Cad tools for lab-on-a-chip systems

Develops FlumeCAD, an analysis tool targeted to the design of "lab-on-a-chip" systems. The tool enables the modelling of the system, through the detailed modelling of the components that make up the system. The behaviour of each component in the system can be analyzed through a parametric analysis within the design tool. The parametric analysis can be used, along with experiment, to extract material and physical properties that are not known a priori. The extracted parameters can then be employed in design analyses for the component. The design analyses can be employed to optimize the performance of the system or select appropriate parameters for a specific device operation. Simulations for both transport and electrokinetic switching are presented in this paper. The simulations show good agreement with experiment in both cases. Simulations for other components, conventionally found in "lab-on-a-chip" systems have also been conducted and presented elsewhere. Current research aims at applying these component models into a time-domain system model for the device.