Pump-aware flow routing algorithm for programmable microfluidic devices

摘要

As the biochemical experiment becomes more complicated and more diverse, the process of developing a specific-purpose microfluidic biochip for a new task can be very expensive and time consuming. Therefore, the programmable microfluidic devices (PMDs) are proposed as general purpose devices which can perform multiple functions without any hardware modification. Because the PMDs are controlled by pure software program, the assays can be done in parallel and the total completion time can be reduced. However, the high parallelism may cause congestion problem as different reagents are not allowed to cross each other to avoid unexpected mixing. Moreover, since reagents are pushed by the off-chip pump, the free channel from an off-chip pump to the actuated reagent is also prohibited to pass through. This could further complicate the congestion problem and increase the assay completion time significantly. However, some vulnerable reagents may spoil over time during the experiment. For timing critical application, it is indispensable to ensure the total assay completion time is within an upper limit. Therefore, we propose a pump-aware flow routing algorithm which deals with the complex routing congestion while minimizing the assay completion time within an upper limit.