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HARVARD APPARATUS PHD ULTRA ADVANCED SYRINGE PUMP: A REVIEW

Introduction about Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA advanced syringe pump 

Harvard Apparatus Microfluidic syringe pumpSince 1956, Harvard Apparatus offers a broad range of syringe and peristaltic pumps to suit almost every fluidic application. Harvard Apparatus PHD’s ultra advanced syringe pump is designed for micro and nanofluidic applications.  Available now at Darwin Microfluidics.

As explained here, conventional syringe pumps can generate flow oscillation at low flow rates and long settling times. Harvard Apparatus Phd’s ultra advanced syringe pump is an excellent example of a microfluidic syringe pump that does not generate visible flow oscillations, even at low flow rates down to the picoliter/min.

To learn more about syringe pumps and microfluidics, and how to optimize their performance, please read our review about the use of syringe pumps in microfluidic applications.

Harvard apparatus propose three microfluidic syringe pumps, the Harvard apparatus PHD ULTRA advanced syringe pump, the Harvard Apparatus 11 Pico plus Elite and Elite Nanomite syringe pump, each of which can be found at Darwin Microfluidics. In this short review we will focus on the Harvard Apparatus Phd ultra advanced syringe pump.

Flow oscillation, minimal flow and reproducibility of the PHD ultra

High-precision-driving-mechanism-from-Harvard-Apparatus-PHD-ULTRA-advanced-syringe-pump-datasheet

Let us come back to flow oscillation, the pump specifications for the Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA™ advanced syringe pump are quite impressive. The pump can reach a minimum flow rate of 1.5 pl/min when using a 0.5 ul syringe. The accuracy of the PHD ULTRA™ is 0.25% with a reproducibility of +/- 0.05%.

(Note that manufacturers may use different methods to determine accuracy and reproducibility in their specifications. The Elveflow microfluidic team cannot guarantee which manufacturer is the best suited for each microfluidic situation.)

To achieve the performance required for microfluidic applications, the Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA™ uses a microprocessor-controlled small step angle stepper motor, which drives a lead screw and pusher block. Advanced microstepping techniques are employed to further reduce the step angle to eliminate flow pulsation. This syringe pump produces up to 12,800 µsteps per revolution of the pump lead screw, and has a minimum pusher block travel rate of µm/min. Harvard also uses a patent pending mechanical drive and syringe holding mechanism to further improve the performance of the PHD ULTRA™.

Response time and settling time

The Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA™ does not include a flow rate feedback loop to integrate into your microfluidic device. For additional information about how to reduce flow oscillation and increase responsiveness of your Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA™ syringe pump please review our review about the use of syringe pump in microfluidic.

 

Additional information about Harvard PHD ULTRA advanced syringe pump

Front-Panel-Control-1-PHD-Ultra_Pico-Plus-ELite-syringe-pumpFront panel control

The 4.3 inch (10.92 cm) WQVGA TFT color display with touch screen coupled with the intuitive EZ PRO user interface allows programming simple to complex experiments. The touch screen interface also includes pre-programmed methods for various fluidics applications. All programming is done on the pump interface, all without the use of a PC.

Trigger capability

The pump includes trigger capability for synchronization with other instruments such as microscope or camera. This feature is very useful as more microfluidic experiments require synchronization between several instruments.

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harvard apparatus PHD ultra advanced syringe pump back face

Back panel connections

The PHD ULTRA™ includes several external interfaces for advanced connectivity. All PHD ULTRA™ syringe pumps come standard with a footswitch, USB, RS-232, RS-485 and I/O connectors. Optional RJ-11 and 0-10V analog control interfaces are also available.

The Harvard Apparatus PHD ULTRA advanced syringe pump can be use either horizontally or vertically to optimize bench space or to minimize tubing.

.If you want more information about the Harvard Apparatus syringe pump, you can contact Simon Cox from Harvard Apparatus or contact us.

This review had been wrote with the help of Harvard apparatus R&D team.

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