Nonmechanical pumping of liquids is of key importance for applications from the biomedical microfluidic chip to drug delivery systems. In this paper, a new electrokinetic pump (EOP) system with polycarbonate nanochannel membrane sandwiched between two membrane holders was constructed. The pump was tested with water and phosphate buffer at 1-6 V applied voltage, the maximum pressure and flow rate are 0.32 MPa (3.2 atm) and 4.2 mL/min for phosphate buffer, respectively. This proof-of-concept pump shows its potential use for drugs or chemical agents delivery by the usage of different membrane materials.
Ling Xin ChenQing Ling LiXiao Lei WangHai Long WangYa Feng Guan
