Microfluidic device and analyzing device using the same

Abstract

The conventional micropump and the conventional micromixer have the following problems. In a mechanical or hydrodynamic method, the structure of the inside of a flow path is complex so as to easily cause clogging, and manufacturing cost is high, and dead volume is large. Additionally, in an electrical method, the conventional micropump or the conventional micromixer was incapable of operating with a liquid having the concentration of a physiological saline that is important in the medical or biological field although the structure of the flow path is simple. These problems are solved by applying an AC voltage to a pair of electrodes in which an electrode-to-electrode gap between the pair of electrodes is vertically arranged and by generating the flow of a fluid in the direction opposite to gravity along the electrode-to-electrode gap. A micropump (43, 44) can be realized especially by forming a micro-sized flow path (11) in the vertical direction along the electrode-to-electrode gap, and a micromixer (41) can be realized by forming a micro-sized flow path (11) in the horizontal direction to cross at right angle to the electrode-to-electrode gap.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.