Published on 27 August 2019
Recently, researchers switched to microfluidic pressure-driven flow control systems because of their unique performances for microfluidic experiments. However, for historical reasons syringe pump were the most used system in microfluidics.
In this application note, you should learn:
Pressure-driven flow controlled microfluidics is used for many applications that require an accurate control over parameters such as size, shape, generation rate, mixing…
Notably, emulsion and foam applications demonstrate a real need to control very precisely the microfluidic bubble or droplet generation to obtain a stable emulsion or foam.
For more insight into these work, please check the following notes & related short reviews:
Pressure-driven flow controlled microfluidics is also very useful for any biological applications that require a fine tuning of the forces acting on the cells, bacterias or any living systems contained within the microfluidic device.
For more information about dynamic cell culture performed by pressure-driven flow controlled microfluidics, please refer to these application notes:
OB1 MK3+ flow controller
Sample Falcon reservoirs
Microfluidic flow sensor
A pressure driven flow controller is a smart alternative to syringe pump. It allows pulseless flow within subsec response time. It consists in using a gas input pressure within a hermetic liquid tank in order to flow liquid from the tank to your microfluidic device.
A pressure controller pressurizes a tank, such as Eppendorf, Falcon or a bottle containing the sample, which is then smoothly and quasi-instantly injected into a microfluidic chip.
Figure 3 : The reservoir is pressurized, the gas pushes on the fluid surface, the fluid will flow through the outlet. Thus, controlling the input gas pressure of the tank willallow to control the liquid that flows out of the tank. Thanks to piezoelectric pressure regulation, Elveflow’s systems are able to regulate flow within 40 ms with a 0.005 % stability. One advantage of pressure-driven flow control lies in the ability to handle fluid volumes of several hundreds of mL. You can thus turn your system into a powerful syringe pump.
By coupling our pressure controller with one of our flow sensors, you can perform ultra precise and responsive pressure-driven flow control. You can request a flow rate value in the Elveflow Software and the pressure controller will automatically adjust pressure to reach the requested value thanks to a customizable PID Feedback loop.
Figure 3: pressurized reservoir
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Technical comments:
The main advantage of syringe pumps is that they are easy to use, and but they present slow response time when setting a new flow rate and flow oscillations due to motor steps.
Flow changes inside chips can take seconds to hours (see the tutorial on syringe pump responsiveness in microfluidics). This lack of reactivity is one of the main limitations of syringe pumps for numerous applications notably for droplet-based microfluidics as described in this short video:
Modern microfluidic pressure controllers also enable you to control both pressure and flow rate by integrating a flow meter with a feedback loop. Microfluidic researchers mainly use pressure controllers when they require high flow responsiveness and high flow stability and precision, as well as when they work with dead-end channels or require large sample volumes. More informations about response time & stability in microfluidic systems.
Syringe pumps are convenient and have been used for a long period. However, performances are limited (response time, oscillations) when the setup is complex or when a fine control is requested as it is usually the case in microfluidics.
Pressure-driven flow control was developed for microfluidics and perfectly meets users’ expectations (responsiveness, stability, reproducibilty…).
Feel free to contact our team of experts for any additional information!
Do you want tips on how to best set up your microfluidic experiment? Do you need inspiration or a different angle to take on your specific problem? Well, we probably have an application note just for you, feel free to check them out!
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