Microparticle separation
technology is an important technology
in many biomedical and chemical engineering applications from sample
detection to disease diagnosis. Although a variety of microparticle
separation techniques have been developed thus far, surface acoustic
wave (SAW)-based microfluidic separation technology shows great potential
because of its high throughput, high precision, and integration with
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels. In this work, we demonstrate
an acoustofluidic separation chip that includes a piezoelectric device
that generates tilted-angle standing SAWs and a permanently bonded
PDMS microchannel. We established a mathematical model of particle
motion in the microchannel, simulated the particle trajectory through
finite element simulation and numerical simulation, and then verified
the validity of the model through acoustophoresis experiments. To
improve the performance of the separation chip, the influences of
particle size, flow rate, and input power on the particle deflection
distance were studied. These parameters are closely related to the
separation purity and separation efficiency. By optimizing the control
parameters, the separation of micron and submicron particles under
different throughput conditions was achieved. Moreover, the separation
samples were quantitatively analyzed by digital light scattering technology
and flow cytometry, and the results showed that the maximum purity
of the separated particles was ∼95%, while the maximum efficiency
was ∼97%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.