Abstract
Through decades of developing micropumps in the MEMS field, a new micropump design should not only focus on performance and function, but should also target the ability to be integrated into BioMEMS system chips for the achievement of versatile applications. For this reason, a new micropump design, possessing the potential to integrate with various developed microdevices, has considerable value. This study proposes a new electrolysis micropump, featuring low power consumption and heat pipe-like back and forth actuation. It is believed that such design would have large potential to integrate with varied microfluidic devices. It is also believed that the combination of our micropump and an embedded microfluidic array probe matches the future trend of BioMEMS development, and provides a high quality tool for further study of medical tests involving biological samples. In recent years, diagnostic screening has drawn increasing attention. The advantages of BioMEMS technology include low fabrication cost, low sample consumption, and a rapid reaction rate suitable for point-of-care testing. Processing samples and reagents in array form could provide a breakthrough for clinical medicine and drug delivery development. Many studies have been conducted on the microprobe for biological applications, but most of them, such as the work of Professor Wise's team, focused solely on electrode probes for electrophysiology applications. However, attention to treatment requirements and microprobe design with flow channels is preferable. It has the capacity for drug delivery; furthermore, it is superior in long-term medicine injections and medicine gradient generation. Some important issues regarding drug delivery. Generally speaking, medicines or reagents used for cells and tissues are expensive and not easily accessible, and the required doses are critical. Therefore, if the dose could be administered precisely, it would fit the desire of experiment control and be economical. That is why a cell-size compatible microprobe array with embedded hollow flow channel for drug injection contributes largely to the biomedical field. This thesis comprises of four main parts: first, the realization of microprobe with embedded flow channel and heat pipe-like micropump and their microfabrication process; second, the actuation principle of the heat pipe-like electrolysis micropump; third, the injection of dye solution for confirmation of the lack of obstruction in the flow channel; finally, the experiment of the heat-pipe like micropump with the phenomena of back and forth actuation. The micropump developed in this thesis has the advantage of easy fabrication and easy integration with other devices, and is expected to be applied to other BioMEMS chips in the future.