Microfluidics on porous substrates mediated by capillarity-driven transport

Kar, S. , Das, S. S., Laha, S. and Chakraborty, S. (2020) Microfluidics on porous substrates mediated by capillarity-driven transport. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 59(9), pp. 3644-3654. (doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b04772)

Abstract

Microfluidic systems on porous substrates, including paper-based analytical platforms, have attracted significant attention recently, primarily attributed to their diversified applications, ranging from bioanalytical devices for healthcare technologies to green energy generation and flexible electronics. In this short Review, we attempt to provide a concise overview about the fundamental premises of functionalities of these devices, starting from the understanding of flow in single one-dimensional conduit. This can be extended to more-complex systems, where an intrinsic capillary action offers the necessary provisions for continuous maintenance of heterogeneous flow over multiple spatiotemporal scales, which essentially facilitates the needs of specific applications. We discuss a few specific applications as demonstrative examples that are solely triggered by the intrinsic capillary action of the porous media. These specific examples delineate the fact that flexible architecture of the devices, in combination with the inherent capillary-driven phenomena, makes it suitable to meet the desired user-specific demands at affordable costs, rendering them immensely suitable for the low-resource-settings environment.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kar, Dr Shantimoy
• Authors: Kar, S., Das, S. S., Laha, S., and Chakraborty, S.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 0888-5885
• ISSN (Online): 1520-5045
• Published Online: 20 January 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society
• First Published: First published in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 59(9):3644-3654
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy