Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ; Medical Informatics & Biological Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MIMEMS) Specialized Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
PLoS One, 2013;8(9):e73002.
PMID: 24069169 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073002

Abstract

This paper employs the volume of fluid (VOF) method to numerically investigate the effect of the width, height, and contact angles on burst frequencies of super hydrophilic and hydrophilic capillary valves in centrifugal microfluidic systems. Existing experimental results in the literature have been used to validate the implementation of the numerical method. The performance of capillary valves in the rectangular and the circular microfluidic structures on super hydrophilic centrifugal microfluidic platforms is studied. The numerical results are also compared with the existing theoretical models and the differences are discussed. Our experimental and computed results show a minimum burst frequency occurring at square capillaries and this result is useful for designing and developing more sophisticated networks of capillary valves. It also predicts that in super hydrophilic microfluidics, the fluid leaks consistently from the capillary valve at low pressures which can disrupt the biomedical procedures in centrifugal microfluidic platforms.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.