A hybrid micromixer with planar mixing units

Bazaz, Sajad Razavi; Mehrizi, Ali Abouei; Ghorbani, Sadegh; Vasilescu, Steven; Asadnia, Mohsen; Warkiani, Majid Ebrahimi

doi:10.1039/c8ra05763j

Cited by 66 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…These microfluidic techniques are grounded on the unique characteristics of microscale flow phenomena and have recently gained prominence as efficient tools for the control and focusing of microbeads. Amongst existing microfluidic systems, inertial microfluidics has experienced massive growth in many applications ranging from cell separation 7,8 , cytometry 9,10 , multiplexed bio-assays 11,12 , and also fluid mixing 13 . Despite great advantages of inertial microfluidics, the commercial impact and scalability of this technology have been restricted due to fabrication issues.…”

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confidence: 99%

3D Printing of Inertial Microfluidic Devices

Bazaz

Rouhi

Raoufi

et al. 2020

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Inertial microfluidics has been broadly investigated, resulting in the development of various applications, mainly for particle or cell separation. Lateral migrations of these particles within a microchannel strictly depend on the channel design and its cross-section. Nonetheless, the fabrication of these microchannels is a continuous challenging issue for the microfluidic community, where the most studied channel cross-sections are limited to only rectangular and more recently trapezoidal microchannels. As a result, a huge amount of potential remains intact for other geometries with cross-sections difficult to fabricate with standard microfabrication techniques. In this study, by leveraging on benefits of additive manufacturing, we have proposed a new method for the fabrication of inertial microfluidic devices. In our proposed workflow, parts are first printed via a high-resolution DLP/SLA 3D printer and then bonded to a transparent PMMA sheet using a double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. Using this method, we have fabricated and tested a plethora of existing inertial microfluidic devices, whether in a single or multiplexed manner, such as straight, spiral, serpentine, curvilinear, and contraction-expansion arrays. Our characterizations using both particles and cells revealed that the produced chips could withstand a pressure up to 150 psi with minimum interference of the tape to the total functionality of the device and viability of cells. As a showcase of the versatility of our method, we have proposed a new spiral microchannel with right-angled triangular cross-section which is technically impossible to fabricate using the standard lithography. We are of the opinion that the method proposed in this study will open the door for more complex geometries with the bespoke passive internal flow. Furthermore, the proposed fabrication workflow can be adopted at the production level, enabling large-scale manufacturing of inertial microfluidic devices.

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confidence: 99%

3D Printing of Inertial Microfluidic Devices

Bazaz

Rouhi

Raoufi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In order to gain better insight through velocity profile distribution and secondary flow creation inside the microchannels, COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3a, a commercial software based on the finite element method was used [30]. At first, all geometries were designed via Solidworks, followed by exporting to Comsol.…”

Section: Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Throughput Particle Concentration Using Complex Cross-Section Microchannels

et al. 2020

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High throughput particle/cell concentration is crucial for a wide variety of biomedical, clinical, and environmental applications. In this work, we have proposed a passive spiral microfluidic concentrator with a complex cross-sectional shape, i.e., a combination of rectangle and trapezoid, for high separation efficiency and a confinement ratio less than 0.07. Particle focusing in our microfluidic system was observed in a single, tight focusing line, in which higher particle concentration is possible, as compared with simple rectangular or trapezoidal cross-sections with similar flow area. The sharper focusing stems from the confinement of Dean vortices in the trapezoidal region of the complex cross-section. To quantify this effect, we introduce a new parameter, complex focusing number or CFN, which is indicative of the enhancement of inertial focusing of particles in these channels. Three spiral microchannels with various widths of 400 µm, 500 µm, and 600 µm, with the corresponding CFNs of 4.3, 4.5, and 6, respectively, were used. The device with the total width of 600 µm was shown to have a separation efficiency of ~98%, and by recirculating, the output concentration of the sample was 500 times higher than the initial input. Finally, the investigation of results showed that the magnitude of CFN relies entirely on the microchannel geometry, and it is independent of the overall width of the channel cross-section. We envision that this concept of particle focusing through complex cross-sections will prove useful in paving the way towards more efficient inertial microfluidic devices.

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“…Generally, these methods can be divided into two categories: active methods and passive methods [4]. Passive methods usually utilize various geometries [5–17] of microchannels and different shapes of obstacles [18–23] or grooves [24–27] placed in microchannels to disturb the laminar flow for vortex formation. Passive methods do not need external energy sources, but the channels of such methods usually need to be designed with complex structures, thereby increasing the fabrication difficulty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrokinetic‐vortex formation near a two‐part cylinder with same‐sign zeta potentials in a straight microchannel

2020

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Vortex formation near a two-part cylinder with zeta potentials of different values but the same sign under an external DC electric field is numerically investigated in this paper. The cylinder, inserted in a straight microchannel filled with an aqueous solution, is composed of an upstream part and a downstream part. When a DC electric field is applied in the channel, under certain conditions, the vortex will form near the cylinder due to the different velocities of electroosmotic flow generated on the cylinder surface. The numerical results reveal that the larger the velocity difference of electroosmotic flow generated on the two-part cylinder and the smaller the channel width, the more conducive to vortex formation in the channel. In addition, if the zeta potential ratios of cylinder downstream part to upstream part and channel wall to cylinder upstream part are unchanged, the DC electric field strength and the zeta potential value do not affect the pattern of vortices formed in the channel. This study provides a way for vortex formation in microchannels and has the potential application in microfluidic devices.

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A hybrid micromixer with planar mixing units

Abstract: Taguchi-optimized “hybrid micromixer” has been proposed which can be utilized in a wide range of chemical and biological applications.

Cited by 66 publications

References 42 publications

3D Printing of Inertial Microfluidic Devices

3D Printing of Inertial Microfluidic Devices

High-Throughput Particle Concentration Using Complex Cross-Section Microchannels

Electrokinetic‐vortex formation near a two‐part cylinder with same‐sign zeta potentials in a straight microchannel

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