Development of the MHD micropump with mixing function

As μ-TAS (micro total analysis system) is developed with enhancement of MEMS technology, the growth of medical and biological research areas increases rapidly. The study on LOC (lab on a chip), which is one of the μ-TAS and has the functions of mixing and analyzing with a tiny amount of sample and reagent on one chip, is actively progressed. LOC is composed of the microfluidic components such as micromixers and micropumps. Because the flow on the microfluidic system is generally laminar, it is very difficult to mix and feed fluidic reagents efficiently. This paper presents the design and the fabrication of the MHD micropump with mixing function, in which the fluids are simultaneously mixed and pumped by coupling between Lorentz force and the moving force of an electric charge in the electric field. The advanced model was determined through the commercial CFD program after several models were modified. The numerical results have been compared with the experimental results. This study shows the proposed micropump can be made through simple fabrication procedure and has the low energy consumption.