Characterization of Low Cost Fluidic Components for Biosensing Applications

Here we present, characterizations of generic fluidic components used in biosensing applications. Low-cost fluidic components such as a peristaltic pump, solenoid valve, and flow sensor have been characterized individually in this work. The solenoid valves and an electro-optical flow sensor have been fabricated in-house. An automatic fluidic system has been developed with the help of these custom-made components. Computational data, such as flow rate and volume flow curves, have also been plotted with the experimental results for validation purposes. The peristaltic pump has been used for fluidic processing. The pump performance is evaluated by connecting and disconnecting the solenoid valves in the fluidic network. In both the cases, the pump has shown a linear operation. The observed flow rate was ranging from 0 to 80 mL/min. The solenoid pinch type valves have been fabricated for controlling the fluid flow. These valves have been evaluated on the bases of the electrical parameters. The operating voltage of the valve is 12 volts. The observed holding and inrush voltages are 6 volts and 1 volt respectively. An electrooptical flow sensor has been developed for detecting the presence of fluid in the system. This is achieved by measuring the light scattered by the fluid present in the tubing. The effect of different liquids on the output of the sensor has been investigated. Design strategies are extracted and used to develop a highly sensitive and cost-effective flow sensor.