Division of Cell Physics, Department of Applied Physics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lab Chip. 2012 Nov 21;12(22):4644-50. doi: 10.1039/c2lc40241f.
Passive particle focusing based on inertial microfluidics was recently introduced as a high-throughput alternative to active focusing methods that require an external force-field to manipulate particles. In this study, we introduce inertial microfluidics in flows through straight, multiple parallel channels. The scalable, single inlet and two outlet, parallel channel system is enabled by a novel, high-density 3D PDMS microchannel manufacturing technology, mediated via a targeted inhibition of PDMS polymerization. Using single channels, we first demonstrate how randomly distributed particles can be focused into the centre position of the channel in flows through low aspect ratio channels and can be effectively fractionated. As a proof of principle, continuous focusing and filtration of 10 μm particles from a suspension mixture using 4- and 16-parallel-channel devices with a single inlet and two outlets are demonstrated. A filtration efficiency of 95-97% was achieved at throughputs several orders of magnitude higher than previously shown for flows through straight channels. The scalable and low-footprint focusing device requiring neither external force fields nor mechanical parts to operate is readily applicable for high-throughput focusing and filtration applications as a stand-alone device or integrated with lab-on-a-chip systems.
基于惯性微流控的被动粒子聚焦最近被引入作为一种高通量的替代方法，与需要外部力场来操纵粒子的主动聚焦方法相比。在这项研究中，我们在直的、多个平行通道中引入了惯性微流控。这种可扩展的、单入口和双出口的平行通道系统是通过一种新颖的高密度 3D PDMS 微通道制造技术实现的，该技术通过靶向抑制 PDMS 聚合来实现。使用单通道，我们首先证明了在低纵横比通道中的流动中，随机分布的粒子如何能够聚焦到通道的中心位置，并能够有效地进行分离。作为原理验证，使用具有单入口和双出口的 4 个和 16 个平行通道设备，从悬浮液混合物中连续聚焦和过滤 10μm 的粒子。在比以前通过直通道显示的高通量高出几个数量级的情况下，实现了 95-97%的过滤效率。这种可扩展的、低占地面积的聚焦装置不需要外部力场或机械部件来操作，可作为独立装置或与微流控芯片系统集成，广泛应用于高通量聚焦和过滤应用。
