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Bubble-Actuated Microfluidic Switch

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Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics

Synonyms

Capillarity-driven stop valve and sample injection switch; Microflow switch; Multichannel micro liquid dosing system; Multichannel microswitch pumping

Definition

The bubble-actuated microfluidic switch is actuated by either thermal bubble or electrolysis bubble. The microfluid is driven by capillary force and stop by design of hydrophobic property in the microchannels. The switch function of the microfluidic system is to control the fluid sample into the individual desired outlet reservoir for the applications such as selective on-chip sample dosing, microfluidic/bio-sample on-chip transportation and lab-on-a-chip microsystem integration.

Overview

Some design concepts and prototypes of microfluidic switches have been demonstrated over the past decade. Doring et al. [1] demonstrated that a laminar flow could be steered into one of two outlet ports using a thermal bimorph cantilever, which was made by a bimetal structure and used as an active component for flow switching....

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

    Cheng-Hsien Liu

Authors
  1. Cheng-Hsien Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cheng-Hsien Liu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. VU Station B 351592, Vanderbilt University Dept. Mechanical Engineering, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Dongqing Li

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Liu, CH. (2014). Bubble-Actuated Microfluidic Switch. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_131-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_131-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27758-0

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