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Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2017) | Viewed by 89176

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Prof. Dr. Remco J. Wiegerink

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Guest Editor

Integrated Devices and Systems (IDS), University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Interests: mechanical microsensors; electronic interfacing of sensors; sensor packaging; force sensors; flow sensors; inertial sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Luis J. Fernandez

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Guest Editor

1. Group of Structural Mechanics and Materials Modelling (GEMM), Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain
2. Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Campus Río Ebro, C/ Mariano Esquillor s/n, Edificio I+D+I, 50018, Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: microfluidics; flow sensors; microvalves; micropumps; integration; stand-alone-microfluidic systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A new generation of sensors and actuators for microfluidic control applications is becoming a reality. These new microfluidic elements are showing not only improved capabilities, but also enhanced functionality, e.g. flow sensors that measure not only mass flow but also fluid parameters like density and viscosity, or flow controllers where a flow sensor and control valve are integrated on a single chip. With the higher level of integration complete stand-alone microfluidic systems can be realized.

We are proud to announce this Special Issue entitled "Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices". It is an effort to include the most relevant work on state-of-the-art microfluidic sensing and control systems, highlighting not only improved performance, but also the higher level of integration that allows the realization of complex and complete microfluidic systems in a single chip or package.

Dr. Remco Wiegerink
Dr. Luis Fernandez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

Flow sensors
Fluid parameter sensors
Multi-parameter sensors
Microvalves
Micropumps
Microfluidic sensor and actuator systems

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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6371 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation into the Effect of Acoustic Radiation Force and Acoustic Streaming on Particle Patterning in Acoustic Standing Wave Fields

by Shilei Liu, Yanye Yang, Zhengyang Ni, Xiasheng Guo, Linjiao Luo, Juan Tu, Dong Zhang and And Jie Zhang

Sensors 2017, 17(7), 1664; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17071664 - 19 Jul 2017

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6754

Abstract

Acoustic standing waves have been widely used in trapping, patterning, and manipulating particles, whereas one barrier remains: the lack of understanding of force conditions on particles which mainly include acoustic radiation force (ARF) and acoustic streaming (AS). In this paper, force conditions on micrometer size polystyrene microspheres in acoustic standing wave fields were investigated. The COMSOL^® Mutiphysics particle tracing module was used to numerically simulate force conditions on various particles as a function of time. The velocity of particle movement was experimentally measured using particle imaging velocimetry (PIV). Through experimental and numerical simulation, the functions of ARF and AS in trapping and patterning were analyzed. It is shown that ARF is dominant in trapping and patterning large particles while the impact of AS increases rapidly with decreasing particle size. The combination of using both ARF and AS for medium size particles can obtain different patterns with only using ARF. Findings of the present study will aid the design of acoustic-driven microfluidic devices to increase the diversity of particle patterning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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1605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multifunctional Water Sensors for pH, ORP, and Conductivity Using Only Microfabricated Platinum Electrodes

by Wen-Chi Lin, Klaus Brondum, Charles W. Monroe and Mark A. Burns

Sensors 2017, 17(7), 1655; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17071655 - 19 Jul 2017

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7934

Abstract

Monitoring of the pH, oxidation-reduction-potential (ORP), and conductivity of aqueous samples is typically performed using multiple sensors. To minimize the size and cost of these sensors for practical applications, we have investigated the use of a single sensor constructed with only bare platinum electrodes deposited on a glass substrate. The sensor can measure pH from 4 to 10 while simultaneously measuring ORP from 150 to 800 mV. The device can also measure conductivity up to 8000 μS/cm in the range of 10 °C to 50 °C, and all these measurements can be made even if the water samples contain common ions found in residential water. The sensor is inexpensive (i.e., ~$0.10/unit) and has a sensing area below 1 mm², suggesting that the unit is cost-efficient, robust, and widely applicable, including in microfluidic systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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2482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Microfluidic pH Measurement Device with a Flowing Liquid Junction

by Akira Yamada and Miho Suzuki

Sensors 2017, 17(7), 1563; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17071563 - 04 Jul 2017

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5325

Abstract

The pH values of aqueous solutions are conventionally measured with pH-sensitive electrodes such as glass electrodes or ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) used in conjunction with Ag/AgCl reference electrodes and KCl solutions. The speed of pH measurement with these systems can be deficient, however, as the glass electrode responds slowly during measurements of sample solutions with low buffering capacities. Our group has constructed a new pH measurement system using a microfluidic device and ISFET sensors. The device has a channel with two inlets and one outlet, with a junction connected to a Y-shaped channel on the same plane. Two ISFET sensors and an Ag/AgCl pseudo reference electrode are fitted into the channel to construct a differential measurement device. A sample solution and baseline solution supplied into the inlets by gravity-driven pumps form a flowing liquid junction during measurement. The small size and fast response of the ISFET sensors enable measurement of about 2.0 mL of sample solution over a measurement period of 120 s. The 90% response time is within 2 s. The calibrated sensor signal exhibits a wide range (pH 1.68–10.0) of linearity with a correlation factor of 0.9997. The measurement error for all solutions tested, including diluted solutions, was 0.0343 ± 0.0974 pH (average error ± standard deviation (S.D.), n = 42). The new device developed in this research will serve as an innovative technology in the field of potentiometry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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4867 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Micro-Viscometer for Measuring Shear-Varying Blood Viscosity over a Wide-Ranging Shear Rate

by Byung Jun Kim, Seung Yeob Lee, Solkeun Jee, Arslan Atajanov and Sung Yang

Sensors 2017, 17(6), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17061442 - 20 Jun 2017

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 8453

Abstract

In this study, a micro-viscometer is developed for measuring shear-varying blood viscosity over a wide-ranging shear rate. The micro-viscometer consists of 10 microfluidic channel arrays, each of which has a different micro-channel width. The proposed design enables the retrieval of 10 different shear rates from a single flow rate, thereby enabling the measurement of shear-varying blood viscosity with a fixed flow rate condition. For this purpose, an optimal design that guarantees accurate viscosity measurement is selected from a parametric study. The functionality of the micro-viscometer is verified by both numerical and experimental studies. The proposed micro-viscometer shows 6.8% (numerical) and 5.3% (experimental) in relative error when compared to the result from a standard rotational viscometer. Moreover, a reliability test is performed by repeated measurement (N = 7), and the result shows 2.69 ± 2.19% for the mean relative error. Accurate viscosity measurements are performed on blood samples with variations in the hematocrit (35%, 45%, and 55%), which significantly influences blood viscosity. Since the blood viscosity correlated with various physical parameters of the blood, the micro-viscometer is anticipated to be a significant advancement for realization of blood on a chip. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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3255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Innovative High-Throughput SAXS Methodologies Based on Photonic Lab-on-a-Chip Sensors: Application to Macromolecular Studies

by Isaac Rodríguez-Ruiz, Dimitri Radajewski, Sophie Charton, Nhat Phamvan, Martha Brennich, Petra Pernot, Françoise Bonneté and Sébastien Teychené

Sensors 2017, 17(6), 1266; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17061266 - 02 Jun 2017

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4982

Abstract

The relevance of coupling droplet-based Photonic Lab-on-a-Chip (PhLoC) platforms and Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) technique is here highlighted for the performance of high throughput investigations, related to the study of protein macromolecular interactions. With this configuration, minute amounts of sample are required to obtain reliable statistical data. The PhLoC platforms presented in this work are designed to allow and control an effective mixing of precise amounts of proteins, crystallization reagents and buffer in nanoliter volumes, and the subsequent generation of nanodroplets by means of a two-phase flow. Spectrophotometric sensing permits a fine control on droplet generation frequency and stability as well as on concentration conditions, and finally the droplet flow is synchronized to perform synchrotron radiation SAXS measurements in individual droplets (each one acting as an isolated microreactor) to probe protein interactions. With this configuration, droplet physic-chemical conditions can be reproducibly and finely tuned, and monitored without cross-contamination, allowing for the screening of a substantial number of saturation conditions with a small amount of biological material. The setup was tested and validated using lysozyme as a model of study. By means of SAXS experiments, the proteins gyration radius and structure envelope were calculated as a function of protein concentration. The obtained values were found to be in good agreement with previously reported data, but with a dramatic reduction of sample volume requirements compared to studies reported in the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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6343 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Combination of Micro Diaphragm Pumps and Flow Sensors for Single Stroke Based Liquid Flow Control

by Christoph Jenke, Jaume Pallejà Rubio, Sebastian Kibler, Johannes Häfner, Martin Richter and Christoph Kutter

Sensors 2017, 17(4), 755; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17040755 - 03 Apr 2017

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7524

Abstract

With the combination of micropumps and flow sensors, highly accurate and secure closed-loop controlled micro dosing systems for liquids are possible. Implementing a single stroke based control mode with piezoelectrically driven micro diaphragm pumps can provide a solution for dosing of volumes down to nanoliters or variable average flow rates in the range of nL/min to μL/min. However, sensor technologies feature a yet undetermined accuracy for measuring highly pulsatile micropump flow. Two miniaturizable in-line sensor types providing electrical readout—differential pressure based flow sensors and thermal calorimetric flow sensors—are evaluated for their suitability of combining them with mircopumps. Single stroke based calibration of the sensors was carried out with a new method, comparing displacement volumes and sensor flow volumes. Limitations of accuracy and performance for single stroke based flow control are described. Results showed that besides particle robustness of sensors, controlling resistive and capacitive damping are key aspects for setting up reproducible and reliable liquid dosing systems. Depending on the required average flow or defined volume, dosing systems with an accuracy of better than 5% for the differential pressure based sensor and better than 6.5% for the thermal calorimeter were achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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6128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Microfabricated Chip with Double Functions as an Ion Source and Air Pump Based on LIGA Technology

by Hua Li, Linxiu Jiang, Chaoqun Guo, Jianmin Zhu, Yongrong Jiang and Zhencheng Chen

Sensors 2017, 17(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17010087 - 04 Jan 2017

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4559

Abstract

The injection and ionization of volatile organic compounds (VOA) by an integrated chip is experimentally analyzed in this paper. The integrated chip consists of a needle-to-cylinder electrode mounting on the Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) substrate. The needle-to-cylinder electrode is designed and fabricated by Lithographie, Galvanoformung and Abformung (LIGA) technology. In this paper, the needle is connected to a negative power supply of −5 kV and used as the cathode; the cylinder electrodes are composed of two arrays of cylinders and serve as the anode. The ionic wind is produced based on corona and glow discharges of needle-to-cylinder electrodes. The experimental setup is designed to observe the properties of the needle-to-cylinder discharge and prove its functions as an ion source and air pump. In summary, the main results are as follows: (1) the ionic wind velocity produced by the chip is about 0.79 m/s at an applied voltage of −3300 V; (2) acetic acid and ammonia water can be injected through the chip, which is proved by pH test paper; and (3) the current measured by a Faraday cup is about 10 pA for acetic acid and ammonia with an applied voltage of −3185 V. The integrated chip is promising for portable analytical instruments, such as ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), and mass spectrometry (MS). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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8295 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Feasibility Test of a Liquid Film Thickness Sensor on a Flexible Printed Circuit Board Using a Three-Electrode Conductance Method

by Kyu Byung Lee, Jong Rok Kim, Goon Cherl Park and Hyoung Kyu Cho

Sensors 2017, 17(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17010042 - 27 Dec 2016

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6885

Abstract

Liquid film thickness measurements under temperature-varying conditions in a two-phase flow are of great importance to refining our understanding of two-phase flows. In order to overcome the limitations of the conventional electrical means of measuring the thickness of a liquid film, this study proposes a three-electrode conductance method, with the device fabricated on a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB). The three-electrode conductance method offers the advantage of applicability under conditions with varying temperatures in principle, while the FPCB has the advantage of usability on curved surfaces and in relatively high-temperature conditions in comparison with sensors based on a printed circuit board (PCB). Two types of prototype sensors were fabricated on an FPCB and the feasibility of both was confirmed in a calibration test conducted at different temperatures. With the calibrated sensor, liquid film thickness measurements were conducted via a falling liquid film flow experiment, and the working performance was tested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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5378 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An SOI CMOS-Based Multi-Sensor MEMS Chip for Fluidic Applications

by Mohtashim Mansoor, Ibraheem Haneef, Suhail Akhtar, Muhammad Aftab Rafiq, Andrea De Luca, Syed Zeeshan Ali and Florin Udrea

Sensors 2016, 16(11), 1608; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16111608 - 04 Nov 2016

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 8556

Abstract

An SOI CMOS multi-sensor MEMS chip, which can simultaneously measure temperature, pressure and flow rate, has been reported. The multi-sensor chip has been designed keeping in view the requirements of researchers interested in experimental fluid dynamics. The chip contains ten thermodiodes (temperature sensors), a piezoresistive-type pressure sensor and nine hot film-based flow rate sensors fabricated within the oxide layer of the SOI wafers. The silicon dioxide layers with embedded sensors are relieved from the substrate as membranes with the help of a single DRIE step after chip fabrication from a commercial CMOS foundry. Very dense sensor packing per unit area of the chip has been enabled by using technologies/processes like SOI, CMOS and DRIE. Independent apparatuses were used for the characterization of each sensor. With a drive current of 10 µA–0.1 µA, the thermodiodes exhibited sensitivities of 1.41 mV/°C–1.79 mV/°C in the range 20–300 °C. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor was 0.0686 mV/(V_excit kPa) with a non-linearity of 0.25% between 0 and 69 kPa above ambient pressure. Packaged in a micro-channel, the flow rate sensor has a linearized sensitivity of 17.3 mV/(L/min)^−0.1 in the tested range of 0–4.7 L/min. The multi-sensor chip can be used for simultaneous measurement of fluid pressure, temperature and flow rate in fluidic experiments and aerospace/automotive/biomedical/process industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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2021 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optical Feedback Interferometry for Velocity Measurement of Parallel Liquid-Liquid Flows in a Microchannel

by Evelio E. Ramírez-Miquet, Julien Perchoux, Karine Loubière, Clément Tronche, Laurent Prat and Oscar Sotolongo-Costa

Sensors 2016, 16(8), 1233; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16081233 - 04 Aug 2016

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5504

Abstract

Optical feedback interferometry (OFI) is a compact sensing technique with recent implementation for flow measurements in microchannels. We propose implementing OFI for the analysis at the microscale of multiphase flows starting with the case of parallel flows of two immiscible fluids. The velocity profiles in each phase were measured and the interface location estimated for several operating conditions. To the authors knowledge, this sensing technique is applied here for the first time to multiphase flows. Theoretical profiles issued from a model based on the Couette viscous flow approximation reproduce fairly well the experimental results. The sensing system and the analysis presented here provide a new tool for studying more complex interactions between immiscible fluids (such as liquid droplets flowing in a microchannel). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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Review

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1305 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances in Testing Techniques for Digital Microfluidic Biochips

by Vineeta Shukla, Fawnizu Azmadi Hussin, Nor Hisham Hamid and Noohul Basheer Zain Ali

Sensors 2017, 17(8), 1719; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17081719 - 27 Jul 2017

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 8894

Abstract

With the advancement of digital microfluidics technology, applications such as on-chip DNA analysis, point of care diagnosis and automated drug discovery are common nowadays. The use of Digital Microfluidics Biochips (DMFBs) in disease assessment and recognition of target molecules had become popular during the past few years. The reliability of these DMFBs is crucial when they are used in various medical applications. Errors found in these biochips are mainly due to the defects developed during droplet manipulation, chip degradation and inaccuracies in the bio-assay experiments. The recently proposed Micro-electrode-dot Array (MEDA)-based DMFBs involve both fluidic and electronic domains in the micro-electrode cell. Thus, the testing techniques for these biochips should be revised in order to ensure proper functionality. This paper describes recent advances in the testing technologies for digital microfluidics biochips, which would serve as a useful platform for developing revised/new testing techniques for MEDA-based biochips. Therefore, the relevancy of these techniques with respect to testing of MEDA-based biochips is analyzed in order to exploit the full potential of these biochips. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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3105 KiB

Open AccessReview

Digital Microfluidics for Nucleic Acid Amplification

by Beatriz Coelho, Bruno Veigas, Elvira Fortunato, Rodrigo Martins, Hugo Águas, Rui Igreja and Pedro V. Baptista

Sensors 2017, 17(7), 1495; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17071495 - 25 Jun 2017

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 8930

Abstract

Digital Microfluidics (DMF) has emerged as a disruptive methodology for the control and manipulation of low volume droplets. In DMF, each droplet acts as a single reactor, which allows for extensive multiparallelization of biological and chemical reactions at a much smaller scale. DMF devices open entirely new and promising pathways for multiplex analysis and reaction occurring in a miniaturized format, thus allowing for healthcare decentralization from major laboratories to point-of-care with accurate, robust and inexpensive molecular diagnostics. Here, we shall focus on DMF platforms specifically designed for nucleic acid amplification, which is key for molecular diagnostics of several diseases and conditions, from pathogen identification to cancer mutations detection. Particular attention will be given to the device architecture, materials and nucleic acid amplification applications in validated settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Sensors and Control Devices)

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