Generating high-pressure sub-microliter flow rate in packed microchannel by electroosmotic force: potential application in microfluidic systems

We have developed a liquid delivery pump, known as an electroosmotic pump (EOP), based on the electrically induced osmosis principle, which is mainly made of one or several microchannels packed with porous fine dielectric material and connected in parallel. The EOP is tested with methanol, phosphate sodium buffer and their mixture, which can generate pressures from 0.1 to 15 MPa and flow rates of tens of nanoliters per minute to. several microliters per minute. Constant and pulsation-free flow from the EOP adapts well to microfluidic systems. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.