Serpentine Fluidic Structures for Particle Separation

Abstract

The abstract proposes size and mass based separation and concentration of particles including biological agents suspended in fluidic media in a serpentine channel structure. On the curved sections of the serpentine channel, the interplay between the outward directed centrifugal force and the inward directed transverse pressure field from fluid shear allows for separation of particles. Methods currently employed for particle separation include: mechanical sieving, sedimentation, hydrodynamic chromatography, and electrophoresis. These techniques are batch processes and require large investments in equipment and set-up time for each run. This present study details a filter-less continuous process which employs flow velocity and tailored channel geometry to achieve separation and segregation of particles over a large dynamic size range which can span micro-scale to macro-scale fluid capacities.