BoSL FAL pump: A small, low-cost, easily constructed, 3D-printed peristaltic pump for sampling of waters

McCarthy, David Thomas; Shi, Baiqian; Wang, Miao; Catsamas, Stephen

doi:10.1016/j.ohx.2021.e00214

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The key design objective of the electronic control module was to facilitate end-user manipulation of the pump by packaging and integrating external user-interface components with the electronic control components (i.e., microcontroller and motor driver) within a compact box ( Figure 2 A). This overcomes the current limitation of existing open-source 3D-printed microfluidic pumps, which rely on direct reprogramming of microcontrollers [ 41 , 43 , 44 ], as well as additional hardware, such as potentiometers [ 39 , 46 ] and electromagnetism from an external rotating rotor [ 47 , 48 , 49 ], to change the pump rotation settings.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presented pump had three key differentiating features that made it ideal for microfluidic OoC applications. First, it is small, low-cost, and has multiplexing capabilities, which differentiates it from the expensive commercial pumps with bulky sizes and from some in-hose pump systems that are only designed for one application or one single perfusion loop [ 41 , 43 , 46 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Second, it can withstand a high-humidity environment due to its modular design, which separates the control module from the pump module and allows for the pump to be controlled from outside the incubator.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These two attributes made the pump ideal for multiplexed drug testing operations, as multiple pumps can be concurrently deployed inside a single incubator to run many devices in parallel. Unlike existing 3D-printed peristaltic pumps which rely on the use of microcontrollers, potentiometers, or other control systems to alter pumping characteristics [ 39 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 47 ], the presented 3D-printed mini-peristaltic pump has a user-friendly interface that allows end-users without programming experience to directly change pumping characteristics, such as flow rate and flow direction. The pump also has a programmable function to upload algorithms for a more sophisticated pumping profile.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Existing 3D-printed peristaltic pumps have mainly focused on demonstrating the feasibility of using 3D printing to fabricate the structural components of the mechanical pump that drives fluid displacement [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Thus, they have been mostly developed as an end-product for specific applications with limited end-user customizability [ 39 , 42 , 43 ]. Ching et al have developed a DIY peristaltic pump kit (flow rate range from 0.02 µL min −1 to 727.3 µL min −1 ), where different 3D-printed modular and standardized components are mounted on an open breadboard to increase the customization capability because different components can be switched out easily [ 44 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A User-Centric 3D-Printed Modular Peristaltic Pump for Microfluidic Perfusion Applications

et al. 2023

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Microfluidic organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technology has enabled studies on dynamic physiological conditions as well as being deployed in drug testing applications. A microfluidic pump is an essential component to perform perfusion cell culture in OoC devices. However, it is challenging to have a single pump that can fulfil both the customization function needed to mimic a myriad of physiological flow rates and profiles found in vivo and multiplexing requirements (i.e., low cost, small footprint) for drug testing operations. The advent of 3D printing technology and open-source programmable electronic controllers presents an opportunity to democratize the fabrication of mini-peristaltic pumps suitable for microfluidic applications at a fraction of the cost of commercial microfluidic pumps. However, existing 3D-printed peristaltic pumps have mainly focused on demonstrating the feasibility of using 3D printing to fabricate the structural components of the pump and neglected user experience and customization capability. Here, we present a user-centric programmable 3D-printed mini-peristaltic pump with a compact design and low manufacturing cost (~USD 175) suitable for perfusion OoC culture applications. The pump consists of a user-friendly, wired electronic module that controls the operation of a peristaltic pump module. The peristaltic pump module comprises an air-sealed stepper motor connected to a 3D-printed peristaltic assembly, which can withstand the high-humidity environment of a cell culture incubator. We demonstrated that this pump allows users to either program the electronic module or use different-sized tubing to deliver a wide range of flow rates and flow profiles. The pump also has multiplexing capability as it can accommodate multiple tubing. The performance and user-friendliness of this low-cost, compact pump can be easily deployed for various OoC applications.

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