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Mudugamuwa A, Roshan U, Hettiarachchi S, Cha H, Musharaf H, Kang X, Trinh QT, Xia HM, Nguyen NT, Zhang J. Periodic Flows in Microfluidics. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2404685. [PMID: 39246195 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202404685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2024] [Revised: 08/24/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
Microfluidics, the science and technology of manipulating fluids in microscale channels, offers numerous advantages, such as low energy consumption, compact device size, precise control, fast reaction, and enhanced portability. These benefits have led to applications in biomedical assays, disease diagnostics, drug discovery, neuroscience, and so on. Fluid flow within microfluidic channels is typically in the laminar flow region, which is characterized by low Reynolds numbers but brings the challenge of efficient mixing of fluids. Periodic flows are time-dependent fluid flows, featuring repetitive patterns that can significantly improve fluid mixing and extend the effective length of microchannels for submicron and nanoparticle manipulation. Besides, periodic flow is crucial in organ-on-a-chip (OoC) for accurately modeling physiological processes, advancing disease understanding, drug development, and personalized medicine. Various techniques for generating periodic flows have been reported, including syringe pumps, peristalsis, and actuation based on electric, magnetic, acoustic, mechanical, pneumatic, and fluidic forces, yet comprehensive reviews on this topic remain limited. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of periodic flows in microfluidics, from fundamental mechanisms to generation techniques and applications. The challenges and future perspectives are also discussed to exploit the potential of periodic flows in microfluidics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amith Mudugamuwa
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Uditha Roshan
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Samith Hettiarachchi
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Haotian Cha
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Hafiz Musharaf
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Xiaoyue Kang
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Quang Thang Trinh
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Huan Ming Xia
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, P. R. China
| | - Nam-Trung Nguyen
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Jun Zhang
- Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
- School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
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Hayes B, Smith L, Kabutz H, Hayes AC, Whiting GL, Jayaram K, MacCurdy R. Rapid Fabrication of Low-Cost Thermal Bubble-Driven Micro-Pumps. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13101634. [PMID: 36295987 PMCID: PMC9610814 DOI: 10.3390/mi13101634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Thermal bubble-driven micro-pumps are an upcoming actuation technology that can be directly integrated into micro/mesofluidic channels to displace fluid without any moving parts. These pumps consist of high power micro-resistors, which we term thermal micro-pump (TMP) resistors, that locally boil fluid at the resistor surface in microseconds creating a vapor bubble to perform mechanical work. Conventional fabrication approaches of thermal bubble-driven micro-pumps and associated microfluidics have utilized semiconductor micro-fabrication techniques requiring expensive tooling with long turn around times on the order of weeks to months. In this study, we present a low-cost approach to rapidly fabricate and test thermal bubble-driven micro-pumps with associated microfluidics utilizing commercial substrates (indium tin oxide, ITO, and fluorine doped tin oxide, FTO, coated glass) and tooling (laser cutter). The presented fabrication approach greatly reduces the turn around time from weeks/months for conventional micro-fabrication to a matter of hours/days allowing acceleration of thermal bubble-driven micro-pump research and development (R&D) learning cycles.
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Zhou Y, Dai L, Jiao N. Review of Bubble Applications in Microrobotics: Propulsion, Manipulation, and Assembly. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:1068. [PMID: 35888885 PMCID: PMC9324494 DOI: 10.3390/mi13071068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, microbubbles have been widely used in the field of microrobots due to their unique properties. Microbubbles can be easily produced and used as power sources or tools of microrobots, and the bubbles can even serve as microrobots themselves. As a power source, bubbles can propel microrobots to swim in liquid under low-Reynolds-number conditions. As a manipulation tool, microbubbles can act as the micromanipulators of microrobots, allowing them to operate upon particles, cells, and organisms. As a microrobot, microbubbles can operate and assemble complex microparts in two- or three-dimensional spaces. This review provides a comprehensive overview of bubble applications in microrobotics including propulsion, micromanipulation, and microassembly. First, we introduce the diverse bubble generation and control methods. Then, we review and discuss how bubbles can play a role in microrobotics via three functions: propulsion, manipulation, and assembly. Finally, by highlighting the advantages and current challenges of this progress, we discuss the prospects of microbubbles in microrobotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China;
- Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Liguo Dai
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China;
| | - Niandong Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China;
- Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
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