FUNDAMENTALS
Centrifugal Microfluidics (Lab-on-a-Disc) Explained
Centrifugal microfluidics moves liquid around a spinning plastic disc using the same force that throws you outward on a roundabout. With no external pump, a "lab-on-a-disc" can run a whole assay automatically. Here is how it works.
What is centrifugal microfluidics?
A lab-on-a-disc (LoaD) is a CD-like polymer disc with micro-channels and chambers. Spinning it generates centrifugal force that drives fluid outward, while features such as capillary valves and siphons control when and where it moves — turning the spin rate into a programmable pump.
How fluid is controlled
Changing the rotation speed meters, mixes, and sequences liquids; capillary and centrifugo-pneumatic valves hold fluid until a threshold spin releases it. This lets a fixed disc design run a defined protocol just by changing the spin profile.
Why it suits diagnostics
- Pump-free — only a motor is needed, so instruments are simple and cheap.
- Automated sample-to-answer, ideal for point-of-care testing.
- Easy to parallelise many identical test segments on one disc.
Manufacturing
Discs are mass-produced in optically clear thermoplastics such as COC or PMMA by injection moulding, then bonded — see prototype to scale.
Frequently asked questions
What is a lab-on-a-disc?
A CD-shaped microfluidic device that uses centrifugal force from spinning to move and control fluids through an assay, with no external pump.
How does centrifugal microfluidics move fluid without a pump?
Spinning the disc creates centrifugal force that pushes fluid outward; valves and siphons triggered by the spin rate control the timing and sequence.
What is centrifugal microfluidics used for?
Automated, pump-free point-of-care and in-vitro diagnostic assays where a simple spinning instrument runs a whole sample-to-answer protocol.
Spin to result
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