Li, J.M., Liu, C., Zhang, K.P. et al. A micropump based on water potential difference in plants. Microfluid Nanofluid 11, 717–724 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-011-0837-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-011-0837-y

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