Improve Flow Cell Performance While Cutting System Costs

Sequencing, spatial biology, and PCR platforms all rely on precise fluid movement through microfluidic devices such as flow cells, chips, and test cartridges. In these systems, even small inconsistencies in fluid control can impact run quality, instrument uptime, and the overall cost of operating the platform. While many designers focus on optimizing assays and chip architectures, the pumps and valves responsible for moving fluids are often selected based on legacy designs rather than system-level performance.

However, rethinking fluid-handling architectures can unlock significant opportunities to improve both performance and cost efficiency. By carefully evaluating pump and valve technologies—and how they are integrated into the flow path—engineers can reduce reagent waste, minimize dead volume, improve reliability, and simplify manufacturability.

This article examines the core fluidic challenges involved in directing fluid through microfluidic flow cells. These include maintaining stable, bubble-free laminar flow, minimizing trapped volumes that increase reagent consumption, ensuring compatibility with aggressive reagents, and designing compact systems that scale efficiently across multi-flow cell instruments. Traditional approaches using syringe pumps and rotary valves can meet some of these requirements but often introduce high maintenance costs and limited scalability.

Alternative solutions using piston pumps, solenoid valves, and pressure-driven flow architectures offer new ways to address these challenges. By enabling more compact designs, improved flushability, and longer component lifetimes, these technologies can help reduce downtime and lower the total cost of ownership.

Learn how modern pump and valve solutions are helping instrument designers optimize fluid control, enhance assay reliability, and build more efficient next-generation microfluidic systems.