Yan Sheng, Liu Yong, Nguyen Nam-Trung, Zhang Jun
Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Anal Chem. 2024 Mar 5;96(9):3925-3932. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c05803. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
Microfluidic particle and cell manipulation techniques possess many potentials for biomedicine and healthcare. Many techniques have been developed based on active (e.g., electrical, magnetic, acoustic, and thermal) force fields and passive hydrodynamic forces (e.g., inertial and elastic lift forces). However, techniques based on a single active or passive manipulating physics cannot always meet the demands, and combining multiple physics becomes a promising strategy to promote technique flexibility and versatility. In this work, we explored the physical coupling of magnetophoresis with the elastic and inertial (i.e., elasto-inertial) lift forces for the manipulation of microparticles. Particle lateral migration was studied in a coflowing configuration of viscoelastic ferrofluid/water (sample/sheath). The particles were suspended in the viscoelastic ferrofluid and confined near the channel sidewall by a sheath flow. The coordination of magnetophoresis and elasto-inertial lift forces promoted the cross-stream migration of particles. Besides, we investigated the effect of the flow rate ratio and total flow rate on the migration of particles. Furthermore, we also investigated the effects of fluid elasticity in sample and sheath flows on particle migration using different combinations of sample and sheath flows, including Newtonian ferrofluid/water, Newtonian ferrofluid/viscoelastic fluid, and viscoelastic ferrofluid/viscoelastic coflows. Experimental results demonstrated and ascertained the promoted particle lateral migration in the PEO-based ferrofluid/water coflow. Finally, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept application of the physical coupling strategy for cell cross-stream migration and solution exchange. We envisage that this novel multiphysical coupling scheme has great potential for the flexible and versatile manipulation of microparticles and cells.
微流控颗粒与细胞操控技术在生物医学与医疗保健领域具有诸多潜力。许多技术已基于主动（如电、磁、声和热）力场以及被动流体动力（如惯性和弹性升力）得以开发。然而，基于单一主动或被动操控物理原理的技术往往无法满足需求，将多种物理原理相结合成为提升技术灵活性与通用性的一种有前景的策略。在这项工作中，我们探索了磁泳与弹性和惯性（即弹性 - 惯性）升力的物理耦合，用于操控微粒。在粘弹性铁磁流体/水（样品/鞘层）的并流配置中研究了颗粒的横向迁移。颗粒悬浮于粘弹性铁磁流体中，并通过鞘层流限制在通道侧壁附近。磁泳与弹性 - 惯性升力的协同作用促进了颗粒的横向迁移。此外，我们研究了流速比和总流速对颗粒迁移的影响。此外，我们还使用样品流和鞘层流的不同组合，包括牛顿铁磁流体/水、牛顿铁磁流体/粘弹性流体以及粘弹性铁磁流体/粘弹性并流，研究了样品流和鞘层流中的流体弹性对颗粒迁移的影响。实验结果证实并确定了在基于聚氧化乙烯的铁磁流体/水并流中颗粒横向迁移得到促进。最后，我们展示了这种物理耦合策略用于细胞横向迁移和溶液交换的概念验证应用。我们设想这种新颖的多物理耦合方案在微粒和细胞的灵活通用操控方面具有巨大潜力。
