- Dynamics, Fluid Machinery, and Microfluidic
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Continuous separation of multiple size microparticles using alternating current dielectrophoresis in microfluidic device with acupuncture needle electrodes
Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering volume 29, pages 325–331 (2016)
Abstract
The need to continuously separate multiple microparticles is required for the recent development of lab-on-chip technology. Dielectrophoresis(DEP)-based separation device is extensively used in kinds of microfluidic applications. However, such conventional DEP-based device is relatively complicated and difficult for fabrication. A concise microfluidic device is presented for effective continuous separation of multiple size particle mixtures. A pair of acupuncture needle electrodes are creatively employed and embedded in a PDMS(poly-dimethylsiloxane) hurdle for generating non-uniform electric field thereby achieving a continuous DEP separation. The separation mechanism is that the incoming particle samples with different sizes experience different negative DEP(nDEP) forces and then they can be transported into different downstream outlets. The DEP characterizations of particles are calculated, and their trajectories are numerically predicted by considering the combined action of the incoming laminar flow and the nDEP force field for guiding the separation experiments. The device performance is verified by successfully separating a three-sized particle mixture, including polystyrene microspheres with diameters of 3 μm, 10 μm and 25 μm. The separation purity is below 70% when the flow rate ratio is less than 3.5 or more than 5.1, while the separation purity can be up to more than 90% when the flow rate ratio is between 3.5 and 5.1 and meanwhile ensure the voltage output falls in between 120 V and 150 V. Such simple DEP-based separation device has extensive applications in future microfluidic systems.
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Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 51305106), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China(Grant Nos. HIT. NSRIF. 2014058, HIT. IBRSEM. 201319), and Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, China(GZKF-201402)
Biographical notes
TAO Ye, born in 1985, is currently a PhD candidate at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China His interest topic is microfluidics and nanofluidics.
REN Yukun, born in 1981, is currently an associate professor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include microfluidics, AC electrokinetics, et al.
YAN Hui, born in 1974, is currently an associate professor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include metal rubber, microfluidics, et al.
JIANG Hongyuan, born in 1960, is currently a professor and a PhD candidate supervisor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include metal rubber, microfluidics, et al.
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Tao, Y., Ren, Y., Yan, H. et al. Continuous separation of multiple size microparticles using alternating current dielectrophoresis in microfluidic device with acupuncture needle electrodes. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 29, 325–331 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.1028.128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.1028.128