Micropumps – the new potential for Life Sciences

Small, portable disposable micropump with broad flow dynamics.

The standard pumps used in common biotechnological, chemical or medical devices are big in size and cost. The precision is achieved by exact working motors which drive a piston of a syringe or squeeze a tube for the movement of a fluid. Due to the electromechanical technology, the driving elements need a lot of space to built in and electrical power. A power-plug or big batteries are necessary to drive those pumps. In addition their setup is complex which makes the systems expensive and therefore not applicable for some products.

Bartels Mikrotechnik offers micropumps fully made of plastics, which makes the system as cheap as cup of coffee in a restaurant – in high series production. Due to the cost-structure this micropump can be used in disposable devices. This way contamination is avoided. Once the pump was used it is thrown away together with the reservoir. Electronics can be reused.

Its setup is very straight forward: A piezoelectric membrane is deflecting and moves a fluid volume. Passive check valves rectify the fluid into one direction. Due to its design it is possible to pump liquids as well as gases.

The size is one of the biggest advantages together with the low power consumption. It can be battery-powered and runs for days without changing the energy source. Put two 1€Cent-coins on top of each other and you will roughly get the size of the micropump. That makes the system applicable for autarkic systems which have to be portable.

Due to the broad dynamics of the micropump (viscosity water: 50 nl/min up to 5 ml/min; for gases: 50 µl/min up to 15 ml/min) many different media can be moved to be processed, analyzed or delivered. The lightweight micropump (0,8 g) fits into mobile systems and offers the patient or operator convenience and easy handling. It is particle tolerant up to 50 µm particle diameter.

To control the micropump different approaches are possible. To use the micropump as an autarkic system a special electronics including batteries are used. For the connection to the PC a USB-stick drives the micropump and is controlled by software. With the extended control box, one has access to all parameters which define the performance of the pump. All electronic controls are available as evaluation kits. After the evaluation phase is finalized, optimizations or redesigns to custom fit the pump are possible. This way the systems suit the customers application best.