Abstract
Recent advances in the fabrication of microflow devices using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology are described. Passive and active liquid flow control and particle-handling methods in micrometer-scale channels are reviewed. These methods are useful in micro total analysis systems (μTAS) and laboratory-on-a-chip systems. Multiple flow control systems (i.e., arrayed microvalves) for advanced high-throughput microflow systems are introduced. Examples of microflow devices and systems for chemical and biochemical applications are also described.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- μTAS:
-
Micro total analysis systems
- CFD:
-
Computational fluid dynamics
- CMOS:
-
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
- DEMUX:
-
Demultiplexer
- DEP:
-
Dielectrophoresis
- EOF:
-
Electro-osmotic flow
- MEMS:
-
Micro-electromechanical systems
- ODEP:
-
Optically induced dielectrophoretic
- PDMS:
-
Poly(dimethylsiloxane)
- Re:
-
Reynolds number
- TGP:
-
Thermoreversible gelation polymer
References
Madou MJ (2002) Fundamentals of microfabrication. CRC, New York
Shoji S (1998) Technology in chemistry and life science. Top Curr Chem 194:163–188
Tabeling P (2005) Introduction to microfluidics. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Stroock AD, Dertinger SKW, Ajdari A, Mezic I, Stone HA, Whiteside GM (2002) Chaotic mixer for microchannels. Science 295:647–651
Sato H, Ito S, Tajima K, Orimoto N, Shoji S (2005) PDMS microchannels with slanted grooves embedded in three walls to realize efficient spiral flow. Sens Actuators A 119:365–371
Kim DS, Lee SW, Kwon TH, Lee SS (2002) Barrier embedded chaotic micromixer. In: Baba Y, Shoji S, Berg A (eds) Proceedings 6th international conference on micro total analysis systems (μTAS’02), Nara, Japan, 3–7 November 2002. Kluwer, The Netherlands, pp 757–759
Larsen UD, Blankenstein G, Branebjerg (1997) Microchip coulter particle counter. In: Proceedings international conference on solid-state sensors and actuators, Transducers’97, Chicago, IL, 16–19 June 1997, pp 1319–1322
Kawai K, Kanai M, Munaka T, Abe H, Murakami A, Shoji S (2008) Parallel and passive distribution to arrayed microwells using self-regulating pinched flow. Sens Mater 20(6):281–288
Jeong W, Kim J, Kim S, Lee S, Mensing G, Beebe DJ (2004) Hydrodynamic microfabrication via “on the fly” photopolymerization of microscale fibers and tubes. Lab Chip 4:576–580
Onoe H, Gojo R, Tssuda Y, Kiriya D, Takeuchi S (2010) Core-shell gel wires for the construction of large area heterogeneous structures with biomaterials. In: Proceedings IEEE 23rd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Wanchai, Hong Kong, 24–28 January 2010, pp 248–251
Tashiro K, Sekiguchi T, Shoji S, Funatsu T, Masumoto W, Sato H (2000) Design and simulation of particles and biomolecules handling microflow cells with three-dimensional sheath flow. In: Proceedings 4th international conference on micro total analysis systems (μTAS), Enschede, The Netherlands, 14–18 May 2000. Kluwer, The Netherlands, pp 209–212
Sundararajan N, Pio MS, Lee LP, Berlin A (2004) Three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing in plolydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels. IEEE JMEMS 13(4):559–567
Mao X, Waldeisen JR, Huang TJ (2007) “Microfluidic drifting”-implementing three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing with a single-layer planer microfluidic device. Lab Chip 7:1260–1262
Zhuang GS, Jensen TG, Kutter JP (2008) Thee-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing over a wide Reynolds number range using a two-layer microfluidic design. In: Proceedings 12th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’08), San Diego, CA, 12–16 October 2008, pp 1357–1359
Shirasaki Y, Goto M, Sugino H, Arakawa T, Yoon D, Mizuno J, Shoji S, Funatsu T (2010) A microfluidic mammalian cell sorter with thermal gelation polymer solution. In: Proceedings 14th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’10), Groningen, The Netherlands, 3–7 October 2010, pp 1571–1573
Gambin Y, Simonnet C, VanDelinder V, Deniz A, Groisman A (2010) Ultrafast microfluidic mixer with three-dimensional flow focusing for studies of biochemical kinetics. Lab Chip 10:598–609
Sato H, Sasamoto Y, Sekiguchi T, Homma T, Shoji S (2007) Multiple core-sheath liquid transfer using matrix arrangement of 3D sheath flows. In: Proceedings 11th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’07), Paris, France, 7–11 October pp 1571–1573
Howell PB Jr, Golden JP, Hilliard LR, Erickson JS, Mott DR, Ligler FS (2008) Two simple and rugged designs for creating microfluidic sheath flow. Lab Chip 8:1097–1103
Seki M, Yamada M (2004) Pinched flow fractionation: continuous size separation of particles utilizing a laminar flow profile in a pinched microchannel. Anal Chem 76:5465–5471
Takagi J, Yamada M, Yasuda M, Seki M (2005) Continuous particle separation in a microchannel having asymmetrically arranged multiple branches. Lab Chip 5:778–784
Choi S, Song S, Choi C, Park J-K (2009) Hydrophoretic sorting of micrometer and submicrometer particles using anisotropic microfluidic obstacles. Anal Chem 81:50–55
Choi S, Song S, Choi C, Park J-K (2009) Microfluidic self-sorting of mammalian cells to achieve cell cycle synchrony by hydrophoresis. Anal Chem 81:1964–1968
Yamada M, Kano K, Tsuda Y, Kobayashi J, Yamato M, Seki M (2007) Microfluidic devices for size-dependant separation of live cells. Biomed Microdevices 9:637–645
Yamada M, Seki M (2005) Hydrodynamic filtration for on-chip particle concentration and classification utilizing microfluidics. Lab Chip 5:1233–1239
Blankenstein G, Scampavia L, Branebjerg J, Larsen UD, Ruzica J, (1996) Flow switch for analyte injection and cell/particle sorting. In: Proceedings 2nd international conference on miniaturized total analysis systems (μTAS’96), Basel, Switzerland, 19–22 November 1996, pp 82–84
Wolff A, Larsen UD, Blankenstein G, Philip J, Telleman P (1998) Rare event cell sorting in a microfluidic system for application in prenatal diagnosis. In: Harrison DJ, Berg A (eds). Proceedings micro total analysis systems workshop (μTAS’98), Banff, Canada, 13–16 October 1998. Kluwer, The Netherlands, pp 77–80
Fisher JS, Kuo TS, Poulos J, Lee AP (2007) Design parameters for 1XN microdroplet switch. In: Proceedings 11th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’07), Paris, France, 7–11 October 2007, pp 1531–1533
Kanai K, Ikeda S, Tanaka J, Go GS, Nakanishi H, Shoji S (2004) The multiple sample injector using improved sheath flow to prevent sample dilution. Sens Actuators A 111:32–36
Ohtsuka S, Kanai M, Hayashi M, Nakanishi H, Shoji S (2004) Development of individual cell sorting system for intercellular reaction analysis. In: Proceedings 8th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’04), Malmö, Sweden, 26–30 September 2004, vol 1, pp 30–32
Chen CH, Cho SH, Erten A, Lo YH (2008) High-throughput cell sorter with piezoelectric actuation. In: Proceedings 12th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’08), San Diego, CA, 12–16 October 2008, pp 155–157
Klammer I, Buchenauer A, Dura G, Mokwa W, Schnakenberg U, (2008) A novel valve for microfluidic PDMS-based systems. In: Proceedings IEEE 21st international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Tucson, AZ, 13–17 January 2008, pp 626–629
Lin Y-H, Lee C-H, Lee G-B (2008) A new droplet formation chip utilizing controllable moving-wall structure for double emulsion applications. In: Proceedings IEEE 21st international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Tucson, AZ, 13–17 January 2008, pp 22–25
Iwai K, Takeuchi S (2009) A dynamic microarray with pneumatic valves for selective trapping and releasing of microbeads. In: Proceedings IEEE 22nd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Sorrento, Italy, 25–29 January 2009, pp 371–373
Wakui D, Takahashi S, Sekiguchi T, Shoji S (2010) Multi channel droplet sorting device with horizontal pneumatic actuation using single layer PDMS flexible parallel walls. In: Proceedings IEEE 23rd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Wanchai, Hong Kong, 24–28 January 2010, pp 144–147
Takao H, Tanaka N, Sugiura M, Sawada K, Ishida M (2009) Non-linear fluidic integrated circuits realized by pneumatic-field effect transducers with controllable output resistance. In: Proceedings IEEE 22nd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Sorrento, Italy, 25–29 January 2009, pp 503–506
Takahashi K, Hattori A, Suzuki I, Ichiki T, Yasuda K (2004) Non-destructive on-chip cell sorting system with real-time microscopic image processing. J Nanobiotechnology 2:5–12
Ahn B, Panchapakesan R, Lee K, Oh KW (2008) Fast, robust and simultaneous sorting with droplet generation by synchronized high switching frequency of electrostatic actuation. In: Proceedings 12th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’08), San Diego, CA, 12–16 October 2008, pp 119–121
Wang L, Flanagan LA, Jeon NL, Monuki E, Lee AP (2007) Dielectrophoresis switching with vertical sidewall electrodes for microfluidic flow cytometry. Lab Chip 7:1114–1120
Zhang L, Bossche A (2009) A novel device for particle batch separation based on dielectrophoresis. In: Proceedings international conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, Transducers’09, Denver, CO, 21–25 June 2009, pp 2151–2154
Chang S, Cho Y-H, (2007) A continuous multi-size particle separator using negative dielectrophoretic virtual pillars induced by a planar spot electrode array. In: Proceedings IEEE 20th international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Hyogo, Japan, 21–25 January 2007, pp 19–22
Wang MM, Tu E, Raymond DE, Yang JM, Zhang H, Hagen N, Dees B, Mercer EM, Foster AH, Kariv I, Marchand J, Bulter WF (2005) Microfluidic sorting of mammalian cells by optical force switching. Nat Biotechnol 23(1):83–87
Shirasaki Y, Tanaka J, Makazu H, Tashiro K, Shoji S, Tsukita S, Funatsu T (2006) On-chip cell sorting system using laser-induced heating of a thermoreversible gelation polymer to control flow. Anal Chem 78(3):695–701
Arakawa T, Shirasaki Y, Aoki T, Funatsu T, Shoji S (2007) Three-dimensional sheath flow sorting microsystem using thermosensitive hydrogel. Sens Actuators A 135:99–105
Sugino H, Ozaki K, Shirasaki Y, Arakawa T, Shoji S, Funatsu T (2009) On-chip microfluidic sorting with fluorescence spectrum detection and multiway separation. Lab Chip 9:1254–1260
Ozaki K, Sugino H, Arakawa T, Shirasaki Y, Funatsu T, Shoji S, (2009) High performance multiple E. coli cell sorting system using thermosensitive hydrogel and fluorescence spectrum detection. In: Proceedings 13th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’09), Jeju, Korea, 1–5 November 2009, pp 1856–1858
Ozaki K, Sugino H, Shirasaki Y, Aoki T, Arakawa T, Funatsu T, Shoji S (2010) Microfluidic cell sorter with flow switching triggered by a sol-gel Transition of a therm-resersible gelation polymer. Sens Actuators B 150:449–455
Lin W-Y, Lee G-B (2009) A new micro flow cytometer using optically-induced dielectrophoretic forces for continuous microparticle counting and sorting. In: Proceedings 12th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’08) San Diego, USA, Korea, 1–5 November 2009, pp 47–50
Lee G-B, Lin Y-H, Lin W-Y, Wang W, Guo T-F, (2009) Optically-induced dielectrophoresis using polymer materials for biomedical applications. In: Proceedings international conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, Transducers’09, Denver, CO, 21–25 June 2009, pp 2135–2138
Arai F, Sakuma S, Yamabishi Y, Onda K (2009) Powerful actuation of magnetized microtoll by focused magnetic field on a disposable microfluidic chip. In: Proceedings IEEE 22nd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Sorrento, Italy, 25–29 January 2009, pp 51–54
Yamanishi Y, Feng L, Arai F (2010) On-demand and size-controlled production of emulsion droplet in microfluidic devices. In: Proceedings IEEE 23rd international conference on micro electro mechanical systems, Wanchai, Hong Kong, 24–28 January 2010, pp 1087–1090
Nilsson A, Petersson F, Jonsson H, Laurell T (2004) Acoustic control of suspended particles in microfluidic chips. Lab Chip 4:131–135
Petersson F, Nilsson A, Jonsson H, Laurell T (2005) Carrier medium exchange through ultrasonic particle switching in microfluidic channels. Anal Chem 77:1216–1221
Zhong JF, Chen Y, Marcus JS, Scherer A, Quake SR, Taylor CR, Weiner LP (2007) A microfluidic processor for gene expression profiling of single human embryonic stem cells. Lab Chip 8:68–74
Grover WH, Jensen EC, Lvester RHC, Mathies RA (2006) Programmable pneumatic logical circuits for microfluidic device control. In: Proceedings 10th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’06), Tokyo, Japan, 5–9 November 2006, pp 506–508
Rhee M, Burns MA (2009) Microfluidic pneumatic logic circuits and digital pneumatic microprocessors for integrated microfluidic systems. Lab Chip 9:3131–3143
Gu W, Chen H, Tung YC, Meiners JC, Takayama S (2007) Multiplexed hydraulic valve actuation using ionic liquid filled soft channels and Braille displays. Appl Phys Lett 90(3):033505
Lee DW, Cho Y-H (2009) A quaternary microfluidic multiplexer using dynamic control of pressure valves having different thresholds. In: Proceedings international conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, Transducers’09, Denver, CO, 21–25 June 2009, pp 433–436
Kawai K, Kanai M, Shoji S (2007) Efficient addressable fluid control system using pneumatic valve array. In: Proceedings 11th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’07), Paris, France, 7–11 October 2007, pp 32–34
Kawai K, Shibata Y, Shoji S (2009) 100 Picoliter droplet handling using 256 (28) microvalve array with 18 multiplexed control lines. In: proceedings international conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, Transducers’09, Denver, CO, 21–25 June, 2009, pp 802–805
Yamada M, Seki M (2004) Nanoliter-sized liquid dispenser array for multiple biochemical analysis in microfluidic devices. Anal Chem 76(4):895–899
Sato T, Kawai K, Kanai M, Shoji S (2009) Development of all fluoroplastic microfluidic device applied as a nanoliter sample injector. Jpn J Appl Phys 48:No.06FJ03
Lin B-C, Su Y-C (2008) On-demand droplet metering and fusion utilizing membrane actuation. In: Proceedings 12th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’08), San Diego, CA, 12–16 October 2008, pp 86–88
Fujii M, Kawai K, Shoji S (2009) Multi uniform picoliter volume droplets generation and sorting device for digital picoliter dispenser. In: Proceedings 13th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’09), Jeju, Korea, 1–5 November 2009, pp 1356–1358
Suzuki Y, Kanai M, Kawai K, Nishimoto T, Shoji S (2007) Spatially focused reagent injection system for cell analysis using 3-D sheath flow scanner. In: Proceedings 14th international conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, Transducers’07, Lyon, France, 10–14 June 2007, pp 25–28
Gomez-Sjoberg R, Leyrat AA, Pirone DM, Chen CS, Quake SR (2007) Versatile, fully automated, microfluidic cell culture system. Anal Chem 79:8557–8563. doi:10.1021/ac071311w
Fordyce PM, Gerber D, Tran D, Zheng J, Li H (2010) De novo identification and biophysical characterization of transcription-factor binding sites with microfluidic affinity analysis. Nat Biotechnol 28:970–975
Lee PJ, Hung PJ, Rao VM, Lee LP (2006) Nanoliter scale microbioreactor array for quantitative cell biology. Biotechnol Bioeng 94(1):5–14
Shibata Y, Kawai K, Kanai M, Shoji S (2009) Precise volume controlled multi reagents injective microwell array for efficient cell function analysis. In: Proceedings 13th international conference on miniaturized systems for chemistry and life sciences (μTAS’09), Jeju, Korea, 1–5 November 2009, pp 1488–1490
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Jun Mizuno, Dr. Tetsushi Sekiguchi at Waseda University, Prof. Takashi Funatsu at the University of Tokyo, Dr. Takahiro Arakawa at Tokyo Dental & Medical University, Yoshitaka Shirasaki at Riken, and Dr. Masaki Kanai at Shimadzu Co.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shoji, S., Kawai, K. (2011). Flow Control Methods and Devices in Micrometer Scale Channels. In: Lin, B. (eds) Microfluidics. Topics in Current Chemistry, vol 304. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/128_2011_146
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/128_2011_146
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-23049-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-23050-9
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)