Asyringe driver, also known as asyringe pump, is a smallinfusion pump, used to graduallyadminister small amounts of fluid (with or without medication) to apatient or for use inchemical andbiomedicalresearch. Some syringe drivers can both infuse and withdraw solutions.
Syringe drivers can be used forelectrospinning, electrospraying, microdialysis, microfluidics, dispensing/dilution, tissue perfusion, and fluid circulation.
Syringe drivers are useful for deliveringintravenous (IV) therapies over several minutes. They infuse solutions at a constant rate.[1] In the case of a medication which should be slowly pushed in over the course of several minutes, this device saves staff time and reducesmedical errors. It is useful for patients who cannot take medicinesorally (such as those with difficultyswallowing), and for medications too harmful to be taken orally.[2]
Syringe drivers are particularly useful inpalliative care, to continuously administeranalgesics (painkillers),antiemetics (medication to suppressnausea andvomiting) and other drugs.[2] This prevents periods during which medication levels in the blood are too high or too low, and avoids the use of multiple tablets. As medication is administeredsubcutaneously, the area of administration is practically limitless, althoughedema may interfere with the action of some drugs.
Syringe pumps are useful in microfluidic applications, such as microreactor design and testing, and also in chemistry for slow incorporation of a fixed volume of fluid into a solution. Inenzyme kinetics studies, syringe drivers can be used to observe rapid kinetics as part of astopped flow apparatus.[3] They are also sometimes used as laboratorymedia dispensers. Some reactions exploiting thehigh dilution principle use syringe pumps.[4][5]
