Efficient manipulation of microparticles in bubble streaming flows

Cheng Wang, Shreyas V. Jalikop, Sascha Hilgenfeldt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Oscillating microbubbles of radius 20-100 μm driven by ultrasound initiate a steady streaming flow around the bubbles. In such flows, microparticles of even smaller sizes (radius 1-5 μm) exhibit size-dependent behaviors: particles of different sizes follow different characteristic trajectories despite density-matching. Adjusting the relative strengths of the streaming flow and a superimposed Poiseuille flow allows for a simple tuning of particle behavior, separating the trajectories of particles with a size resolution on the order of 1 μm. Selective trapping, accumulation, and release of particles can be achieved. We show here how to design bubble microfluidic devices that use these concepts to filter, enrich, and preconcentrate particles of selected sizes, either by concentrating them in discrete clusters (localized both stream- and spanwise) or by forcing them into narrow, continuous trajectory bundles of strong spanwise localization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012801
JournalBiomicrofluidics
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • General Materials Science
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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