Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Functional hydrogel structures for autonomous flow control inside microfluidic channels

Nature volume 404, pages 588–590 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Hydrogels have been developed to respond to a wide variety of stimuli1,2,3,4,5,6, but their use in macroscopic systems has been hindered by slow response times (diffusion being the rate-limiting factor governing the swelling process). However, there are many natural examples of chemically driven actuation that rely on short diffusion paths to produce a rapid response7. It is therefore expected that scaling down hydrogel objects to the micrometre scale should greatly improve response times. At these scales, stimuli-responsive hydrogels could enhance the capabilities of microfluidic systems by allowing self-regulated flow control. Here we report the fabrication of active hydrogel components inside microchannels via direct photopatterning of a liquid phase. Our approach greatly simplifies system construction and assembly as the functional components are fabricated in situ, and the stimuli-responsive hydrogel components perform both sensing and actuation functions. We demonstrate significantly improved response times (less than 10 seconds) in hydrogel valves capable of autonomous control of local flow.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A diagram of the fabrication method and images demonstrating a variety of shapes that were polymerized within 35 seconds.
Figure 2: Prefabricated posts in a microchannel serve as supports for the hydrogels, improving stability during volume changes.
Figure 3: A shut-off valve.
Figure 4: The volume response of two different hydrogels with respect to the pH of the surrounding fluid.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tanaka,T. et al. Phase transitions in ionic gels. Phys. Rev. Lett. 45, 1636–1639 ( 1980).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hu,Z., Zhang,X. & Li,Y. Synthesis and application of modulated polymer gels. Science 269, 525–527 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Tanaka,T., Nishio,I., Sun,S.-T. & Ueno-Nishio,S. Collapse of gels in an electric field. Science 218, 467–469 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Suzuki,A. & Tanaka,T. Phase transition in polymer gels induced by visible light. Nature 346, 345– 347 (1990).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kataoka,K., Miyazaki,H., Bunya,M., Okano,T. & Sakurai,Y. Totally synthetic polymer gels responding to external glucose concentration: their preparation and application to on-off regulation of insulin release. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120, 12694–12695 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Miyata,T., Asami,N. & Uragami,T. A reversibly antigen-responsive hydrogel. Nature 399, 766–769 ( 1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Schmidt-Nielsen,K. Animal Physiology (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1975).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Kovacs,G. T. A. Micromachined Transducers Sourcebook (WCB McGraw-Hill, Boston, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Trimmer,W. S. N. Microrobots and micromechanical systems. Sensors Actuators 19, 267–287 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Smela,E., Inganäs,O. & Lundström,I. Controlled folding of micrometer-size structures. Science 268, 1735–1738 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Breen,T., Tien,J., Oliver,S. R. J., Hadzic,T. & Witesides, G. M. Design and self-assembly of open, regular, 3D mesostructures. Science 284, 948–951 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Jackman,R. J., Brittain,S. T., Adams,A., Prentiss,M. G. & Whitesides, G. M. Design and fabrication of topologically complex, three-dimensional microstructures. Science 280, 2089–2091 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Kenis,P. J., Ismagilov,R. F. & Whitesides, G. M. Microfabrication inside capillaries using multiphase laminar flow patterning. Science 285, 83 –85 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Cumpston,B. H. et al. Two-photon polymerization initiators for three-dimensional optical data storage and microfabrication. Nature 398 , 51–54 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Jo,B.-H., Lerberghe,L. M. V., Motsegood, K. M. & Beebe,D. J. Three-dimensional micro-channel fabrication in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. J. Micromech. Syst. 9, 76– 81 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by DARPA-MTO.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    David J. Beebe, Jeffrey S. Moore, Joseph M. Bauer, Qing Yu, Robin H. Liu, Chelladurai Devadoss & Byung-Ho Jo

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    David J. Beebe

Authors
  1. David J. Beebe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeffrey S. Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Joseph M. Bauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qing Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Robin H. Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Chelladurai Devadoss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Byung-Ho Jo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Beebe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Beebe, D., Moore, J., Bauer, J. et al. Functional hydrogel structures for autonomous flow control inside microfluidic channels. Nature 404, 588–590 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35007047

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35007047

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing