Stanford University Microfluidics Foundry

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Testing Using Manifolds

So now you have designed your microfluidic circuit, received your chip and are ready to start testing your You can build a set-up where pressure can be switched between control lines and between flow lines manually. If you have a continuous flow air supply, you can build a set-up where you regulate the pressure supply (in the range 0-30 psi) to several independent manifolds. Each manifold allows you to manually control the supply pressure (ON/OFF) to several independent control lines or flow lines.

Figure 1 shows a schematic of such a set-up where two pressures (P1, P2) are regulated from a single pressure source (P0). Each regulated pressure line is connected to a separate manifold comprised of 5 manually controlled outputs. One manifold is connected to the on-chip control lines and the other manifold to the on-chip flow lines.

Figure 1. Schematic of fluidic control set-up using regulated pressure and manually controlled manifolds.

Parts List
Prerequisites	Inverted microscope / stereomicroscope
	Constant air supply
Materials Needed for Fluidic Connections	Disposable stainless steel dispensing needles to connect to syringe 23 gauge, 0.5” long, type 304, ID 0.017”, OD 0.025” (Supplier: McMaster-Carr, Santa Fe Springs , CA , USA )
	Tubes for liquid/gas
	Tygon tubing (flexible plastic tubing for fluidic connections), ID 0.02”, OD 0.06”, 500ft, 0.02” wall (Supplier: VWR, Brisbane, CA, USA)
	Steel pins for chip-to-tube interface 0.025 OD x 0.017 ID, 0.500” length, s/s tube, type 304, cut, deburred, passivated (Supplier: New England Small Tube, Litchfield , NH , USA )
Materials Needed for Pressure Regulation and Control	Pressure regulators 0-30psi, Airtrol Inc., part number R-800-30-W/K (search for a local distributor at www.airtrolinc.com )
	Pressure gauges 0-30psi, Noshok brand, part number 15.100.30KPA (distributor for pressure regulators should have similar gauges available)
	Luer manifolds (2 to 5 ports), from Cole Parmer, part numbers C-06464-80, C-06464-82, C-06464-84, C-06464-86.
	Fittings to connect regulators to gauges and to luer manifolds: Supplier: Cole Parmer Part numbers: C-06349-20 (nylon tee), C-31200-60 (female luer to 1/8” NPT)
	Fittings of your choice to connect regulators to your compressed air supply.
	¼” OD x 1/8” ID Tygon tubing (Swagelok, part number RLT-2-4)
	Various other fittings and things that are useful: From Cole Parmer: Male luer lock 3-way stopcock (cat# C-30600-02), microbore Y connector (cat# C-34000-38) From Value Plastics Inc: Male luer to 200-series barb (cat# MTLL230-1), tee connector with 200-series bard (cat# T230-1), Y connector with 200-series barb (cat# Y230-1), female luer cap (cat# FTLLP-1), male luer plug (cat# LP4-1) female luer coupler (cat# FTLLC-1)