Printed Circuit Board-Based Electrolyte Regulator for Laminar Microfluidics

Abstract

The trench on a printed circuit board was reconstructed to fabricate a microfluidic framework that allows low-cost production for small quantities and integration with multifunctional elements. An on-chip electrolyte regulator was thus proposed on this platform to analyze diffusion properties in laminar flow. A numerical model was developed, highlighting the interplay between the electrolyte migration and hydrodynamic properties. Solutions with dissolved sodium chloride were simulated and experimentally tested for the regulation of electrical conductivity under the guidance of the normalized Nernst-Planck equation. The diffusion mechanism and the resulting concentration field were demonstrated in detail. This approach provides a satisfactory manufacturing method and a useful tool for integrated microfluidic systems.

Keywords:

• Diffusion
• laminar microfluidics
• on-chip electrolyte regulator
• printed circuit board

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China with Grant No. 61704169, the National Natural Science Foundation of China with Grant No. 61874033, the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipal with Grant No. 18ZR1402600, and the State Key Lab of ASIC and System, Fudan University with Grant No. 2018MS003. The work was also supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) with File No. 201706100083.