Establishing Tolerances and Limits of Failure for Sample and Reagent Flow Using COMSOL Multiphysics® Software

S. Kumar [1], D. Dendukuri [1]
[1]Achira Labs, Bangalore, Karnataka.
Published in 2016

Microfluidics is the science of manipulating and controlling fluids at the micron scale. Although, fluid flow in standard geometries can be determined easily by analytical methods, a more rigorous computational model is required for custom geometries. Achira’s microfluidics cartridge has a microchannel with intricate curvatures to allow the entrapment of biosensors. The number and dimensions of these biosensors as well as the dimensions of the microfluidic cartridge play a significant role in setting engineering limits of failure for our microfluidic immunosensor platform. The effect of each of these individual factors was predicted using a model built with COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Experimental observations are found to have close correlation to the predictions made with the model built using COMSOL® software. Further, the model proved practically useful to set quality control criteria in our manufacturing process.