Dissolvable Film-Controlled Buoyancy Pumping and Aliquoting on a Lab-On-A-Disc

Lab-on-a-Disc (LoaD) has great potential for applications in decentralised bioanalytical testing where speed and robustness are critical. Here, a disc-shaped microfluidic chip is rotated to pump liquid radially outwards; thus, all structures must be fitted into the available radial length. To overcome this limitation, several centripetal pumping technologies have been developed. In work, we combine buoyancy pumping, enabled by displacing aqueous samples reagents centripetally inwards dense (fluorocarbon FC-40), with dissolvable film (DF) automate multi-step assay. The DF dissolves presence of water but not contact FC-40. Therefore, FC-40 can stored behind membranes autonomously released arriving sample. Using technology, tasks such as blood centrifugation located on disc periphery ‘disc real estate’ less valuable centrifugal forces higher. demonstrate this, use combination buoyancy-driven barriers implement fully automated multi-parameter diagnostic assay LoaD platform. implemented steps include plasma extraction from structure, automatically triggered metering/aliquoting, management five onboard reagents. Critically, also highly accurate aliquoting using pumping. We provide mathematical model describe mechanism apply lumped-element modelling Monte Carlo simulation estimate errors volumes caused manufacturing deviations.