A concise review of microfluidic particle manipulation methods

Abstract

Particle manipulation is often required in many applications such as bioanalysis, disease diagnostics, drug delivery and selfcleaning surfaces. The fast progress in micro-and nano-engineering has contributed to the rapid development of a variety of technologies to manipulate particles including more established methods based on microfluidics, as well as recently proposed innovative methods that still are in the initial phases of development, based on self-driven microbots and artificial cilia. Here, we review these techniques with respect to their operation principles and main applications. We summarize the shortcomings and give perspectives on the future development of particle manipulation techniques. Rather than offering an in-depth, detailed, and complete account of all the methods, this review aims to provide a broad but concise overview that helps to understand the overall progress and current status of the diverse particle manipulation methods. The two novel developments, self-driven microbots and artificial cilia-based manipulation, are highlighted in more detail.

Insulator‐based dielectrophoretic focusing and trapping of particles in non‐Newtonian fluids

“…Microfluidic manipulation of particles and cells is a rapidly developing area that facilitates solving challenges in the fields of analytical chemistry, bioanalysis, cell biology, and clinical applications [1,2]. It has been implemented through both passive (e.g., flow induced-inertial [3][4][5] and elastic [6][7][8]) and active (e.g., externally imposed acoustic [9,10], magnetic [11,12], and optical [13]) force fields.…”

Metachronal actuation of microscopic magnetic artificial cilia generates strong microfluidic pumping

“…2 The asymmetric motion of each cilium has a whip-like shape with an effective stroke when the cilium beats more straight and a recovery stroke when the cilium beats more close to the body surface. 7 Inspired by the impressive functionalities of biological cilia, researchers have been exploring the capabilities of artificial cilia in applications such as microrobots, 8,9 microsensors, 10,11 light, droplet and particle manipulation, 12,13 self-cleaning and antifouling surfaces, [14][15][16] microfluidic mixing, 17 and predominantly, microfluidic pumping as integrated on-chip actuators in microfluidic devices. 18 Most of the studies on artificial cilia for microfluidic pumping, including our own work, have focused on synchronous motion of artificial cilia, [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] where the artificial cilia perform a three-dimensional tilted conical motion.…”

Microfluidics: Recent Advances Toward Lab‐on‐Chip Applications in Bioanalysis

“…The noteworthy benefit of silicon semiconductors is their chemical inertness and insulating surface properties. [ 95 ] The fabrication of silicon microfluidics requires highly specialized equipment that was not accessible to various research groups. Later glass was found beneficial in optical transparency and similar properties but then again, glass and silicon require complex manufacturing procedures.…”