Quick search Find article
Quick search
Find article

Sorting microparticles into lateral streams using a two-phase rectangular electrokinetic array

Mathew Bligh1, Kevin G Stanley2, Ted Hubbard1 and Marek Kujath1

Show affiliations


In this paper, we study microparticles in liquid suspension streaming around a closed rectangular track and present lateral sorting of the particles into focused streams. The track consists of a two-phase interdigitated electrode array with symmetric electrodes but asymmetric electrode spacing. We demonstrate the ability to consistently focus an initially scattered suspension of mono-size polystyrene particles into a single narrow stream traveling around the circuit. We also demonstrate the ability of the device to separate suspensions of multiple sphere sizes into distinct streams according to size. We report that focusing positions are generally consistent for a given particle size, regardless of the presence of other particles in the suspension, and that particles sort by decreasing size from the center to the edge of the track. These results are compared with finite element analysis of the steady-state electric field and analytical approximations of the electrokinetic forces. We hypothesize that the sorting is due to a balance between phase-based and gradient-based dielectrophoretic forces.


Dates

Issue 4 (April 2008)

Received 23 August 2007, in final form 27 November 2007

Published 22 February 2008



View by subject




Export








Please login to access our web services, or create an account if you don't yet have one.

You must have cookies enabled in your web browser to be able to login.

Username
Password

Forgotten your password? Get a new one here.