C2003-19

About

The use of a miniature device to preform electrochemistry has many advantages in applications such as analysis, synthesis separation and detection. However, in using such small devices, effective mixing of the analyte with reagents in a timely manner is often difficult or impossible. This is because the small size of the spaces and channels of the device means that the flow itself will not be turbulent, and mixing within the flow will not occur except by diffusion. Diffusion is a slow process and a faster, more reliable method of mixing materials in a Lab-On-A-Chip device is needed. A new method of mixing analyte micro fluid flows is available that provides active stirring of the analyte fluid in a chamber designed for mixing. The stirring is done rapidly and thoroughly. The new method of mixing small volumes has several advantages, including no moving parts, low power requirement, bi-directionality of the stirring motion and compatibility with biological materials.