OPTICAL DETECTION TECHNIQUES IN MICRO-FLUIDIC SYSTEM

Optical Detection Techniques in Micro-Fluidic System



Optical Detection Techniques in Micro-fluidic Systems

Micro-fluidics is a particularly vibrant area of research, as evidenced by a quick analysis of global scientific output. It mainly has four themes: analytical chemistry, the bio defense, the molecular biology and microelectronics. First of all, the success of analytical format capillary led to further miniaturization of devices to improve the sensitivity and resolution analysis. The development of micro-fluidics has also been extensively funded by military agencies to respond to the risk of weapons. Furthermore, the race to sequence the human genome, quickly followed by the proteome and meta-bolome, has mandated the development of analytical tools which are highly parallelizable. Finally, micro-fluidics have greatly benefitted from technical micro-fabrication, originally developed for microelectronics and micro-systems. Despite these factors, this technique is not yet present in everyday life, especially in the field of health. A possible reason for this latency is that micro-fluidics is a relatively young discipline; numerous devices have been developed, enriching all the micro-fluidic toolbox. However, the problem remains their mixing, coherent assemblage and the possibility of using the device via an unwary source. In this sense, pregnancy tests disposable is an example to follow. The scientific community remains largely confident about the future of micro-fluidics, which has also been as one of ten emerging technologies that will change the world in future.

The science of micro-fluidics is multifaceted, not limited only to fluid flow. We can identify several components of a micro-fluidic system: the flow zones, and interface with the outside world. The flow zones are generally manufactured in micro-channels technical polymer. The techniques of micro-electronic techniques provide a basis to other techniques, such as laminating dry films that were developed specifically for micro-fluidic systems. The geometry and design of the flow zones is also taken into account: in single channel, T-shaped or even bio-mimetic. Another function is based on the actuation fluid: this term covers the injection, controlled movement and the various operations performed on the fluid as a mixture. These functions are implemented by a variety of basic micro-fluidic components: micro-pumps, micro-valves, micro-mixers, etc. The last aspect of micro-fluidic technology is the connection between the micro system and the outside world. This is to develop interfaces, if possible standardized, between systems very different scales. All these aspects cover only the basic functions that are typically found in any micro-fluidic system.

Detection and measurement of optical and infrared radiation is a well-established area of technology. This technology has been applied to photonics applications. Detectors are particularly suitable for use with lasers. Some detectors are packaged in the format of power or energy meters. Such a device is a complete system for measuring the output of a specific class of lasers, and includes a detector, housing, amplification if necessary, and a readout device (White sides, 2006,, 368).

Optical detection schemes continue to be preferred for measurements in micro-fluidic systems. This is known when the successes in this area are studied closely, especially in the ...