Universal In Situ Flowrate Monitoring for Piezoelectric Microfluidics via Triboelectric Self-Sensing

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics
• Sensors and Actuators
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Conventional flowrate monitoring for piezoelectric micropumps faces challenges with integration, contamination, and lab dependency.
• Existing methods limit the potential of microfluidic devices and advanced drug delivery systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a universal in situ flowrate monitoring method for piezoelectric micropumps using triboelectric sensing.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional flowrate monitoring techniques.

Main Methods:

• Integrated a triboelectric sensor within the piezoelectric micropump cavity.
• Utilized triboelectric signals to detect piezoelectric vibrator deformation for real-time flowrate monitoring.
• Validated the method across three distinct micropump architectures using voltage amplitude and frequency pulse techniques.

Main Results:

• Achieved remarkable universality across different micropump designs with linear fitting coefficients > 0.99.
• Demonstrated average monitoring errors below 2.49% for the developed flowrate monitoring methods.
• Developed a microcomputer-controlled system for drug injection applications with flowrates up to 2.2 mL/min and 2.298% monitoring accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The triboelectric sensing method provides a universal and highly accurate solution for in situ flowrate monitoring in piezoelectric micropumps.
• This technology establishes a new paradigm for fully integrated microfluidic devices.
• Paves the way for intelligent drug delivery systems with enhanced monitoring capabilities.