A microfluidic device to load multiple mechanical stimulators with differing strain magnitudes with a single pump

This paper presents the development of a microfluidic device consisting of an array of geometrically identical micromechanical stimulators that can simultaneously deliver differing magnitudes of mechanical strain for multiplex mechanical loading. Notably, all the micromechanical stimulators are driven by the hydraulic pressure from a single pumping unit, which greatly reduces the number of external pumps that are often needed in investigating magnitude-dependent mechanical loading. It thus provides a strategy for developing multiplex and high throughput microfluidic devices that involve magnitude-dependent operation.