A passive pumping method for microfluidic devices.
The surface energy present in a small drop of liquid is used to pump the liquid through a microchannel. The flow rate is determined by the volume of the drop present on the pumping port of the microchannel. A flow rate of 1.25 microL s(-1) is demonstrated using 0.5 microL drops of water. Two other fluid manipulations are demonstrated using the passive pumping method: pumping liquid to a higher gravitational potential energy and creating a plug within a microchannel.
Walker
Glenn  M
G
Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Beebe
David J
DJ