Koo HJ, Velev OD. Design and characterization of hydrogel-based microfluidic devices with biomimetic solute transport networks.
BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2017;
11:024104. [PMID:
28396708 PMCID:
PMC5367088 DOI:
10.1063/1.4978617]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogel could serve as a matrix material of new classes of solar cells and photoreactors with embedded microfluidic networks. These devices mimic the structure and function of plant leaves, which are a natural soft matter based microfluidic system. These unusual microfluidic-hydrogel devices with fluid-penetrable medium operate on the basis of convective-diffusive mechanism, where the liquid is transported between the non-connected channels via molecular permeation through the hydrogel. We define three key designs of such hydrogel devices, having linear, T-shaped, and branched channels and report results of numerical simulation of the process of their infusion with solute carried by the incoming fluid. The computational procedure takes into account both pressure-driven convection and concentration gradient-driven diffusion in the permeable gel matrix. We define the criteria for evaluation of the fluid infusion rate, uniformity, solute loss by outflow and overall performance. The T-shaped channel network was identified as the most efficient one and was improved further by investigating the effect of the channel-end secondary branches. Our parallel experimental data on the pattern of solute infusions are in excellent agreement with the simulation. These network designs can be applied to a broad range of novel microfluidic materials and soft matter devices with distributed microchannel networks.
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