A feedback control system for high-fidelity digital microfluidics
A feedback control system for high-fidelity digital microfluidics
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DOI：
10.1039/c0lc00223b
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发表时间：
2011-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
6.1
通讯作者：
Wheeler, Aaron R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Shih, Steve C. C.;Fobel, Ryan;Wheeler, Aaron R.
数字微流体（DMF）是一种通过向电极阵列施加电场来操纵离散液滴的技术。在理想的DMF系统中，驱动电位的每次施加将导致目标液滴移动到通电电极上（即，驱动电压和激励之间的完美保真度）;然而，在真实的系统中，有时观察到液滴抵抗移动到特定电极上。在这里，我们实现了一个感测和反馈控制系统，其中所有的液滴运动被监控，使得当观察到运动故障时，可以施加额外的驱动电压，直到液滴完成所需的操作。新的系统进行了评估，包括水，甲醇和细胞培养基中含有胎牛血清的一系列液体，并观察到反馈控制，导致液滴驱动保真度和速度的显着改善。新系统的效用进行了验证，通过实施酶动力学测定与连续混合。数字微流体的新平台简单而廉价，因此对于正在开发自动化分析平台的科学家和工程师来说应该是有用的。
Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a technique in which discrete droplets are manipulated by applying electrical fields to an array of electrodes. In an ideal DMF system, each application of driving potential would cause a targeted droplet to move onto an energized electrode (i.e., perfect fidelity between driving voltage and actuation); however, in real systems, droplets are sometimes observed to resist movement onto particular electrodes. Here, we implement a sensing and feedback control system in which all droplet movements are monitored, such that when a movement failure is observed, additional driving voltages can be applied until the droplet completes the desired operation. The new system was evaluated for a series of liquids including water, methanol, and cell culture medium containing fetal bovine serum, and feedback control was observed to result in dramatic improvements in droplet actuation fidelity and velocity. The utility of the new system was validated by implementing an enzyme kinetics assay with continuous mixing. The new platform for digital microfluidics is simple and inexpensive and thus should be useful for scientists and engineers who are developing automated analysis platforms.