Recent advances in microfluidic devices put a high demand on small, robust and reliable pumps suitable for high-throughput applications. Here we demonstrate a compact, low-cost, directly attachable (clip-on) electroosmotic pump that couples with standard Luer connectors on a microfluidic device. The pump is easy to make and consists of a porous polycarbonate membrane and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes. The soft electrode and membrane materials make it possible to incorporate the pump into a standard syringe filter holder, which in turn can be attached to commercial chips. The pump is less than half the size of the microscope slide used for many commercial lab-on-a-chip devices, meaning that these pumps can be used to control fluid flow in individual reactors in highly parallelized chemistry and biology experiments. Flow rates at various electric current and device dimensions are reported. We demonstrate the feasibility and safety of the pump for biological experiments by exposing endothelial cells to oscillating shear stress (up to 5 dyn/cm2) and by controlling the movement of both micro- and macroparticles, generating steady or oscillatory flow rates up to ± 400 μL/min.

There is a need for soft actuators in various biomedical applications in order to manipulate delicate objects such as cells and tissues. Soft actuators are able to adapt to any shape and limit the stress applied to delicate objects. Conjugated polymer actuators, especially in the so-called trilayer configuration, are interesting candidates for driving such micromanipulators. However, challenges involved in patterning the electrodes in a trilayer with individual contact have prevented further development of soft micromanipulators based on conjugated polymer actuators. To allow such patterning, two printing-based patterning techniques have been developed. First an oxidant layer is printed using either syringe-based printing or micro-contact printing, followed by vapor phase polymerization of the conjugated polymer. Sub-millimeter patterns with electronic conductivities of 800 Scm-1 are obtained. Next, laser ablation is used to cleanly cut the final device structures including the printed patterns, resulting in fingers with individually controllable digits and miniaturized hands. The methods presented in this paper will enable integration of patterned electrically active conjugated polymer layers in many types of complex 3-D structures.

We provide and discuss electrochemical quartz microbalance measurements confirming previouslyreported observations that poly-L-lysine films deposited from solution under anodic conditions grow at a constant deposition rate for extended periods of time. Compared to our previous results using Pt, we find that indium tin oxide (ITO) offers an effective surface for film growth where water oxidation is sufficiently suppressed to allow uniform films to be deposited. The fact that the previous results on ITO have been reproduced is positive for the study of polyelectrolyte film creation, and has implications for the use of these films to increase the biocompatibility of hard conducting materials used as electrodes.

Electroosmotic pumps employing silica frits synthesized from potassium silicate as a stationary phase show strong electroosmotic flow velocity and resistance to pressure-driven flow. We characterize these pumps and measure an electroosmotic mobility of 2.5x10(-8) m(2)/V s and hydrodynamic resistance per unit length of 70 x10(17) Pa s/m(4) with a standard deviation of less than 2% even when varying the amount of water used in the potassium silicate mixture. Furthermore, we demonstrate the simple integration of these pumps into a proofof- concept PDMS lab-on-a-chip device fabricated from a 3D-printed template.

Electroosmotic pumps employing potassium silicate as a stationary phase show strong electroosmotic flow velocity and resistance to pressure-driven   flow. We characterize these pumps and demonstrate their simple integration into proof-of-concept PDMS lab-on-a-chip devices fabricated from 3D-printed templates.

Syringe-based 3D-printing is a powerful additive manufacturing method for fabricating short runs (small volumes) of components from multiple materials with a wide range of viscosities. However, objects that are hollow or not in complete contact with the printer’s stage are difficult to fabricate. Using a sacrificial template as a supporting layer enables bottom-up construction of complex structures. Template materials based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) plasticized with organic carbonates to tune their rheological (shear-thinning) and thermal (crystallization) properties have been evaluated, including results from rheometry, differential scanning calorimetry, dissolution rate, chemical compatibility with  polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and general functionality in a syringe-based 3D-printer. A family of such blends yields material that is easily printed, is stable over time, is soluble in water, and can support other materials and larger structures without collapsing. These mixtures are proposed for use with other extrudable or mouldable materials to enable 3D-printed devices with complex unsupported geometries.

In nearly all cases, electrophoresis in gels is driven via the electrolysis of water at the electrodes, where the process consumes water and produces electrochemical by-products. We have previously demonstrated that p-conjugated polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) can be placed between traditional metal electrodes and an electrolyte to mitigate electrolysis in liquid (capillary electroosmosis/electrophoresis) systems. In this report, we extend our previous result to gel electrophoresis, and show that electrodes containing PEDOT can be used with a commercial polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis system with minimal impact to the resulting gel image or the ionic transport measured during a separation.

Macroporous gelatin beads (CultiSpher™ microcarriers) provide a convenient method for rapidly and reliably introducing cells cultured ex situ into a microfluidic device, where the spheres create a 3D environment for continued cell proliferation. We demonstrate the usefulness of this technique with a proof-of-concept viability analysis of cardiac cells after treatment with doxorubicin. © 2014 the Partner Organisations.

Coating hard materials such as Pt with soft polymers like poly-l-lysine is a well-established technique for increasing electrode biocompatibility. We have combined quartz crystal microgravimetry with dissipation with electrochemistry (EQCM-D) to study the deposition of PLL onto Pt electrodes under anodic potentials. Our results confirm the change in film growth over time previously reported by others. However, the dissipation data suggest that, after the short initial phase of the process, the rigidity of the film increases with time, rather than decreasing, as previously proposed. In addition to these results, we discuss how gas evolution from water electrolysis and Pt etching in electrolytes containing Cl⁻ affect EQCM-D measurements, how to recognize these effects, and how to reduce them. Despite the challenges of using Pt as an anode in this system, we demonstrate that the various electrochemical processes can be understood and that PLL coatings can be successfully electrodeposited.

This study reports an approach to tailoring the temperature-sensitive conductivity behavior of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based polymer electrolytes to match a concrete hardening model, for use in temperature-sensitive organic electronics. Plasticized PEO/MX (M = Li, Na; X = TFSI, Tf) polymer electrolytes were designed to fit a specific temperature-sensitive behavior of the ionic conductivity within a temperature range of 20-60 A degrees C. Polymer electrolytes with varying concentrations of plasticizing solvents (propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate; PC and EC) and short-chain polyether homologs such as poly(ethylene glycol)-dimethyl ether were produced. Some of the investigated electrolytes displayed useful and stable temperature-sensitive conductivity for applications in process monitoring or quality control of temperature-sensitive products; the best being either a 40:60 PEO:PEGDME blend by w/w containing NaCF3SO3 at a Na:O ratio 1:10 and with 10 wt% PC or PEO with LiTFSI or NaTFSI at a salt:O ratio 1:25 and 30 wt% PC. Analysis of variance indicates the adequacy of temperature-sensitive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) electrochromic monitoring devices based on these electrolytes relative to a standard model for the concrete hardening process.