Micro dosing pumps help combat COVID

Micro dosing pumps can be a key component in automated testing systems: as an example take the HNP Micro Annular Gear Pumps available through UK pump specialists Michael Smith Engineers. The company’s MZR Mikrosysteme low pressure series of pumps have been successfully used for sample preparation of SARS-CoV-2 where a few microlitres (minimum dose of 0.25 µl) of a solution of chemicals and enzymes are dosed with the greatest precision and reliability.

In some cases these fully automated analysis devices can contain up to 16 dosing pumps handling anything up to 4,000 samples in 24 hours and the small footprint of the HNP pumps is appreciated – the smallest pump / motor unit is under 8cm long and 2cm diameter. Other HNPM Mikrosysteme micro annular gear pumps such as the company’s hermetically inert pumps are also used in the production of vaccines. 

HNP Mikrosysteme MZR low pressure pumps are said to be well suited for analytical instrumentation applications, providing precise dosing of low viscosity and non-lubricating liquids at low pressures. They are designed to handle liquids with capacities from 0.0015 to 272 ml/min at differential pressures to 5 bar and viscosities from 0.3 to 1000 cP. When used with DC mini-motors they have a small footprint and low power consumption and can be easily be integrated into OEM applications. The company states that the compact, close-coupled design means a small space requirement, helping to reduce possible alignment issues and also increasing operational life. Further, the positive displacement performance is said to ensure accurate, repeatable output helping to improve product quality and reducing wastage.