Optimization of electro-osmotic micropumps in microfluidic devices

In recent years, microfluidic devices have shown a great potential to be used in fast diagnosis, cell therapies, drug discovery as well as research on various biomolecules. For these devices, precise control of micro- and nano-fluids is essential. Among existing pumping solutions, there has been increasing interest in investigating solutions that allowing liquids to move without exploiting any moving parts, in order to achieve reliable and scalable pumping. AC electroosmotic (ACEO) pump is one of the most promising nonmechanical pumps, which is easily implementable and allows the generation of a continuous flow with real-time control. Nevertheless, most of the reported ACEO micropumps lack the ability to cope with large external pressures and only generate relatively low flow-rates. This thesis study will be based on our existing expertise of ACEO. The student will study ACEO pumping utilizing theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, to evaluate and optimize the pumping performance, including flow rate, pressure generation, power consumption, operating voltage, etc.