Mixing is one of the basic functions which automated lab-on-chips require for the effective management of liquid samples. In this paper we report on the working principle, design, fabrication and experimental characterization of a soft-lithographed micromixer for microfluidic applications. The device effectively mixes two liquids by means of chaotic advection obtained as an implementation of a Linked Twisted Map (LTM). In this sense it is chaotic. The liquids are electrokinetically displaced by generating rolls through AC electroosmosis on co-planar electrodes. The device performance has been tested on dyed DI-water for several voltages, frequencies and flow-rates, displaying good mixing properties in the range of 10÷100kHz, at low peak-to-peak voltages (∼15÷20 volts). Low voltage supply, small dimensions and possibility of fabrication via standard lithographic techniques make the device highly integrable in lab-on-a-chip platforms.
@article{arxiv.0705.1156,
title = {A soft-lithographed chaotic electrokinetic micromixer for efficient chemical reactions in lab-on-chips},
author = {M. Campisi and D. Accoto and F. Damiani and P. Dario},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0705.1156},
year = {2010}
}