PERFORMANCE CHARACTERIZATION OF A RECONFIGURABLE PLANAR ARRAY DIGITAL MICROFLUIDIC SYSTEM

This chapter describes a computational approach to designing a digital micro- fluidic system (DMFS) that can be rapidly reconfigured for new biochemical analyses. Such a “lab-on-a-chip” system for biochemical analysis, based on electrowetting or dielectrophoresis, must coordinate the motions of discrete droplets or biological cells using a planar array of electrodes. We earlier introduced our layout-based system and demonstrated its flexibility through simulation, including the system’s ability to perform multiple assays simultaneously. Since array layout design and droplet routing strategies are closely related in such a digital microfluidic system, our goal is to provide designers with algorithms that enable rapid simulation and control of these DMFS devices.