OPTICALLY DRIVEN MICROPUMPS



Optically Driven Micropumps



Abstract

This paper is intended to shed some light on the Optical Micrpump technology for microfluids. We will discuss the various advancements that have taken place in the field. In this regard, the contribution of optical technology and its application in the field of micrfluidic regard will be intensely scrutinized. In addition, the MEMS technology will also be highlighted in order to clarify its role and application in the field of engineering.

Introduction

The contribution of optics in the field of engineering has opened up a vast and wide spanning range of applications for this technology. The application of optics has indeed made a crucial and significant impact on the chemical microanalysis processes. In this regard, micro fluidic based technology has benefited in leaps and bounds due to the simplicity and ubiquity factors that have been added to it. The key areas that have benefited from the advancement of these systems are the quantification, pumping and identification that are critical in the field of micro fluids. Optically driven micro pumps fall in the category of trapp.ing and separation. Optoporation is the field that integrates the concepts of laser technology in order to aid in convenience of methods that involve minimal or no contact.

With the efforts by many researchers in the fast developing field of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), many of different types of micro pumps have been designed to handle small, precise volumes for chemical, medical and biomedical applications. These forces then result in a direct increase in pressure difference up to the value required to drive the fluid through check valves or ports into the discharge line.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the current happenings in the field of development of micro scale devices for pumping fluids. In this regard, we shall shed some light in the major advancements in this field in the past 5 years. Various types of micro pumps will be discussed with critique and recommendations to aid in the improvement and advancement of this technology.

Optically Driven Micro pumps

Optically Driven Micro pumps have the function of pumping the fluids instead of having to move the particles that are present in the fluid. This practice provides the process of enhanced ease of integration with simplicity, re-configurability and compactness. In comparison with electro kinetics, the optically driven micro pumps offer relaxed constraints in its operation. The fundamental working of the micro pumps is given in the figure below:

The development of optical pumping techniques for cell-based micro fluidic chip made the pumping of cell and bio molecules at micrometer level, nanometer level, and even lower pumping level. The low cost for agents, traces of samples, and high precision of analysis made micro fluidic high-throughput pumping more adaptive and made great contribution to the development of bio-micro-nano-system. However, the forthcoming methods still have great challenge for different time-course, damage-free, real-time, and multiple-component pumping and sensing in living cells. Means and methods of new pumping are still needed; meanwhile, the cell pumping ...