A Lego®-like swappable fluidic module for bio-chem applications

Abstract

a b s t r a c tA Lego ® -like swappable fluidic module (SFM) is proposed in this research. We designed and fabricated selected modular fluidic components, including functional and auxiliary types that can be effortlessly swapped and integrated into a variety of modular devices to rapidly assemble a fully-portable, disposable fluidic system. In practice, an integrated SFM uses finger-operated, electricity-free pumps to deliver fluids. Using a swirling mechanism, the vortex mixer can rapidly mix two liquids in a one-shot mixing event. We demonstrate the successful application of this SFM in several microfluidic applications, such as the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) from chloroauric acid (HAuCl 4 ), and nucleic acid amplification from the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) with a capillary convective polymerase chain reaction (ccPCR).

3D Printed Reconfigurable Modular Microfluidic System for Generating Gel Microspheres

“…Nevertheless, reconfigurable modular microfluidic systems have brought challenges to ensure leak-free fluidic interconnections between connected microfluidic modules after their assembly. Hsieh et al presented an advanced Lego ® -like swappable fluidic module concept to achieve fully portable, disposable fluidic systems [6]. This module design had self-aligning structures on both the male-and female-type Lego ® -like for attaining the improved sealing at block junctions.…”

A Fully Integrated<em> in vitro</em> Diagnostic Microsystem for Pathogen Detection Developed Using a &ldquo;3D Extensible&rdquo; Microfluidic Design Paradigm

“…Second, while more and more in vitro diagnoses have been translated into microfluidic formats, the integration of a complete bioassay into a single device remains as a formidable task that requires many rounds of trials and failures [28]. Although the modular design methods, such as Lego ® -like [29,30] and plug-n-play [31] components, have been proposed, these technologies were inherently developed for quickly testing new ideas in a prototype way instead of product development [32]. Third, as the assays have become more and more complicated, the pursuit of throughput has not been stopped.…”

Continuous Recirculation of Microdroplets in a Closed Loop Tailored for Screening of Bacteria Cultures

“…Current microfluidic devices should not only operate on small amounts of reagents, but also be portable, precise, cost-effective, programmable, and offer new capabilities to carry out a variety of laboratory operations, either subsequently or simultaneously (in parallel) [ 2 , 9 ]. This approach is widely used in modular microfluidic systems, such as swappable fluidic modules [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], a Lego-like modular microfluidic platforms [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], and 3-D modular microfluidic devices [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. They are all designed for biological and chemical applications.…”