Title
Ionic polymer metal composite-based microfluidic flow sensor for bio-MEMS applications
Author
Motreuil-Ragot, P.A. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Turcan, G. (Student TU Delft)
de Wagenaar, B. (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Hunt, A. (TU Delft Micro and Nano Engineering) 
Sarro, Pasqualina M (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Mastrangeli, Massimo (TU Delft Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Date
2022
Abstract
Sensing flow rates in structured microenvironments like lab-on-chip (LOC) and organ-on-chip (OoC) is crucial to assess important parameters such as transport of media and molecules of interest. So far, these micro-electromechanical systems for biology (bio-MEMS) mostly rely on flow sensing systems based on thermal sensors. However, thermal flow sensing has limitations, since the measurement principle, which is based on generation of heat, can negatively affect the biological system by increasing the fluid temperature above physiological conditions. To overcome this issue, we propose a novel electro-mechanical flow sensor centered around the deformation of a cantilever made of a thin and biocompatible ionic electroactive polymer. The polymer, called ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), is doped with ions naturally present in most cell media for LOC and OoC devices. Unlike already existing cantilever-based systems which rely on piezo sensitive materials, our IPMC-based flow sensor shows durability in wet environment. We were able to successfully measure pulsatile flow induced by pipetting with flowrate gradually increasing from 10μL/s to 40μL/s. The proposed flow sensor shows good sensing capabilities (4.78 mV/(μL/s)) with a linear behavior in the studied range. This work sets a milestone for using flexible, electroactive materials for sensing applications in delicate biological microenvironments.
Subject
Flow sensor
Ionic polymer metal composites
microfluidics
stereolithography
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:9948f765-8c5e-4fe0-81ec-47a94bd616ed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/SENSORS52175.2022.9967281
Publisher
IEEE, Piscataway
Embargo date
2023-06-08
ISBN
978-1-6654-8465-7
Source
Proceedings of the 2022 IEEE Sensors
Event
2022 IEEE Sensors, 2022-10-30 → 2022-11-02, Dallas, United States
Series
Proceedings of IEEE Sensors, 1930-0395, 2022-October
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.
Part of collection
Institutional Repository
Document type
conference paper
Rights
© 2022 P.A. Motreuil-Ragot, G. Turcan, B. de Wagenaar, A. Hunt, Pasqualina M Sarro, Massimo Mastrangeli