Hand-powered microfluidics: A membrane pump with a patient-to-chip syringe interface

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Existing on-chip pumps often have limited sample volume capacity and throughput.
• Electrical power requirements can hinder the development of portable and point-of-care diagnostic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, hand-powered on-chip membrane pump with a robust patient-to-chip interface.
• To enable safe sample collection, containment, and controlled downstream flow without electrical power.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of the membrane pump using CO2 laser micromachining of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and silicone.
• Manual sample injection via syringe, leading to pump inflation and controlled fluid delivery.
• Experimental characterization of pump performance using deionized water and mouse whole blood.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a low material cost of approximately $0.20 USD per device.
• Achieved high sample volume capacity (up to 240 μL) and sample volume throughput (up to 125 μL/min).
• Showcased scalability and regulated downstream flow by connecting multiple pumps in parallel.

Conclusions:

• The hand-powered membrane pump offers a viable, cost-effective solution for microfluidic sample handling in resource-limited settings.
• This technology overcomes limitations of existing on-chip pumps, enabling high-throughput diagnostics without external power sources.