Bubble-free electrokinetic flow with propylene carbonate.

Journal: Electrophoresis
PMID: 26178406

Abstract

For electroosmotic pumping, a large direct-current (DC) electric field (10+ V/cm) is applied across a liquid, typically an aqueous electrolyte. At these high voltages, water undergoes electrolysis to form hydrogen and oxygen, generating bubbles that can block the electrodes, cause pressure fluctuations, and lead to pump failure. The requirement to manage these gases constrains system designs. This article presents an alternative polar liquid for DC electrokinetic pumping, propylene carbonate (PC), which remains free of bubbles up to at least 10 kV/cm. This offers the opportunity to create electrokinetic devices in closed configurations, which we demonstrate with a fully sealed microfluidic hydraulic actuator. Furthermore, the electroosmotic velocity of PC is similar to that of water in PDMS microchannels. Thus, water could be substituted by PC in existing electroosmotic pumps.

Authors

  • Deepa Sritharan
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
  • Abraham Simpson Chen
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
  • Prabhath Aluthgama
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
  • Bilal Naved
    Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
  • Elisabeth Smela
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

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