Efficacy of Dielectrophoresis in Preventing Sedimentation of High Density Bio-particles in Micro-mixers

Abstract

In recent years, various microfluidic devices and integrated micro fluidic systems such as bio-chips, lab-on-a-chip and microreactors have been the focus of intensive investigations. They are being increasingly applied for bio-medical processes such as genetic analysis, disease diagnosis, chemical synthesis etc. In such devices, rapid and effective mixing of bio-particles is essential. Yet, when the density of the bio-particles is high, preventing their sedimentation becomes an issue of crucial importance. In the present work we carried out a comprehensive study to understand the efficacy of dielectrophoresis in preventing sedimentation of high density bio-particles in a micro-mixer. We analyzed the efficacy of dielectrophoretic force in sedimentation control of micro-mixers for variable particles, medium and field parameters using finite element-based CFD simulations. The results of the study indicate that dielectrophoresis-based sedimentation control could be a viable method to prevent sedimentation of a protein.