3.1. ICEK micropumps
Inducing of controlled fluid flow in microchannels without the need for
expensive and bulky injection systems is one of the hurdles of designing
LOCs, particularly for developing miniaturized and high-throughput (HT)
platforms (Dehghan Manshadi, Khojasteh, Mohammadi, & Kamali, 2016).
Electrokinetic-based micropumps have a high potential in maintaining the
pressure drop along the microchannels due to their simple structure with
no need for a moving part, easy fabrication, and integrability on a
chip. More importantly, these pumps can generate continuous and precise
flow with high controllability and long-term perfusion (Kamali,
Manshadi, & Mansoorifar, 2016; Zhou, Zhang, Li, & Wang, 2016). Unlike
the conventional electroosmotic flow (EOF) micropumps, ICEK micropumps
induce fluid flow in microchannels deliberately with the capability of
rapid change of fluid flow with minimal intertia by designing proper
polarizable objects/electrodes in both DC and AC electric fields (Todd
M. Squires, 2009). Here, the advances in ICEK micropumps are discussed,
wherein these pumps are classified as ACEO-based (around polarizable
electrodes) and ICEO-based (around polarizable objects) micropumps.