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Microfluidic & nanofluidic technologies for chemistry, physics, biology, and bioengineering
Paper
Lab Chip, 2006, 6, 1455 - 1461, DOI: 10.1039/b608092h
Theoretical prediction of fast 3D AC electro-osmotic pumps
Martin Z. Bazant and Yuxing Ben
AC electro-osmotic (ACEO) pumps in microfluidics currently involve planar electrode arrays, but recent work on the underlying phenomenon of induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) suggests that three-dimensional (3D) geometries may be exploited to achieve faster flows. In this paper, we present some new design principles for periodic 3D ACEO pumps, such as the
fluid conveyor belt
of ICEO flow over a stepped electrode array. Numerical simulations of these designs (using the standard low-voltage model) predict flow rates almost twenty times faster than existing planar ACEO pumps, for the same applied voltage and minimum feature size. These pumps may enable new portable or implantable lab-on-a-chip devices, since rather fast (mm s–1), tuneable flows should be attainable with battery voltages (<10 V).
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