Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device

Miles, Michael; Bhattacharjee, Biddut; Sridhar, Nakul; Fajrial, Apresio Kefin; Ball, Kerri; Lee, Yung Cheng; Stowell, Michael H. B.; Old, William M.; Ding, Xiaoyun

doi:10.3390/mi10120839

Open AccessArticle

Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device

by

Michael Miles

¹,

Biddut Bhattacharjee

²,

Nakul Sridhar

¹,

Apresio Kefin Fajrial

¹,

Kerri Ball

²,

Yung Cheng Lee

¹,

Michael H. B. Stowell

^1,2,

William M. Old

^2,* and

Xiaoyun Ding

^1,*

¹

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0552, USA

²

Department Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0552, USA

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Micromachines 2019, 10(12), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10120839

Submission received: 11 October 2019 / Revised: 18 November 2019 / Accepted: 26 November 2019 / Published: 30 November 2019

(This article belongs to the Section C: Chemistry)

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Abstract

In recent years, microfluidic devices have become an important tool for use in lab-on-a-chip processes, including drug screening and delivery, bio-chemical reactions, sample preparation and analysis, chemotaxis, and separations. In many such processes, a flat cross-sectional concentration profile with uniform flow velocity across the channel is desired to achieve controlled and precise solute transport. This is often accommodated by the use of electroosmotic flow, however, it is not an ideal for many applications, particularly biomicrofluidics. Meanwhile, pressure-driven systems generally exhibit a parabolic cross-sectional concentration profile through a channel. We draw inspiration from finite element fluid dynamics simulations to design and fabricate a practical solution to achieving a flat solute concentration profile in a two-dimensional (2D) microfluidic channel. The channel possesses geometric features to passively flatten the solute profile before entering the defined region of interest in the microfluidic channel. An obviously flat solute profile across the channel is demonstrated in both simulation and experiment. This technology readily lends itself to many microfluidic applications which require controlled solute transport in pressure driven systems.

Keywords: microfluidics; lab on a chip; flow profile; flow control

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MDPI and ACS Style

Miles, M.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Sridhar, N.; Fajrial, A.K.; Ball, K.; Lee, Y.C.; Stowell, M.H.B.; Old, W.M.; Ding, X. Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device. Micromachines 2019, 10, 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10120839

AMA Style

Miles M, Bhattacharjee B, Sridhar N, Fajrial AK, Ball K, Lee YC, Stowell MHB, Old WM, Ding X. Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device. Micromachines. 2019; 10(12):839. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10120839

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miles, Michael, Biddut Bhattacharjee, Nakul Sridhar, Apresio Kefin Fajrial, Kerri Ball, Yung Cheng Lee, Michael H. B. Stowell, William M. Old, and Xiaoyun Ding. 2019. "Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device" Micromachines 10, no. 12: 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10120839

APA Style

Miles, M., Bhattacharjee, B., Sridhar, N., Fajrial, A. K., Ball, K., Lee, Y. C., Stowell, M. H. B., Old, W. M., & Ding, X. (2019). Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device. Micromachines, 10(12), 839. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10120839

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Flattening of Diluted Species Profile via Passive Geometry in a Microfluidic Device

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