Fig. 2: Characterization of the miniaturized electrolytic pump.

a Exploded view of a miniaturized electrolytic pump, consisting of three reservoir layers, two elastic membranes with inherently formed check valves, and a drug deliverable neural probe with the interdigitated electrode (IDE). b Series of schematic illustrations showing sequential on-off operations of the electrolytic pump. c Infused volume over time by activating 5 cycles with 10 s (5 s on and 5 s off), 30 s (5 s on and 25 s off), and 60 s (5 s on and 55 s off) period. The sketch inset in the graph shows the on and off times of the pump over a whole period. d Mean flow rate according to activation periods of 10 s (5 s on and 5 s off), 30 s (5 s on and 25 s off), and 60 s (5 s on and 55 s off). e Pressure required to open and close the check valves formed in the electrolytic pump (n = 5). f Normalized infusion during the 7 days of pump activation (5 cycles; 5 s on and 55 s off over a 60 s period) (n = 3). g Infused volumes according to the activation cycles of 2, 4, 6, and 8 cycles (5 s on and 55 s off over a 60 s period) (n = 4). h Normalized infusion according to the infusion media of air, agarose, and brain (3 cycles; 5 s on and 55 s off over a 60 s period) (n = 4). The sketch inset in the graphs shows the on and off times of the pump over a whole period. Data are presented as mean values ± SD with individual data points. n is the number of samples.