Microfluidic Filtration Pump

This pumping system uses feedback control to regulate flow rate or pressure drop through a microfluidic filter.

I was a part of a team of 5 that developed this pumping system as our Senior Capstone Project. We worked with a microfluidic lab to develop this system in order to help researchers better study tangential flow filtration. My contributions included selecting some of the components and sensors, writing the controller in LabVIEW, and assisting in overall system design.

This pumping system controls flow rate through a microfluidic tangential flow filter. As the filter becomes fouled, additional driving pressure is required to maintain the same flow rate through the filter. This system utilizes two computer-controlled syringe pumps, two pressure sensors, and a flow sensor to provide closed-loop control over the flow rate or pressure drop through the filter. The controller is written in LabVIEW and commands are sent to the pumps via serial connection.

This pumping system was used to conduct microfluidics experiments, and was featured in this publication.