Microfluidics

Higher Speed and Throughput for Microscale Fluid Handling

Enabling precise analysis, diagnosis, and therapeutic treatment, microfluidics brings benefits to fields such as chemistry, biotechnology, or medical technology. The integration of piezoceramic components revolutionizes the handling of liquid volumes down to the picoliter range. Due to their compact dimensions and high speed, as well as their low energy requirements and optional battery operation, piezo elements are suitable for applications in the smallest of installation spaces, such as in vitro diagnostics in point-of-care (POC) devices, various forms of drug delivery, and single-cell sorting.

Utilizing the piezoelectric effect, piezoceramics generate electrical charges under mechanical stress and deform under the influence of electricity.
As a result, piezoceramics can exert precise mechanical forces and achieve controlled deformations, including the generation of ultrasonic waves. Piezo elements can, for example, induce fluid movement in microchannels or dispense the smallest of volumes. As a result, they enable tasks such as mixing, printing, sorting, and dosing in microfluidic systems. Piezoceramics offer high sensitivity and precise control with fast response times, enabling a granularity that allows smaller sample volumes, improved analytical accuracy, and the ability of real-time monitoring.

Mastering Microfluidic Challenges with Piezo Technology

Download our paper “Piezo Technology for Microfluidics” to find out how best to use piezo components in medical applications to gain a competitive advantage.

PI Ceramic is your partner in piezo technology for microfluidic applications involving:

Cell or particle sorting
3D printing
Microarray spotting
Sample preparation in IVD devices, e.g., cell lysis
Mesh nebulizers
Mircopumps
Enabling Fast & Efficient Sample Preparation
PI Ceramic Ultrasound Assisted Cell Lysis for IVD
In ultrasound-assisted cell lyse, the cell membranes are destroyed via an ultrasonic probe inserted in a liquid sample. Piezoceramic components induce the probe to vibrate, creating ultrasonic waves in the fluid. This high-frequency pressure opens the cell membranes and releases the cell contents.
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Efficiently Generating Aerosols in Mesh Nebulizers
Chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, or the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but also bronchitis and the flu necessitate a comprehensive medical treatment. Medical nebulizers atomize medication so very finely that it can be inhaled very deeply into the lungs, therefore, making the therapy of sometimes life-threatening lung diseases possible.
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Faster Analyses for In Vitro Diagnostics
Physik Instrumente - Solutions to Microfluidic Challenge
The requirements of fluid handling in medical processes such as in vitro diagnostics are extremely demanding: Very small volumes of liquids with different characteristics need dosing or have to be moved with high precision.
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Sorting & Moving Cells
Physik Instrumente Microfluidics Cell Sorting
Cell sorting serves as an instrument for the detailed investigation of specific cell types and their complex functionalities based on their size, shape, and prior marking. Piezoceramic components form the core of this innovative technology which makes use of two possible methods.
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Enabling Seamless Sample Preparation
Physik Instrumente Applications - Enabling Seamless Sample Preparation
Ultrasonic transducers for liquid handling tasks such as sample preparation generate powerful vibrations in the range of several 10 kHz. With a comparatively low energy consumption, they are particularly suitable for use in medical devices or mobile point-of-care solutions.
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Pumping Tiniest Fluid Volumes Precisely
Pumping Tiniest Fluid Volumes Quickly and Precisely
The fields of application for piezoelectric micropumps are in laboratory technology, medical technology, biotechnology, chemical analytics, and process technology, which require reliable metering of minute amounts of liquids and gases.
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Printing Customized Medical Implants & Tissue
Printing Customized Medical Implants and Tissue
3D printing enables therapies that were unimaginable just few decades ago. With the development of medical technology, however, the demands on medical devices and implants are also becoming higher. The geometries and structures are becoming more complex and faster and precise manufacturing is required. Some 3D printing processes can benefit from piezo technology.
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Why Partner Up with PI Ceramic for Microfluidic Solutions?

PI Ceramic develops and manufactures customized piezoceramic materials and piezo elements for microfluidic applications in a wide variety of geometries, dimensions, designs, or higher refinements. Convince yourself of our comprehensive expertise in piezo technology, from research and development to production and further processing.

Customized products made of piezo materials developed in-house: We take care of all steps necessary for your application at our facilities, including manufacturing and assembling the piezo elements and ultrasonic transducers. With the entire value chain in our hand, PI Ceramic can guarantee consistent high quality across all process steps – and global supply fluctuations do not impact your order.

During the product development stage, PI supports you in finding the optimum design and the ideal specifications of piezo elements. Beyond that, we manufacture piezo components, subassemblies, and ultrasonic transducers. We keep the big picture in mind during all processes to ensure you get the ideal component for your application.

More than just piezo components or actuators: We offer value-added designs for our piezo elements. Whether you need soldering of stranded wires and flexible PCBs, gluing onto substrates, or the assembly of ultrasonic transducers with acoustic matching layers and housing: We deliver a ready-to-install, quality-tested product.

Special applications require special piezo elements. You are planning with the smallest installation spaces? PI Ceramic has the technical expertise to produce tiny piezo components for this purpose. Whether it is tubes with 0.4 mm diameter or 2 mm small spheres: We support you in miniaturizing your solution.

From one to millions: As we carry out all manufacturing steps in-house, we can ensure consistent quality and rapid turnaround times, regardless of the order size. Try us!

Whatever your application environment, our piezo components are manufactured and assembled under cleanroom conditions so we can meet the necessary quality standards for your products.