3D Printed Microfluidic Mixers—A Comparative Study on Mixing Unit Performances

Abstract

One of the basic operations in microfluidic systems for biological and chemical applications is the rapid mixing of different fluids. However, flow profiles in microfluidic systems are laminar, which means molecular diffusion is the only mixing effect. Therefore, mixing structures are crucial to enable more efficient mixing in shorter times. Since traditional microfabrication methods remain laborious and expensive, 3D printing has emerged as a potential alternative for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. In this work, five different passive micromixers known from literature are redesigned in comparable dimensions and manufactured using high‐definition MultiJet 3D printing. Their mixing performance is evaluated experimentally, using sodium hydroxide and phenolphthalein solutions, and numerically via computational fluid dynamics. Both experimental and numerical analysis results show that HC and Tesla‐like mixers achieve complete mixing after 0.99 s and 0.78 s, respectively, at the highest flow rate (Reynolds number (Re) = 37.04). In comparison, Caterpillar mixers exhibit a lower mixing rate with complete mixing after 1.46 s and 1.9 s. Furthermore, the HC mixer achieves very good mixing performances over all flow rates (Re = 3.7 to 37.04), while other mixers show improved mixing only at higher flow rates.

Mixing and jetting analysis using continuous flow microfluidic sample delivery devices

“…A comparison of four different 3D printed micromixers is given by. Enders et al 33 which includes a comprehensive numerical and experimental analysis of the mixing performance. This study showed that chaotic mixing, induced by the geometry of the micromixers, signicantly increases the mixing performance.…”

Fabrication of antigen‐containing nanoparticles using microfluidics with Tesla structure

“…In case of Tesla channel, fluid streams are divided and recombined by convection, bringing molecules which were initially far separated to near vicinity [20,26]. The Peclet number , taking the flow rate 22.5 mL/min, , meaning that transversal convection in Tesla structure dominates the mixing procedure.…”

“…In this research, we chose microfluidic chip with Tesla structure to optimize PEI‐antigen nanoparticles preparation. The Tesla structure is effective in enhancing the mixing of fluids by creating transversal convection [20,21]. We compared the formation of antigen‐containing polyplexes in Tesla microfluidics with BM and non‐Tesla microfluidics.…”

Customizable 3D-Printed (Co-)Cultivation Systems for In Vitro Study of Angiogenesis

“…The rise of experiment-specific, customized 3D-printed labware can remove this artificial and regrettable limitation. Moreover, high-resolution 3D printing technology can open the door to manufacturing even complex devices at a micro scale [ 48 ]. Personalized experimental equipment or whole cultivation systems of almost limitless complexity can potentially be produced from start to finish within just a few hours—offering for a tremendous potential for pursuing experimental parallelization within a highly controllable environment.…”