The implementation of an electronic chemical cell requires a fine-grained digital manipulation of molecules for reactions in microfluidic structures via electric fields.
Low voltage (≤5V) electric field influences generated by pairs of electrodes are local in ionic microfluidic solutions, and typically limited to electrode separations of ≤200µm.
Implementing artificial cells augmented by electronic control requires both a very large number of independently controlled electrodes and a network of interconnected electrode pairs extending across the system. The latter is required for directing the proliferation of and communication between artificial cells, and for performing product analysis.
The final architecture was arrived at after considering a wide range of alternative more regular designs such as that shown in the figure right.
The design criteria are detailed under the section goals, while the development of the design itself as well as the fabrication are discussed in the following sections.