Recent trends in mechanical micropumps and their applications: A review

Abstract In recent years micropump technology has gained considerable importance and has become the highlighted area of research particularly for microfluidic applications. The driving force towards the development of micropump technology has been the integration of pumping systems into microfluidic devices to fulfill the need for accurate delivery of fluids. The present review brings out the recent research and development in the field of micropump technology with an emphasis on mechanical micropump. This review highlights the complete history and descriptions of different mechanical micropump design, actuation principles, materials and performance/operating parameters with relevant schematic diagrams. A comparative study with quantitative and graphical data has been presented to address the potential advantages and disadvantages of the different actuation schemes of mechanical micropump with the emphasis on flow rate and back pressure developed. Factors such as actuator type, operating parameters, diaphragm materials, and flow rectification mechanisms and their effect on micropump performance are addressed in detail. This study also highlights the requirements and applications of micropump in different fields such as biomedical, drug delivery, thermal management, fuel cells, etc.