1. Microfluidic
Characterization
Project Presentation
By Yuval Levental
1
SciTE

2. Outline
 Introduction
 Fluigent Equipment
 MFCS
 Flowboard
 M-Switch
 Labview program:
 Program 1
 Program2
 SciTe program
 Program 1
 Program2
 Conclusion


2

3. Abstract
 This project involved performing several
experiments with Fluigent devices, LabView
software, and the Fluigent script module.
 I started out with the script module and
programmed pressure settings, pressure
increases, pressure decreases, wait periods,
loops, flow settings, and switch settings.
 In LabView, I learned how to visually program
using draggable loops and sequence boxes.
 The Fluigent devices I used were the pressure
monitor, flow reader, and M-Switch.
3

4. Fluigent Equipment
 The MFCS-EZ is the Microfluidic Flow Control System. It is a
pressure-based flow system for micro-fluidic and nano-fluidic
applications.
 The maximum pressure value available is 7000 mbar, and it can
control up to four reservoirs.
 The pressure is piped into the Fluiwell reservoirs, which sends the
fluid into thin straws. The pressures can be controlled through
a software interface, a SciTE script, or a LabView module.

4

5. MAESFLO Layout
 This is an example MAESFLO layout for the microfluidic control
system (16 channel).
 On most of the screen are sliders that can be moved up and
down by the users to set the pressure level, along with the
maximum limit.
 3 channels (1 bar) and 1 channel (7 bars)
5

6. Flowboard Interface
 The flowboard can measure and set the flowrates for the four
channels.
 The measurements are done through the flow unit devices.
 The flowrates can be set through the flowboard program on the
computer, which in turn adjusts the pressure on the MFCS.
Calibration between the flowboard and MFCS is required.

6

7. M-Switch and 2-switch
Configuration
 The M-Switch is a device that takes inputs from the MFCS and outputs
only certain inputs from a total of 10 maximum inputs.
 The 2-switch outputs to the recover and waste filling vials.

 The switchboard is connected to the MFCS, which is also connected to
the M-Switch.
7

8. Experiments8

9. Labview Programs
 The two main components of the program are the Front Panel and
the Block Diagram. The front panel contains all the visible inputs
and outputs for the program. These include graphs, indicators,
and counters.
9

10. 10
• The “Block Diagram” contains all of the internals
of the program, showing the sequence and the
order of components. In both cases, the
components are chosen by right-clicking the
background and selecting the proper
components.

11. 11
• The two main loops are the for loop and the
while loop. The for loop has a numerical
iteration count and no stop condition. The
while loop has no numerical iteration count
and a stop condition.

12. Program 1: Count up
then Down Program
 This program increments pressures by 10 mbar for every given period
length for a designated number of cycles, until a certain value is
reached.
 When this value is reached, the program will cycle down by 10 mbar until
the total number number of loops has been met. This is achieved
through the true/false triangle.
12

13.  This is the user interface of the same program. Pressure 1 is the initial
starting pressure, and Pressure 2 is the maximum added pressure
desired.
 Other inputs include the period in ms and the MFCS serial number. The
graph displays the increasing and decreasing pressure. The array
indexes the increasing and decreasing values.
13

14. Program 2: Flowrate Reader
 This program accepts channel pressures as inputs and outputs the
flowrates on an array.
 Both the MFCS and flow reader are used in this case. The program is
created by connecting several blocks together.
 The program starts by initializing the command "Detect MFCS_EZ".
Another command is used to output the Flowboard serial number and
MFCS serial number.
 The channel pressures which are inputted are read into the channels,
and the Flow Rates are outputted.
14

15.  The channel pressures are displayed on the left graph with respect to
time.
 The flowrates are displayed on the right graph.

15

16. SciTE Programs
 The script always starts with the #include
<Group.au3> declaration. It is directly
followed by the Init() sequence.
 Other commands:
 Pressure(X,Y,Z...) - set the pressures starting from
Channel 1
 Wait(t) - Time to wait in seconds
 MSwX(n) - Set the M-switch to a specific position
 End() - Finish the program
 Load("MF_320_FRCM_0352698260799") - Required
Identifictation file to set flowrates
 Flowrate(X,Y,Z...) - set the flowrates starting from
channel 1
16

17. Program 1: Flow script
 The Flowscript is a very simple program which to begin
with, loads an identification file that is necessary.
 The program then waits 5 seconds, and Channel 1 is
set to a flowrate of 20 ul/min.
 The program runs until a volume of 50 ul is reached,
then the flowrate of 0 ul/min is set and the program
finishes.
 For the Pressure Control script, the pressure for channel
1 is set to 500 mbars.
 Ten seconds pass, the M-Switch is set to position 1, and
five seconds pass. The M-Switch is set to position A,
and sixty seconds pass. The first pressure is then set
to zero, and the second pressure is set to 1000
mbars. The M-Switch is set to position 3.
 Five seconds pass, and the M-Switch is set to position
A. Sixty seconds pass, and the pressures are set to
zero. One second passes, and the program
terminates.
17

18. Program 2: Pressure
script
 The Flowscript is a very simple program which to begin
with, loads an identification file that is necessary.
 The program then waits 5 seconds, and Channel 1 is
set to a flowrate of 20 ul/min.
 The program runs until a volume of 50 ul is reached,
then the flowrate of 0 ul/min is set and the program
finishes.
 For the Pressure Control script, the pressure for channel
1 is set to 500 mbars.
 Ten seconds pass, the M-Switch is set to position 1, and
five seconds pass. The M-Switch is set to position A,
and sixty seconds pass. The first pressure is then set
to zero, and the second pressure is set to 1000
mbars. The M-Switch is set to position 3.
 Five seconds pass, and the M-Switch is set to position
A. Sixty seconds pass, and the pressures are set to
zero. One second passes, and the program
terminates.
18

19. Conclusions
 Personal Conclusion
 This project lasted three months, from the beginning of October to the middle of
January, with a two-week break in between. I worked in both ESIEE in a
couple lab rooms, and in the Lavoisier lab at UPEM.
 SciTE scripts were easy to program, as they resembled everyday language.
However, the LabView programs were far more difficult, as they involved
creating a multi-layered diagram.
 I needed to figure out how to properly order the components, and which loop
squares to use.
 My main supervisor was Imaddeine Azzouz. We got along pretty well. Usually, we
would meet through phone at a designated location.
 I worked on the project 15-20 hours a week. Overall, I improved my
communication, attendance, and writing skills.
19
SciTE
ü Visual
ü Simple
ü Everyday language