We present the integration of a flow focusing microfluidic device in a dielectrophoretic application that based on a tapered aluminum microelectrode array (TAMA). The characterization and optimization method of microfluidic geometry performs the hydrodynamic flow focusing on the channel. The sample fluids are hydrodynamically focused into the region of interest (ROI) where the dielectrophoresis force (FDEP) is dominant. The device geometry is designed using 3D CAD software and fabricated using the micro-milling process combined with soft lithography using PDMS. The flow simulation is achieved using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5 to study the effect of the flow rate ratio between the sample fluids (Q1) and the sheath fluids (Q2) toward the width of flow focusing. Five different flow rate ratios (Q1/Q2) are recorded in this experiment, which are 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0. The width of flow focusing is increased linearly with the flow rate ratio (Q1/Q2) for both the simulation and the experiment. At the highest flow rate ratio (Q1/Q2 = 1), the width of flow focusing is obtained at 638.66 µm and at the lowest flow rate ratio (Q1/Q2 = 0.2), the width of flow focusing is obtained at 226.03 µm. As a result, the flow focusing effect is able to reduce the dispersion of the particles in the microelectrode from 2000 µm to 226.03 µm toward the ROI. The significance of flow focusing on the separation of particles is studied using 10 and 1 µm polystyrene beads by applying a non-uniform electrical field to the TAMA at 10 VPP, 150 kHz. Ultimately, we are able to manipulate the trajectories of two different types of particles in the channel. For further validation, the focusing of 3.2 µm polystyrene beads within the dominant FDEP results in an enhanced manipulation efficiency from 20% to 80% in the ROI.
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.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.