Syringe-Driven System

​Flow through microchannels in collagen-coated PDMS created via soft lithography can be achieved utilizing a syringe pump.
PDMS is a sturdier gel material than collagen (which is used in the gravity-driven system) and therefore it is much simpler to connect tubing between a syringe pump, the PDMS with channels, and a waste reservoir.  The glass closing the microchannels on one side of the PDMS allows for live imaging of the channels while fluid is flowed through. The inlet flow rate is calculated using the shear stress formula for fluid flow between infinitely long, parallel, stationary plates.
The syringe-driven system proved to be useful also because it can been utilized for short-term live imaging of fluorescent beads flowed through the channels in PDMS. This system is beneficial as the beads do not settle in the syringe before entering the channels; this could be problematic in the case of the gravity-driven system as the beads might settle at the bottom of the reservoirs. 
Page by: Neha Srikumar & Gracia Innocentia