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An active bubble trap and debubbler for microfluidic systems

2008; Royal Society of Chemistry; Volume: 8; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1039/b807037g

1473-0197

Alison M. Skelley, Joel Voldman,

Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics

We present a novel, fully integrated microfluidic bubble trap and debubbler. The 2-layer structure, based on a PDMS valve design, utilizes a featured membrane to stop bubble progression through the device. A pneumatic chamber directly above the trap is evacuated, and the bubble is pulled out through the gas-permeable PDMS membrane. Normal device operation, including continuous flow at atmospheric pressure, is maintained during the entire trapping and debubbling process. We present a range of trap sizes, from 2 to 10 mm diameter, and can trap and remove bubbles up to 25 μL in under 3 h.