Elastic membrane enabled inward pumping for liquid manipulation on a centrifugal microfluidic platform

Abstract

Nowadays, centrifugal microfluidic platforms are finding wider acceptance for implementing point-of-care assays due to the simplicity of the controls, the versatility of the fluidic operations, and the ability to create a self-enclosed system, thus minimizing the risk of contamination for either the sample or surroundings. Despite these advantages, one of the inherent weaknesses of CD microfluidics is that all the sequential fluidic chambers and channels must be positioned radially since the centrifugal force acts from the center of the disk outward. Implementation of schemes where the liquid can be rerouted from the disk periphery to the disk center would significantly increase the utility of CD platforms and increase the rational utilization of the real estate on the disk. The present study outlines a novel utilization of elastic membranes covering fluidic chambers to implement inward pumping whereby the fluid is returned from the disk periphery to the center of the disk. When the disk revolves at an angular velocity of 3600 rpm, liquid enters the chamber covered by the elastic membrane. This membrane is deflected upward by liquid, storing energy like a compressed spring. When the angular velocity of the disk is reduced to 180 rpm and thus the centrifugal force is diminished, the elastic membrane pushes the liquid from the chamber inward, closer to the center of the disk. There are two channels leading from the elastic membrane-covered reservoir—one channel has a higher fluidic resistance and the other (wider) has a lower fluidic resistance. The geometry of these two channels determines the fluidic path inward (toward the center of the disk). Most of the liquid travels through the recirculating channel with lower resistance. We demonstrated an inward pumping efficiency in the range of 78%–89%. Elastic membrane-driven inward pumping was demonstrated for the application of enhanced fluid mixing. Additionally, to demonstrate the utility of the proposed pumping mechanism for multi-step assays on the disk, we implemented and tested a disk design that combines plasma separation and inward pumping.