Rodríguez Cristian F, Guzmán-Sastoque Paula, Muñoz-Camargo Carolina, Reyes Luis H, Osma Johann F, Cruz Juan C
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Cra. 1E No. 19a-40, Bogotá 111711, Colombia.
Neuroscience Group of Antioquia, Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology Area, School of Medicine, University of Antioquia, Medellin 050010, Colombia.
Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Aug 22;15(8):1057. doi: 10.3390/mi15081057.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide micro- and nanoparticles have significant applications in biomedical and chemical engineering. This study presents the development and evaluation of a novel low-cost microfluidic device for the purification and hyperconcentration of these magnetic particles. The device, fabricated using laser ablation of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), leverages precise control over fluid dynamics to efficiently separate magnetic particles from non-magnetic ones. We assessed the device's performance through Multiphysics simulations and empirical tests, focusing on the separation of magnetite nanoparticles from blue carbon dots and magnetite microparticles from polystyrene microparticles at various total flow rates (TFRs). For nanoparticle separation, the device achieved a recall of up to 93.3 ± 4% and a precision of 95.9 ± 1.2% at an optimal TFR of 2 mL/h, significantly outperforming previous models, which only achieved a 50% recall. Microparticle separation demonstrated an accuracy of 98.1 ± 1% at a TFR of 2 mL/h in both simulations and experimental conditions. The Lagrangian model effectively captured the dynamics of magnetite microparticle separation from polystyrene microparticles, with close agreement between simulated and experimental results. Our findings underscore the device's robust capability in distinguishing between magnetic and non-magnetic particles at both micro- and nanoscales. This study highlights the potential of low-cost, non-cleanroom manufacturing techniques to produce high-performance microfluidic devices, thereby expanding their accessibility and applicability in various industrial and research settings. The integration of a continuous magnet, as opposed to segmented magnets in previous designs, was identified as a key factor in enhancing magnetic separation efficiency.
超顺磁性氧化铁微米和纳米颗粒在生物医学和化学工程领域有着重要应用。本研究介绍了一种用于这些磁性颗粒纯化和超浓缩的新型低成本微流控装置的开发与评估。该装置采用聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯（PMMA）激光烧蚀制造，利用对流体动力学的精确控制，有效地将磁性颗粒与非磁性颗粒分离。我们通过多物理场模拟和实证测试评估了该装置的性能，重点关注在不同总流速（TFR）下从蓝碳点中分离磁铁矿纳米颗粒以及从聚苯乙烯微粒中分离磁铁矿微粒。对于纳米颗粒分离，在2 mL/h的最佳TFR下，该装置的召回率高达93.3 ± 4%，精度为95.9 ± 1.2%，显著优于之前仅实现50%召回率的模型。在模拟和实验条件下，微粒分离在2 mL/h的TFR下均显示出98.1 ± 1%的准确率。拉格朗日模型有效地捕捉了从聚苯乙烯微粒中分离磁铁矿微粒的动力学过程，模拟结果与实验结果高度吻合。我们的研究结果强调了该装置在微米和纳米尺度上区分磁性和非磁性颗粒的强大能力。本研究突出了低成本、非洁净室制造技术生产高性能微流控装置的潜力，从而扩大了它们在各种工业和研究环境中的可及性和适用性。与先前设计中的分段磁体不同，连续磁体的集成被确定为提高磁分离效率的关键因素。
