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Fernández-Mateo R, García-Sánchez P, Ramos A, Morgan H. Concentration-polarization electroosmosis for particle fractionation. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:2968-2974. [PMID: 38726642 DOI: 10.1039/d4lc00081a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Concentration-polarization electroosmosis (CPEO) refers to steady-state electroosmotic flows around charged dielectric micro-particles induced by low-frequency AC electric fields. Recently, these flows were shown to cause repulsion of colloidal particles from the wall of a microfluidic channel when an electric field is applied along the length of the channel. In this work, we exploit this mechanism to demonstrate fractionation of micron-sized polystyrene particles and bacteria in a flow-focusing device. The results are in agreement with predictions of the CPEO theory. The ease of implementation of CPEO-based fractionation in microfluidics makes it an ideal candidate for combining with current techniques commonly used to generate particle lift, such as inertial or viscoelastic focusing, requiring no extra fabrication steps other than inserting two electrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Fernández-Mateo
- School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
| | - Pablo García-Sánchez
- Depto. Electrónica y Electromagnetismo, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Antonio Ramos
- Depto. Electrónica y Electromagnetismo, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Hywel Morgan
- School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
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Ni C, Wu D, Chen Y, Wang S, Xiang N. Cascaded elasto-inertial separation of malignant tumor cells from untreated malignant pleural and peritoneal effusions. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:697-706. [PMID: 38273802 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00801k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Separation of malignant tumor cells (MTCs) from large background cells in untreated malignant pleural and peritoneal effusions (MPPEs) is critical for improving the sensitivity and efficiency of cytological diagnosis. Herein, we proposed a cascaded elasto-inertial cell separation (CEICS) device integrating an interfacial elasto-inertial microfluidic channel with a symmetric contraction expansion array (CEA) channel for pretreatment-free, high-recovery-ratio, and high-purity separation of MTCs from clinical MPPEs. First, the effects of flow-rate ratio, cell concentration, and cell size on separation performances in two single-stage channels were investigated. Then, the performances of the integrated CEICS device were characterized using blood cells spiked with three different tumor cells (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and A549 cells) at a high total throughput of 240 μL min-1. An average recovery ratio of ∼95% and an average purity of ∼61% for the three tumor cells were achieved. Finally, we successfully applied the CEICS device for the pretreatment-free separation of MTCs from clinical MPPEs of different cancers. Our CEICS device may provide a preparation tool for improving the sensitivity and efficiency of cytological examination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Ni
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
| | - Dan Wu
- Department of Oncology, Jiangyin People's Hospital, Jiangyin, 214400, China
| | - Yao Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
| | - Silin Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
| | - Nan Xiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing, 211189, China.
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Zhang J, Tang H, Zhang J, Zhang Z. Mesoscopic simulation of multi-scheme particle separation in deterministic lateral displacement devices using two-piece hybrid pillars. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1711:464434. [PMID: 37837711 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023]
Abstract
Pillar shape exploration in deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) technique holds great promise for developing high-performance microfluidic devices with versatile sorting schemes. A recent innovative design using filter-like micropillars was proposed to improve cell separation, but its significance might be greatly underestimated due to an inaccurate understanding of the underlying mechanism. In this study, we employ mesoscopic hydrodynamic simulations to explore the movement and separation of rigid spherical particles in DLD arrays using various two-piece hybrid (TPH) pillars, where each pillar consists of two individual pieces separated by a tunable inter-piece channel. In comparison with the conventional one-piece pillars, the back piece of TPH-pillars is found to hierarchically tailor the flow profile of the front piece on the basis of the row shift fraction and the inter-piece channel width, resulting in unique tunable multi-scheme separation at low, intermediate, and high row shift fractions, respectively. At the intermediate regime, in particular, the first flow lane that determines the critical separation size could be physically fenced out by the inter-piece channel, and a delicate coupling of hydrodynamic filtration and DLD has been revealed to induce a constant critical size in the whole regime. This work theoretically demonstrates the feasibility and significance of TPH-pillars, which may open up a new direction of the geometry design by exploiting rich multi-piece hybrid structures to expand the versatility of the DLD technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinliang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Haoxiang Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Jianchuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Zunmin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.
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Calero V, Fernández-Mateo R, Morgan H, García-Sánchez P, Ramos A. Low-frequency electrokinetics in a periodic pillar array for particle separation. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1706:464240. [PMID: 37544238 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Deterministic Lateral Displacement (DLD) exploits periodic arrays of pillars inside microfluidic channels for high-precision sorting of micro- and nano-particles. Previously we demonstrated how DLD separation can be significantly improved by the addition of AC electrokinetic forces, increasing the tunability of the technique and expanding the range of applications. At high frequencies of the electric field (>1 kHz) the behaviour of such systems is dominated by Dielectrophoresis (DEP), whereas at low frequencies the particle behaviour is much richer and more complex. In this article, we present a detailed numerical analysis of the mechanisms governing particle motion in a DLD micropillar array in the presence of a low-frequency AC electric field. We show how a combination of Electrophoresis (EP) and Concentration-Polarisation Electroosmosis (CPEO) driven wall-particle repulsion account for the observed experimental behaviour of particles, and demonstrate how this complete model can predict conditions that lead to electrically induced deviation of particles much smaller than the critical size of the DLD array.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor Calero
- Depto. Electrónica y Electromagnetismo, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012, Sevilla, Spain; International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), Braga 4715-330, Portugal
| | - Raúl Fernández-Mateo
- School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Hywel Morgan
- School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Pablo García-Sánchez
- Depto. Electrónica y Electromagnetismo, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012, Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Antonio Ramos
- Depto. Electrónica y Electromagnetismo, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012, Sevilla, Spain
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Hettiarachchi S, Cha H, Ouyang L, Mudugamuwa A, An H, Kijanka G, Kashaninejad N, Nguyen NT, Zhang J. Recent microfluidic advances in submicron to nanoparticle manipulation and separation. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:982-1010. [PMID: 36367456 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00793b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Manipulation and separation of submicron and nanoparticles are indispensable in many chemical, biological, medical, and environmental applications. Conventional technologies such as ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, size exclusion chromatography, precipitation and immunoaffinity capture are limited by high cost, low resolution, low purity or the risk of damage to biological particles. Microfluidics can accurately control fluid flow in channels with dimensions of tens of micrometres. Rapid microfluidics advancement has enabled precise sorting and isolating of nanoparticles with better resolution and efficiency than conventional technologies. This paper comprehensively studies the latest progress in microfluidic technology for submicron and nanoparticle manipulation. We first summarise the principles of the traditional techniques for manipulating nanoparticles. Following the classification of microfluidic techniques as active, passive, and hybrid approaches, we elaborate on the physics, device design, working mechanism and applications of each technique. We also compare the merits and demerits of different microfluidic techniques and benchmark them with conventional technologies. Concurrently, we summarise seven standard post-separation detection techniques for nanoparticles. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future perspectives on microfluidic technology for nanoparticle manipulation and separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samith Hettiarachchi
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Haotian Cha
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Lingxi Ouyang
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | | | - Hongjie An
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Gregor Kijanka
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Navid Kashaninejad
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Nam-Trung Nguyen
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
| | - Jun Zhang
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
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