Syringe Pump
Syringe pumps were traditionally the instrument most frequently used in microfluidics. They are also used in the biomedical field and in hospitals, for drug dosing and calibrated injections. A wide range of syringe pumps is available on the market, delivering flow rates of 0.012–300 mL/min.
Most syringe pumps are standardized instruments since they are designed to be compatible with a variety of syringes. Their flow stability and intuitive user experience make them the preferred choice of biologists, but their volume capacity is limited by the volume of the syringe. Their footprint and compatibility with incubators are other restrictive factors, as most syringe pumps are not designed to work in a humid environment.
To overcome this limitation, syringe pumps can be placed outside the incubator and aspirate the medium from the chip outlet instead of pushing it into its inlet. The source can be a reservoir, sealed with a permeable membrane or a non-gas-tight lid, which is placed in the incubator, connected to the chip, or even designed as part of the chip.