On-chip mixing by micro-vortex generation using high-speed local-flow control

Abstract

We proposed on-chip mixing method by micro-vortex generation using high-speed local-flow. Since the flow condition tends to be laminar flow in a microfluidic device due to microscopic dimensions of microchannel, high-speed mixing using convection has been difficult in conventional on-chip mixers. In this paper, we fabricated a high-rigidity microfluidic chip which has membrane pump as high-speed local-flow control unit. By integrating the microfluidic chip with high-speed piezoelectric actuator, we constructed high-speed local-flow control system and utilized it to generate vortex in a microfluidic chip. As a result, we succeeded in on-chip mixing within 1.5 ms by using the micro vortex.