Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Andrew S. Clark, Adriana San-Miguel
Summary: We have developed two microfluidic lobe filters inspired by the filtration mechanism of manta rays to address clogging issues. These filters can efficiently filtrate particles around 10-30 μm with high throughput and precise control, showing increased filtration efficiency with fluid flow rate.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Varun Lochab, Shaurya Prakash
Summary: Recent experimental observations have uncovered unusual cross-stream colloidal particle migration and dynamic assembly in rectangular cross-section microfluidic channels with combined electrokinetic and shear flows. The electrophoresis-induced lift force, postulated to cause lateral migration of colloidal particles, impacts fluid properties and flow conditions, with little experimental quantification available. The study demonstrates that fluid kinematic viscosity can modulate particle distribution, suppressing colloidal particle migration, with up to 30 fN electrophoresis-induced lift force allowing migration across the entire microchannel cross-section, establishing a new paradigm for three-dimensional control of colloidal particles.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ayomikun Esan, Frederique Vanholsbeeck, Simon Swift, Cushla M. M. McGoverin
Summary: With the global increase in food exchange, it has become crucial to efficiently separate bacterial cells from debris in order to protect consumers from bacterial contamination. In this study, passive-based inertial microfluidics was used to separate bacterial cells from debris extracted from ground meat and meat swabs, achieving average recovery efficiencies of approximately 80% and 70%, respectively.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Hiroshi Yamashita, Takeshi Akinaga, Masako Sugihara-Seki
Summary: The study focused on the effect of Reynolds number on inertial focusing in rectangular duct flows. Numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the lift force on spherical particles in the duct, determining the lift-force distribution map over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The study identified different particle-focusing patterns based on the duct cross-section shape and Reynolds number, including subcritical pitchfork and supercritical pitchfork bifurcations.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Alaleh Vaghef-Koodehi, Olivia D. Ernst, Blanca H. Lapizco-Encinas
Summary: This paper presents the first continuous separation of microparticles and cells with similar characteristics using linear and nonlinear electrokinetic phenomena in an insulator-based electrokinetic (iEK) system. By combining mathematical modeling and experimentation, four distinct binary mixtures of particles and cells were successfully separated. The results demonstrate good reproducibility and illustrate the potential of the iEK system for efficient separation.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Winfried Schmidt, Andre Foertsch, Matthias Laumann, Walter Zimmermann
Summary: A deformation-dependent propulsion phenomenon for soft particles, such as cells, in microchannels is discovered. It is caused by a broken time-reversal symmetry generated by a fast forward and a slow backward motion of a fluid. The propulsion of soft particles is not only determined by their oscillation asymmetry but also depends on their size, deformation type, and elasticity. This finding has the potential to inspire the development of new particle sorting methods.
PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Myeong Hee Moon, Seung Yeon Shin, Jae Won Seo, Jin Yong Kim, Philip Stephen Williams
Summary: This study introduces the thickness-tapered channel design for flow field-flow fractionation (FlFFF) which can improve the migration of long-retaining smaller-sized particles and the resolution of high size separation without the need for additional field-programming options.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Haidong Feng, Alexander R. Jafek, Bonan Wang, Hayden Brady, Jules J. Magda, Bruce K. Gale
Summary: This paper studies particle focusing in viscoelastic flow and predicts the focusing position by analyzing the force balance. The research finds that particle separation resolution can be improved in viscoelastic flows.
Article
Mechanics
R. H. Hernandez
Summary: The objective of this work is to present a coherent detection method to determine the relationships between pressure fluctuations and wake velocity in the case of turbulent flow past a cylinder. Experimental results and pressure-velocity statistics are reported, showing the mutual influence between wall pressure and wake velocity fluctuations, as well as the correlation between large scale turbulent vortex shedding and surface pressure fluctuations.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Reza Derakhshan, Ali Bozorgzadeh, Abas Ramiar
Summary: In recent years, microfluidic-based particle/cell manipulation techniques, especially dielectrophoresis (DEP), have brought significant advances in various scientific fields. This study presents the design and investigation of a sheathless 3D microchannel with a wall-mounted trapezoidal obstacle for continuous-flow separation of polystyrene particles using DEP. A simulation code is developed and validated with experimental tests. The numerical investigation reveals that obstacle height, applied voltage, electrode pairs angle, and flow rate significantly affect efficient particle separation. The proposed design shows promise for integration with lab-on-a-chip and clinical diagnosis applications due to its advantages.
JOURNAL OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Teja Reddy Vakamalla, Narasimha Mangadoddy
Summary: Hydrocyclone separators in mineral processing industries are often operated at high feed solids content, presenting challenges for accurate prediction using current CFD models. A dense slurry CFD model with ASM correction is used to simulate fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions, with fine particle-corrected viscosity modeling. The model shows accurate performance predictions in smaller hydrocyclones, with slight deviations observed at higher solids content and successfully predicting roping phenomena in a larger hydrocyclone.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Di Li, Xiangchun Xuan
Summary: This study investigates particle migration in microfluidic manipulation, showing that particles migrate towards the centerline and corners in a viscoelastic flow. The migration is influenced by polymer length.
Article
Mechanics
Mehryar Jannesari Ghomsheh, Azadeh Jafari, Denis Funfschilling
Summary: Direct three-dimensional Numerical Simulations (DNS) are used to study the inertial lift forces on a single particle in a straight rectangular microchannel filled with Newtonian fluid and xanthan gum solutions. The shear-thinning behavior of xanthan gum solutions is experimentally demonstrated and mathematically represented using power-law and Carreau-Yasuda models. The simulations reveal the dominant region of shear gradient and wall-induced lift forces for both power-law and Carreau-Yasuda fluids, similar to Newtonian fluids. The variable viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids allows for better control of particle motion, particularly in the inertial focusing method.
JOURNAL OF NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Di Huang, Nan Xiang
Summary: The i-Mag device constructed in the study enables rapid and precise separation of cancer cells from blood, achieving high separation efficiency and purity. It has numerous advantages and great potential to act as a precise tool for separating various bioparticles.
Article
Mechanics
Pedro Costa, Luca Brandt, Francesco Picano
Summary: The study found that modulation of near-wall turbulence by small inertial particles at different solid mass fractions results in an increase in drag. When the solid mass fraction is small, the impact of particles is weak, and compared to cases with higher volume fractions, fluid Reynolds stresses are attenuated.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)