Engineering particle trajectories in microfluidic flows using particle shape
Name
Doyle_Engineering particle with SI and movie description.pdf
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4.77 MB
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Author(s)
Uspal, William E.
Doyle, Patrick S.
Eral, Huseyin Burak
Date Issued
November 2013
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Uspal, William E., H Burak Eral, and Patrick S. Doyle. “Engineering Particle Trajectories in Microfluidic Flows Using Particle Shape.” Nature Communications 4 (November 1, 2013).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Recent advances in microfluidic technologies have created a demand for techniques to control the motion of flowing microparticles. Here we consider how the shape and geometric confinement of a rigid microparticle can be tailored for ‘self-steering’ under external flow. We find that an asymmetric particle, weakly confined in one direction and strongly confined in another, will align with the flow and focus to the channel centreline. Experimentally and theoretically, we isolate three viscous hydrodynamic mechanisms that contribute to particle dynamics. Through their combined effects, a particle is stably attracted to the channel centreline, effectively behaving as a damped oscillator. We demonstrate the use of self-steering particles for microfluidic device applications, eliminating the need for external forces or sheath flows.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3666
