Finite Element Modelling for the Optimization of Temperature Control in Lab-on-a-Chip Devices

Some of the assays actively developed in a Lab-on-a-Chip format require temperature control, mostly heating to a specified range for the duration of the assay. In a highly portable system with limited power supply, heating microliters of liquids poses technical challenges, which may be costly to overcome solely by experimental means. The way computer-aided design helps in rapid prototyping, so does finite element modelling help in validating the functionality of these prototypes in silico, saving time and costs. The model we present was developed for the geometric optimization of Lab-on-a-Chip devices and tested for experimental setups emulating the targeted device format. The model is presented for multiple temperature control scenarios, i.e. heaters and device geometries.