Model-Based Investigation of a Dielectrophoretic Microfluidic Device for the Separation of Polystyrene Particles

Particle separation holds great significance as it has the potential to enhance product quality, efficiency, and safety across various industries by selectively sorting particles based on their specific characteristics. This, in turn, contributes to the improvement of processes in areas such as product manufacturing, environmental protection, and resource extraction. This paper proposes a novel microfluidic platform employing dielectrophoresis (DEP) principles to achieve the sorting of particles based on their size. This methodology leverages the dielectric characteristics of polystyrene particles. By manipulating various control parameters, such as electrode shapes (planar, V-shaped, and sinusoidal), the alteration of angles within the same electrode shape, adjustments in electrode widths, and electrode quantity. The study utilizes numerical simulation to compute the spatial distribution of the electric field within the microfluidic chip and predict the trajectories of particles within the microfluidic channel. Through quantitative comparison and analysis, a more optimized microfluidic chip with smaller size and shorter time, capable of effectively separating particles, is ultimately presented.