- Biochips, of the microarray type, are fast becoming the default tool for combinatorial chemical and biological analysis in environmental and medical studies. Programmable biochips are miniaturized biochemical labs that are physically and/or electronically controllable. The technology combines digital photolithography, microfluidics and chemistry. The precise positioning of the samples (e.g., DNA solutes or proteins) on the surface of the chip in pico liter to nano liter volumes can be done either by means of external forces (active devices) or by specific geometric patterns (passive devices). The active devices which will be considered here are nano liter fluidic biochips where the core of the technology are nano pumps featuring surface acoustic waves generated by electric pulses of high frequency. These waves propagate like a miniaturized earthquake, enter the fluid filled channels on top of the chip and cause an acoustic streaming in the fluid which provides the transport of theBiochips, of the microarray type, are fast becoming the default tool for combinatorial chemical and biological analysis in environmental and medical studies. Programmable biochips are miniaturized biochemical labs that are physically and/or electronically controllable. The technology combines digital photolithography, microfluidics and chemistry. The precise positioning of the samples (e.g., DNA solutes or proteins) on the surface of the chip in pico liter to nano liter volumes can be done either by means of external forces (active devices) or by specific geometric patterns (passive devices). The active devices which will be considered here are nano liter fluidic biochips where the core of the technology are nano pumps featuring surface acoustic waves generated by electric pulses of high frequency. These waves propagate like a miniaturized earthquake, enter the fluid filled channels on top of the chip and cause an acoustic streaming in the fluid which provides the transport of the samples. The mathematical model represents a multiphysics problem consisting of the piezoelectric equations coupled with multiscale compressible Navier-Stokes equations that have to be treated by an appropriate homogenization approach. We discuss the modeling approach and present algorithmic tools for numerical simulations as well as visualizations of simulation results.…
