An Open-Source, Programmable Pneumatic Setup for Operation and Automated Control of Single- and Multi-Layer Microfluidic Devices

Abstract

Microfluidic technologies have been used across diverse disciplines (e.g. high-throughput biological measurement, fluid physics, laboratory fluid manipulation) but widespread adoption has been limited in part due to the lack of openly disseminated resources that enable non-specialist labs to make and operate their own devices. Here, we report the open-source build of a pneumatic setup capable of operating both single and multilayer (Quake-style) microfluidic devices with programmable scripting automation. This setup can operate both simple and complex devices with 48 device valve control inputs and 18 sample inputs, with modular design for easy expansion, at a fraction of the cost of similar commercial solutions. We present a detailed step-by-step guide to building the pneumatic instrumentation, as well as instructions for custom device operation using our software, Geppetto, through an easy-to-use GUI for live on-chip valve actuation and a scripting system for experiment automation. We show robust valve actuation with near real-time software feedback and demonstrate use of the setup for high-throughput biochemical measurements on-chip. This open-source setup will enable specialists and novices alike to run microfluidic devices easily in their own laboratories.

Keywords: Microfluidics; Quake-style valves; bioMEMs; biochip; biohacking; fluid handling; laboratory automation; micro total analysis systems (μTAS); pneumatics.

Figure 1

Photograph of a completed pneumatic build (Option 1) with all 5 build modules.

Figure 2

Overall setup schematic with parts designated by letter and number (as referenced to the Bill of Materials).

Figure 3

Module 1. (a) Module 1 schematic. (b) Finalized implementation of Module 1.

Figure 4

Module 2. (a) Module 2 schematic. (b) Finalized implementation of Module 2.

Figure 5

Module 3. (a) Module 3 schematic. (b) Finalized implementation of Module 3.

Figure 6

Module 4. (a) Module 4 schematic. (b) Finalized implementation of Module 4.

Figure 7

Module 5. (a) Module 5 schematic. (b) Finalized implementation of Module 5.

Figure 8

Build Option 2 schematic.

Figure 9

Build Option 3 schematic.

Figure 10

Example Geppetto GUI for valve state visualization of a microfluidic device. Shown here is the custom GUI configured for the MITOMI demo device (see Section 9).

Figure 11

(a) Valve closed state under 25 psi control on a MITOMI device. (b) Valve open state.

Figure 12

Image of a fully prepped MITOMI device with control lines and flow lines in operation.

Figure 13

Experimental results showing an increase in eGFP under only the button area resulting from precise valve-actuation events for successful patterning.