Microfluidic pH-sensing chips integrated with pneumatic fluid-control devices

Biosens Bioelectron. 2006 Feb 15;21(8):1468-75. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2005.06.005. Epub 2005 Aug 11.

Abstract

This paper presents a microfluidic chip capable of performing precise continuous pH measurements in an automatic mode. The chip is fabricated using micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS)-based techniques and incorporates polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructures, pH-sensing electrodes and pneumatic fluid-control devices. Through its enhanced microchannel design and use of pneumatic fluid-control devices, the microfluidic chip reduces the dead volume of the sample and increases the pumping rate. The maximum pumping rate of the developed micro-pump is 28 microL/min at an air pressure of 10 psi and a driving frequency of 10 Hz. The total sample volume consumed in each sensing operation is just 0.515 microL. As a result, the developed chip reduces the sample volume compared to conventional large-scale pH-sensing systems. The microfluidic chip employs the electrochemical sensing method to conduct precise pH level measurements. The sensing electrodes are fabricated by sputtering a layer of SiO(2)-LiO(2)-BaO-TiO(2)-La(2)O(3) (SLBTLO) onto platinum (Pt) electrodes and the pH value of the sample is evaluated by measuring the potential difference between the sensing electrodes and a reference electrode. Additionally, the integration of the microfluidic chip with a pneumatic fluid-control device facilitates automatic sample injection and a continuous sensing operation. The developed system provides a valuable tool with which to examine pH values in a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electrochemistry / instrumentation*
  • Electrochemistry / methods
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Flow Injection Analysis / instrumentation*
  • Flow Injection Analysis / methods
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration*
  • Ion-Selective Electrodes*
  • Microelectrodes*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / methods
  • Systems Integration
  • Transducers*