Figure 1.
Water transport and xylem embolism in plants and their inspirations in the developing of a biomimetic microfluidic pump.
(a) Water transport in plants induced by transpiration through the stomata; (b) xylem embolism induced by cavitation; (c) the structure of the micropump/valve based on water transpiration and xylem embolism.
Figure 2.
The micropump/valve and the slit-like micropore fabricated by photolithography and wet etching.
Figure 3.
(a) to (e) A series of photographs which exhibit the halt and flow of the fluid in a microchannel controlled by mimicking xylem embolism and its self-repairing; (f) the relationship between temperature increase and time; (g) relationship between flow rate and time.