Partial electroosmotic pumping in complex capillary systems - Part 1: Principles and general theoretical approach

This paper describes theoretically the behavior of partial electroosmotic and hydrodynamic flow in complex capillary systems. The equivalent hydraulic resistance and the equivalent electrical resistance of microfluidic systems are considered as the relevant parameters. The predicted flow rates and back-pressure characteristics agreed well with experimental results, as obtained with a novel electroosmotic pump consisting of up to six microfabricated microchannels connected in parallel. The theory permits the tailored design and optimization of new electroosmotic pumps with specific features, such as defined flow rate range, back-pressure range and desired range of the applied voltage. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.