Polymer Lab-on-Chip Systems with Integrated Electrochemical Pumps suitable for Large Scale Fabrication

J. Nestler(a), A. Morschhauser(a), K. Hiller(a), T. Otto(b), S. Bigot(c), T. Gessner(a)(b)
a: Center for Microtechnologies (ZfM), Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
b: Dept. Multi Device Integration, Fraunhofer IZM, Chemnitz, Germany
c: Manufacturing Engineering Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Abstract

A low-cost, polymer based microfluidic platform is described which not only includes passive microfluidic parts, but also pumps based on an on-chip electrochemical gas generation by electrolysis. A hydrogel is used as electrolyte material, which allows a simple fabrication process by screen printing or stencil printing. Test structures were designed and fabricated to illustrate the feasibility of the approach for batch processing. Microfluidic chips including reservoirs and channel structures were fabricated by micro injection moulding and used to demonstrate the movement of liquids inside micro channels by the proposed micro pumps.