Zhang Tianlong, Cain Amy K, Semenec Lucie, Liu Ling, Hosokawa Yoichiroh, Inglis David W, Yalikun Yaxiaer, Li Ming
School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-0192, Japan.
Anal Chem. 2023 Jan 31;95(4):2561-2569. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05084. Epub 2023 Jan 19.
Here, we achieve the separation and enrichment of clusters from its singlets in a viscoelastic microfluidic device. , an important prokaryotic model organism and a widely used microbial factory, can aggregate in clusters, leading to biofilm development that can be detrimental to human health and industrial processes. The ability to obtain high-purity populations of clusters is of significance for biological, biomedical, and industrial applications. In this study, polystyrene particles of two different sizes, 1 and 4.8 μm, are used to mimic singlets and clusters, respectively. Experimental results show that particles migrate toward the channel center in a size-dependent manner, due to the combined effects of inertial and elastic forces; 4.8 and 1 μm particles are found to have lateral equilibrium positions closer to the channel centerline and sidewalls, respectively. The size-dependent separation performance of the microdevice is demonstrated to be affected by three main factors: channel length, the ratio of sheath to sample flow rate, and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) concentration. Further, the separation of singlets and clusters is achieved at the outlets, and the separation efficiency is evaluated in terms of purity and enrichment factor.
在这里，我们在粘弹性微流控装置中实现了从其单分散体中分离和富集聚集体。大肠杆菌作为一种重要的原核模式生物和广泛使用的微生物工厂，会聚集形成聚集体，导致生物膜的形成，这可能对人类健康和工业过程有害。获得高纯度大肠杆菌聚集体群体的能力对于生物学、生物医学和工业应用具有重要意义。在本研究中，分别使用两种不同尺寸（1和4.8μm）的聚苯乙烯颗粒来模拟大肠杆菌单分散体和聚集体。实验结果表明，由于惯性力和弹性力的共同作用，颗粒以尺寸依赖的方式向通道中心迁移；发现4.8μm和1μm的颗粒分别具有更靠近通道中心线和侧壁的横向平衡位置。微器件的尺寸依赖分离性能被证明受三个主要因素影响：通道长度、鞘液与样品流速比以及聚环氧乙烷（PEO）浓度。此外，在出口处实现了大肠杆菌单分散体和聚集体的分离，并根据纯度和富集因子评估了分离效率。
