Miranda J M, Teixeira J A, Vicente A A, Correia J H, Minas G
University of Minho, Biological Engineering Center, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009:7034-6. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5333311.
An essential requirement for any practical fully integrated lab-on-a-chip device is the ability to mix two or more fluids thoroughly and efficiently, i.e., in a reasonable amount of time. This paper presents a way to improve mixing in microfluidic systems combining alternate flows with obstacles using passive mixers. Numerical simulations show that the layers of high and low solute concentration, created by the alternate flow, are split into smaller chunks of fluid, due to the obstacles inserted in the mixing channel, increasing the contact area between high and low concentration regions and decreasing the critical mixing length. This improvement can lead to shorter mixing channels and to low-cost mixers fabricated by planar lithographic technology.
