Pneumatic Fluid Control for Microfluidic Cartridges

Microfluidic chips and cartridges allow contamination-free sample analysis in miniature with reduced reagent volumes. This enables more accessible molecular testing for medical diagnosis and screening, and shortens time to obtaining results.

The pneumatic cartridge control system that we present here is designed to control fluids on sophisticated microfluidic cartridges for in vitro diagnostics (IVD), drug screening, environmental analysis and many other applications within exceptionally small dimensions.

memetis pneumatic fluid control system for microfluidic cartridges held in a palm of a hand to demonstrate the small dimensions of the system

This compact fluidic system designed by memetis covers the footprint of a business card (55 mm x 85 mm) and allows operating eight disposable on-chip valves or pumps with applying over-pressure and under-pressure. Depending on how the interfacing microfluidic cartridge is designed, multiple functions on the cartridge can be driven.

For example, up to eight parallel microfluidic channels can be supplied with the test sample, reagents and buffers. Alternatively, the on-chip valves and pumps can be driven to mix reagents before they are transported to the sample. Or the pneumatic system can control fluid flow to functionalize the surfaces within the chip prior to sample analysis. 

The possibilities with this exceptionally space-saving, lightweight and energy-efficient pneumatic control system are numerous.

The high level of miniaturization of the control module is achieved by using the smallest fluidic control components on the market. The air pressure is produced by a Lee disc pump and the over- and under-pressure is switched with memetis shape memory alloy (SMA) valves. The combination of these offers an operation range of -0.5 to 0.8 bar pressure, and the on-board electronics (5 V) allow for fully automated fluid control with the pneumatic module. In this fluidic system model a total of 16 memetis 2/2-way microvalves are used to ensure the supply of over- and under-pressure to eight ports that are connected to the disposable cartridge. However, the control system can be customized for 4 to 16 ports by adjusting the number of valves integrated, and the valve array size can be further reduced if needed.

microfluidic cartridge standing in front of the memetis pneumatic control module for microfluidic cartridge actuation

Main specifications:

  • business card sized (55 mm x 85 mm)
  • completely silent
  • extremely power saving
  • lightweight
  • up to 0.8 bar and -0.5 bar
  • customizable for 4 - 16 ports

The characteristics of this pneumatic cartridge actuation system make it especially well-suited for point-of-care (PoC) and portable point-of-need testing devices. The additional characteristic of silent operation typical to the SMA technology makes the near-patient testing very comfortable.

Want to learn more?

If you have any questions or wish to talk about a custom fluidic system for your device, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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