Bio-O-Pump: a novel portable microfluidic device driven by osmotic pressure

The concepts of lab on a chip, miniaturised fluidic systems, and biochips entail the use of a fluid to perform analogue or digital operations. The temporal and spatial fluidic drive and control in microfluidic systems usually involves a complex pump, tubing, and connection system. Reducing the number of external components is crucial for use by scientists without an engineering background. In this paper, we present a novel pump-free device that uses an osmotic-pressure-driven flow to control and modulate fluid flow in microfluidic networks. The flow rate was regulated by controlling the osmotic area and the concentration of the draw solution, which comprised an easily accessible solution of electrolytes such as commercial sterile saline buffer and sodium chloride solution. The Bio-O-Pump can continuously generate liquid movement up to a flow rate of 4.88 mL h(-1) over 1 h. This research also presents a single cell trapping application for biomedical uses.