Microfluidic Polymer Valves

In a technological breakthrough, Sandia researchers have developed polymer microvalves to allow fluids to be shuttled as easily in microfluidic chips as they are on a laboratory benchtop. The valves are photopatterned, cast-to-shape microscale polymer elements that can be used to isolate electric fields, and, as a consequence, locally isolate electroosmotic or electrophoretic flows. The valves can be actuated by applying pressure to move them inside a microfluidic channel in order to open and close flow pathways, isolating and manipulating the fluids of interest.

Sandia’s isolated cast-in-place microvalves feature the only architecture currently available that enables control of high-pressure (350 bar) fluid flow in microchannels, while simultaneously controlling high-voltage (1 kV). Sandia’s microfluidic polymer valves enable micro-scale systems to apply high-pressure techniques with a wide range of chemical solvents while retaining easy control of microfluidic pathways. These valves are chemically inert, preventing adsorption of species on the valve surface, and enabling low-friction valve motion.