Abstract

Investigation of Droplet Volume Evaporation for Short fault Model in MEDA based Biochips

Vineeta Shukla, Research Scholar, Universiti Teknologi Petronas

With increasing advancement in digital microfluidics, its application has been increased in various domains such as bio-sensing and drug discovery etc. The employment of these biochips in safety critical applications urges the need of their correct operations and dependability [1-3]. Therefore, testing of these devices is a crucial step. Past years have seen techniques being employed for testing these kinds of biochips. Recently proposed MEDA (Micro-electrode Dot Array) based Digital Microfluidics Biochips (DMFB) promises a development path for various clinical applications [4-5]. Its advantages include the actuation of multiple micro-electrodes at a same time thus forming any shape and size of droplet [6]. This increases the risk of volume loss of the droplet in case of any defective micro-electrode. The volume loss thus also affects the biomedical assay which requires high precision in their volume [6-7]. This paper is focussed on the investigation of droplet volume loss in the case of droplet- electrode short fault model. An analytical model for the droplet volume and its dependency on the capacitance of micro-electrode cell is developed. Simulation of an array of 3-D MEDA based model is performed using the AC/DC and microfluidics modules of COMSOL Multiphysics software. The effect of droplet volume on the capacitance is investigated by parametric analysis of the droplet volume. Simulation results show that the volume loss of any liquid due to the defect in the micro-electrode will directly affect the output capacitance.