What is a potential consequence of pressure fluctuations in syringe-pump-driven microfluidic systems?

In microfluidic systems that utilize syringe pumps, pressure fluctuations can lead to significant variations in flow rates. The consistency of the flow rate is critical for achieving accurate and reproducible results in experiments, especially when precise volumes of samples are being transported through narrow channels. When the pressure within the syringe fluctuates, it can cause the volume of fluid that is pushed through the system to change unexpectedly, which directly affects the flow rate.

Maintaining a stable flow rate is essential for applications such as cell sorting, chemical reactions, and assays, where the temporal and spatial control of fluid movement determines the overall success of the experiment. Consequently, flow-rate fluctuations can lead to unpredictable results, impact the efficiency of processes like mixing or cell interaction studies, and ultimately compromise the quality of the data collected.

While the other options may seem relevant to microfluidic systems, they do not address the immediate impact of pressure changes as directly as flow-rate fluctuations. The potential increase in sample volume, reduction in optical sensitivity, or compounding of sample mixtures are less directly related to the effects of pressure variations on the functionality and reliability of the microfluidic system.