Microfluidic Approaches for Microactuators: From Fabrication, Actuation, to Functionalization.

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics and Microactuator Technology
• Microsystems Engineering

Background:

• Microactuators convert energy into mechanical motion for miniaturized devices.
• Advanced microfluidic techniques are revolutionizing microactuator fabrication, actuation, and functionalization.
• Microfluidics enables complex functions in microfluidic chips through material innovation and signal delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review the cross-field correlation between microactuator properties and microfluidic functions.
• To classify fabrication strategies and discuss working mechanisms of microactuators in microfluidic chips.
• To summarize applications and discuss future perspectives of microactuator-enriched functional chips.

Main Methods:

• Classification of fabrication strategies based on microfluidic flow states (stop-flow and continuous-flow).
• Detailed discussion of microactuator working mechanisms within microfluidic chip contexts.
• Systematic review of existing literature on microactuator-microfluidic integration.

Main Results:

• Microfluidics facilitates fabrication and stimulation of microactuators, enhancing microfluidic chip functionality.
• Fabrication strategies are categorized into stop-flow and continuous-flow prototyping.
• Applications include tunable imaging, micromanipulation, micromotors, and microsensors.

Conclusions:

• Microactuator-enriched microfluidic chips offer advanced capabilities for intelligent microsystems.
• Future developments promise high-throughput manipulation and analysis for fields like tissue engineering and micro/nanorobotics.
• Continued progress in this interdisciplinary field is expected to drive innovation in analytical devices and beyond.