Critical particle size for fractionation by deterministic lateral displacement

Abstract

The fractionation of small particles in a liquid based on their size in a micropost array by deterministic lateral displacement was recently demonstrated with unprecedented resolution (L. R. Huang, E. C. Cox, R. H. Austin and J. C. Sturm, Science, 2004, 304, 987-990, ). In this paper, we present a model of how the critical particle size for fractionation depends on the micropost geometry, depending specifically on the gap between posts, the offset of posts in one row with respect to another, and whether the fluid is driven by hydrodynamics or by electroosmosis. In general the critical particle diameter is much smaller than the gap, which prevents clogging. The model is supported by data with particles from 2.3 to 22 microm.

DNA-based highly tunable particle focuser

“…On the other hand, our DNA-based method separates a wide dynamic range of particle sizes (1-10 mm) in a single step, and the relatively wide separation region (50 mm) enables clogging-free operation without any complicated particle removal steps, which is an obvious advantage over the existing obstacle arrays-based methods [31][32][33] for biological samples with heterogeneous particle sizes. We expect that this facile DNA-based separation can be applied to various size-based analytical tools, for example, isolation of white blood cells from whole blood 15 .…”

Hydrodynamic mechanisms of cell and particle trapping in microfluidics

“…Recent progress and potential future directions in the area of inertial microfluidics are discussed in a recent review article by Di Carlo. 73 Even though prototype systems utilizing inertial microfluidics show more rapid and high-throughput outcomes compared to other promising techniques, such as microfiltration, 26,74,75 deterministic lateral displacement, 30,[76][77][78] and hydrophoresis, 79,80 they lack the ability to increase the concentration of the target cells to a significant value. This issue is recently resolved by combining microscale laminar vortices with inertial focusing.…”

Performance Evaluation of Rotational Flow of a 2×2 Microfluidic Centrifuge with varying Inlet Conditions and Chamber Sizes

“…대표적인 분리 기술로는 회전 축을 중심으로 물질을 회전하여 발생하는 원심력을 이용 한 원심분리기 [1] , 전기장이나 자기장의 영향을 받아 하전 된 물질들이 유동성 매체 내에서 이동하는 전자기영동 [2] , 그리고 이동상과 고정상에 대한 혼합 성분의 인력 차이를 이용한 크로마토그래피 [3] [4] , 마 이크로 필러 구조물을 이용한 입자들의 거동의 차이를 이 용한 방법 [5] 과 마이크로 크기의 필터를 이용하여 입자를 분리하는 방법 [6] [7] . …”