Microfluidic Capillary Systems for The Autonomous Transport of Bio/Chemicals

The transport of minute amounts of reagents is the key to the miniaturization of bio/chemical processes but represents a considerable technological challenge. The microfluidic systems demonstrated hitherto can be very small, but require large and cumbersome peripherals for actuation and control, as well as electrical and fluidic connections from the chip to the world, all of which limit further scaling and integration. Here we present a microfluidic capillary system (CS) that solely relies on capillary phenomena to pump, valve, and synchronize the transport of multiple liquids delivered in sequence to its service port, autonomously. The “capillary functions” are integrated into the system, that is to say “coded” into the structure of the flow path. The CS is self-contained (free of outside connections), and therefore amenable to arraying. Moreover, it is simple to use, robust, free of dead volumes, free of moving parts, and straightforward to fabricate.