Chen Chia-Yuan, Yao Chih-Yuan, Lin Cheng-Yi, Hung Shih-Hsuan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Lab Autom. 2014 Oct;19(5):492-7. doi: 10.1177/2211068214542155. Epub 2014 Jul 8.
Low-efficiency diffusion mechanism poses a significant barrier to the enhancement of micromixing efficiency in microfluidics. Actuating artificial cilia to increase the contact area of two flow streams during micromixing provides a promising alternative to enhance the mixing performance. Real-time adjustment of beating behavior in artificial cilia is necessary to accommodate various biological/chemical reagents with different hydrodynamic properties that are processed in a single microfluidic platform during micromixing. Equipping the microfluidic device with a self-troubleshooting feature for the end user, such as a bubble removal function during the process of multiple chemical solution injections, is also essential for robust micromixing. To meet these requirements, we initiated a new beating control concept by controlling the beating behavior of the artificial cilia through remote and simultaneous actuation of human fingertip drawing. A series of micromixing test cases under extreme flow conditions (Re < 10(-3)) was conducted in the designed micromixer with high mixing performance. Satisfactory micromixing efficiency was achieved even with a rapid beating trajectory of the artificial cilia actuated through the fingertip motion of end users. The analytical paradigm and results allow end users to troubleshoot technical difficulties encountered during micromixing operations.
低效率扩散机制对微流控中微混合效率的提高构成了重大障碍。在微混合过程中驱动人工纤毛以增加两股流体流的接触面积，为提高混合性能提供了一种有前景的替代方法。在微混合过程中，实时调整人工纤毛的摆动行为对于适应在单个微流控平台中处理的具有不同流体动力学特性的各种生物/化学试剂是必要的。为最终用户配备具有自我故障排除功能的微流控设备，例如在多次化学溶液注入过程中的气泡去除功能，对于稳健的微混合也是必不可少的。为了满足这些要求，我们通过远程和同时驱动人类指尖绘图来控制人工纤毛的摆动行为，启动了一种新的摆动控制概念。在设计的具有高混合性能的微混合器中，在极端流动条件（Re < 10(-3)）下进行了一系列微混合测试案例。即使通过最终用户的指尖运动驱动人工纤毛具有快速的摆动轨迹，也实现了令人满意的微混合效率。该分析范式和结果使最终用户能够解决微混合操作过程中遇到的技术难题。
