Dissolvable bridges for manipulating fluid volumes in paper networks

Anal Chem. 2013 Dec 3;85(23):11201-4. doi: 10.1021/ac4022677. Epub 2013 Nov 14.

Abstract

A capability that is key to increasing the performance of paper microfluidic devices is control of fluid transport in the devices. We present dissolvable bridges as a novel method of manipulating fluid volumes within paper-based devices. We demonstrate and characterize the operation of the bridges, including tunability of the volumes passed from 10 μL to 80 μL, using parameters such as geometry and composition. We further demonstrate the utility of dissolvable bridges in the important context of automated delivery of different volumes of a fluid from a common source to multiple locations in a device for simple device loading and activation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design / methods*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / methods*
  • Paper*
  • Solubility
  • Trehalose / chemistry

Substances

  • Trehalose