Macro-micro-interface for a Microfluidic Nitrite Sensor

Abstract:
The research on microfluidics resulted in a big variety of sophisticated solutions in many fields e.g. medical diagnostics, analytical sensors and many more. However, very often the solutions stay at the research state working well in the laboratory and in well-defined conditions. The problem for a usage of the microfluidic systems in the field lies often in the interface between the microfluidic chip and the environment (macro-micro interface). In this paper the macro-micro interface for an analytical sensor for oceanography is described. The sensor realizes the Griess-reaction for detecting Nitrite in a range of 0.1muM to 50muM. Autonomy of 3 month and maximum deployment depth of 60m is targeted. The design steps towards a deployable unit are described here.