An apparatus and method, the apparatus comprising: a microfluidic channel (3); an electromechanical gel (5) provided within the microfluidic channel (3); at least one pair of electrodes (7) wherein the at least one pair of electrodes (7) are configured to control the electric field across the microfluidic channel (3) to cause the electromechanical gel (5) to deform in response to a voltage applied to the electrodes (7) such that the deformation enables fluid to be pumped through the microfluidic channel (3).