Precise capillary flow for paper-based viscometry

The imbibition dynamics of aqueous solutions in paper substrates determines the performance of all the operations integrated in analytical paper-based devices. In particular, an accurate control of the flow rate is required for quantitative analysis such as viscometry. This work experimentally inves...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Elizalde, Emanuel, Urteaga, Raul, Berli, Claudio Luis Alberto
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/29762
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/29762
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Paper-Based Microfluidics
Capillary Filling
Viscometry
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:The imbibition dynamics of aqueous solutions in paper substrates determines the performance of all the operations integrated in analytical paper-based devices. In particular, an accurate control of the flow rate is required for quantitative analysis such as viscometry. This work experimentally investigates paper filling dynamics in order to find a strategy to improve the precision and predictability of the imbibition process. The effect of performing successive wetting-drying cycles on the same strips is explored, since we have discovered that, after around four cycles, the filling kinematics is highly repetitive, and data closely follows the theoretical Lucas-Washburn model. It is found  that  the cyclic process enables quantitative assessment of the filling dynamics with uncertainties lower than 0.8%.  Implementing this protocol, paper-based viscometry with a precision around 1% was experimentally demonstrated. This knowledge is of interest to develop paper-based microfluidic devices with a new level of precision.