PMC

Fig. 2Simple valve-free microfluidic device for solution exchange in the bioassay process. (A) Schematic of the device, (B) setup for solution exchange in the fabricated device with the solution introduced and retained in the reaction chamber using the MRP.

Figure 1

Fig. 11

Fig. 1Schematic presentation of a simple microfluidic solution exchange system for bioassays. (A) A valve-free, manual roller pump (MRP)-driven microfluidic solution processing. The solution moves through the inlet and outlet tubes by utilizing air pressure generated by pumping (i.e., pressing and rolling of the cylindrical roller). (B) Schematic pump operation and solution exchange. (i and ii) Subsequent solution injection into and withdrawal from the microfluidic reaction/assay chamber was realized with forward and suction pumping from the positive and negative air pressure from the MRP operation. Green and blue arrows indicate the movement of air and solution, respectively.