Equilibrium Separation and Filtration of Particles Using Differential Inertial Focusing

Carlo, Dino Di; F., Jon; Irimia, Daniel; Tompkins, Ronald G.; Toner, Mehmet

doi:10.1021/ac702283m

Cited by 377 publications

(379 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

373

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, inertial focusing pattern becomes more complex at higher Reynolds number Re, often resulting in unfavorable multiple lateral equilibrium positions. 37 Considering the condition of 0.07 h a D > for successful inertial focusing of particles, 38 the channel cross-section has to be scaled down with decreasing particle sizes [ h D , the hydraulic diameter, is defined as…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-Based Separation of Particles and Cells Utilizing Viscoelastic Effects in Straight Microchannels

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Viscoelasticity-induced particle migration has recently received increasing attention due to its ability to obtain high-quality focusing over a wide range of flow rates. However, its application is limited to low throughput regime since the particles can defocus as flow rate increases. Using an engineered carrier medium with constant and low viscosity and strong elasticity, the sample flow rates are improved to be one order of magnitude higher than those in existing studies. Utilizing differential focusing of particles of different sizes, here we present sheathless particle/cell separation in simple straight microchannels that possess excellent parallelizability for further throughput enhancement. The present method can be implemented over a wide range of particle/cell sizes and flow rates. We successfully separate small particles from larger particles, MCF-7 cells from red blood cells (RBCs), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria from RBCs in different straight microchannels. The proposed method could broaden the applications of viscoelastic microfluidic devices to particle/cell separation due to the enhanced sample throughput and simple channel design.Continuous manipulation and separation of particles and cells is important for a wide range of applications in biology, 1,2 medicine, 2,3 and industry. [4][5][6] Microfluidic systems have been proven to be promising tools for particle/cell manipulation with higher sensitivity and accuracy than their macroscale counterparts. The last decade has seen extensive development of microfluidic approaches for particle/cell manipulation that resort to immunocapture, 7 externally applied physical fields, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] microfiltration, 19,20 gravitational sedimentation, 21 or deterministic lateral migration. 22,23 More recently, cross-streamline migration induced by the hydrodynamic effects of carrier media, such as inertia 24,25 and viscoelasticity, 26,27 has shown its promise for effective particle/cell manipulation without need of labeling and external force fields. Particles and cells can be separated based on the size-dependent nature of hydrodynamic forces. Briefly, the inertial lift scales as F a ∝ , where a is the particle diameter. There are several cell types of biological and clinical interest with separable size ranges: epithelial tumor cells (15-25 µm in diameter), blood cells (erythrocytes are 6-8 µm biconcave disks and peripheral blood lymphocytes are 7-10 µm in diameter), and bacteria (1-3 µm). Inertial migration in Newtonian fluids has been intensively studied and implemented in high-throughput label-free separation devices for cell separation. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Recently, particle migration induced by viscoelasticity has begun to attract increasing attention due to its simple focusing pattern and potential for achieving efficient focusing over a wide range of flow rates. 35,36 In a viscoelastic medium, elasticity coupled with non-negligible inertia will drive particles towards the channel centerline, whic...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-Based Separation of Particles and Cells Utilizing Viscoelastic Effects in Straight Microchannels

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The number of focused particle streams can be reduced by introducing curvature to the flow path 14. The inertia of the fluid moving through a channel bend creates secondary swirling motion, known as Dean flow 14, 15. The resulting hydrodynamic drag enhances the lateral migration of particles across the channel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐Throughput Inertial Focusing of Micrometer‐ and Sub‐Micrometer‐Sized Particles Separation

Wang

Dandy

2017

Advanced Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to study individual bacteria or subcellular organelles using inertial microfluidics is still nascent. This is due, in no small part, to the significant challenges associated with concentrating and separating specific sizes of micrometer and sub‐micrometer bioparticles in a microfluidic format. In this study, using a rigid polymeric microfluidic network with optimized microchannel geometry dimensions, it is demonstrated that 2 µm, and even sub‐micrometer, particles can be continuously and accurately focused to stable equilibrium positions. Suspensions have been processed at flow rates up to 1400 µL min−1 in an ultrashort 4 mm working channel length. A wide range of suspension concentrations—from 0.01 to 1 v/v%—have been systematically investigated, with yields greater than 97%, demonstrating the potential of this technology for large‐scale implementation. Additionally, the ability of this chip to separate micrometer‐ and sub‐micrometer‐sized particles and to focus bioparticles (cyanobacteria) has been demonstrated. This study pushes the microfluidic inertial focusing particle range down to sub‐micrometer length scales, enabling novel routes for investigation of individual microorganisms and subcellular organelles.

show abstract

“…A number of researchers have studied the use and behaviour of constrictions [11,12], bifurcations [13,14] and curved sections [15,16] in blood separator devices. A constriction accelerates the flow and increases inertial effects on the fluid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the flow rate ratio reaches 8:1 [17], nearly all cells move through the high flow rate channel. A curve in the channel can create a centrifugal force on the fluid, although, in micro devices, a series of multiple curves may be required to enhance this effect [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress towards the design and numerical analysis of a 3D microchannel biochip separator

Xue¹,

Marson²,

Patel³

et al. 2011

Numer Methods Biomed Eng

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper reports the design and numerical analysis of a three‐dimensional biochip plasma blood separator using computational fluid dynamics techniques. Based on the initial configuration of a two‐dimensional (2D) separator, five three‐dimensional (3D) microchannel biochip designs are categorically developed through axial and plenary symmetrical expansions. These include the geometric variations of three types of the branch side channels (circular, rectangular, disc) and two types of the main channel (solid and concentric). Ignoring the initial transient behaviour and assuming that steady‐state flow has been established, the behaviour of the blood fluid in the devices is algebraically analysed and numerically modelled. The roles of the relevant microchannel mechanisms, i.e. bifurcation, constriction and bending channel, on promoting the separation process are analysed based on modelling results. The differences among the different 3D implementations are compared and discussed. The advantages of 3D over 2D separator in increasing separation volume and effectively depleting cell‐free layer fluid from the whole cross section circumference are addressed and illustrated. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Equilibrium Separation and Filtration of Particles Using Differential Inertial Focusing

Cited by 377 publications

References 29 publications

Size-Based Separation of Particles and Cells Utilizing Viscoelastic Effects in Straight Microchannels

Size-Based Separation of Particles and Cells Utilizing Viscoelastic Effects in Straight Microchannels

High‐Throughput Inertial Focusing of Micrometer‐ and Sub‐Micrometer‐Sized Particles Separation

Progress towards the design and numerical analysis of a 3D microchannel biochip separator

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About