Prior attempts to control ions by charging the surfaces of microfluidic channels, however, showed that ions quickly migrated to channel walls and canceled out the voltage, shielding the rest of the liquid from further electric manipulation.

• 以往也有人在微流体通道表面加上电荷，试图控制离子，却发现离子很快便聚集在通道壁上，抵销了电位差，于是无法继续用电子方式操控其它液体。