Microfluidic Flow Meters to Measure Ultra-Low Liquid Flow Rates

Dolomite (UK), a world leader in microfluidic design and manufacture, has entered a partnership with Sensirion (Switzerland), a leading sensor manufacturer to offer a range of Microfluidic Flow Meters to measure ultra-low liquid flow rates in the laboratory. This technology allows for sensor-actuator integration in Dolomite’s range of microfluidic products and therefore precise flow rate control. The compact and lightweight devices operate with total media isolation in combination with low internal volume and no moving parts for an extremely fast and accurate performance. Incorporating the innovative CMOSens® technology, stable and precise results are obtained with every measurement.

With the ability to accurately measure flow rates from 0.05 to 4000 μl/min, and minimal energy consumption this technology provides a highly cost-effective measurement method. The low flow sensors are capable of operation at high pressures with high resolution within a large dynamic range, to achieve excellent accuracy as well as highly repeatable results and offset stability.

The unsurpassed CMOSens sensor technology from Sensirion combines a highly precise thermal sensor element for exact temperature control with an A/D converter circuit and digital signal processing to ensure an extremely sensitive response is obtained. All measured data is fully-calibrated via an internal microcontroller. Such outstanding results are obtained due to the integration of highly sensitive thermo piles into an extremely
fast, miniaturised thermal microsensor element. With all of the precise signalconditioning of a single CMOS chip, mass flow measurements of the liquid flows on the μl and nl scale are made possible. Furthermore,
excellent chemical resistance and biocompatibility make this compact sensor ideal for a wide range of microfluidic applications. These Microfluidic Flow Rate Sensors are available as part of a laboratory kit, which
includes all of the software and fittings required for immediate use. The easy-to-use software enables simple capture, visualisation and exporting of any measurement data. For high volume solutions highly efficient
microsensors based on the same technology are available.