An in-plane active magnetic mixer for microfluidic applications

We report the properties of a magnetically actuated mixing and blending device that is fabricated using microfluidic tectonics methods. A small metal blade is confined within a microfluidic channel. A post is polymerized through a hole in the blade to hold it in place and allow it to spin freely when a common magnetic stirrer is activated. The moving blade allows fluid streams to mix. The blade can also be used to break up biological materials inside a microchannel.