Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Continuous separation of multiple size microparticles using alternating current dielectrophoresis in microfluidic device with acupuncture needle electrodes

  • Dynamics, Fluid Machinery, and Microfluidic
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering Submit manuscript

Abstract

The need to continuously separate multiple microparticles is required for the recent development of lab-on-chip technology. Dielectrophoresis(DEP)-based separation device is extensively used in kinds of microfluidic applications. However, such conventional DEP-based device is relatively complicated and difficult for fabrication. A concise microfluidic device is presented for effective continuous separation of multiple size particle mixtures. A pair of acupuncture needle electrodes are creatively employed and embedded in a PDMS(poly-dimethylsiloxane) hurdle for generating non-uniform electric field thereby achieving a continuous DEP separation. The separation mechanism is that the incoming particle samples with different sizes experience different negative DEP(nDEP) forces and then they can be transported into different downstream outlets. The DEP characterizations of particles are calculated, and their trajectories are numerically predicted by considering the combined action of the incoming laminar flow and the nDEP force field for guiding the separation experiments. The device performance is verified by successfully separating a three-sized particle mixture, including polystyrene microspheres with diameters of 3 μm, 10 μm and 25 μm. The separation purity is below 70% when the flow rate ratio is less than 3.5 or more than 5.1, while the separation purity can be up to more than 90% when the flow rate ratio is between 3.5 and 5.1 and meanwhile ensure the voltage output falls in between 120 V and 150 V. Such simple DEP-based separation device has extensive applications in future microfluidic systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. PETHIG R. Review article-dielectrophoresis: status of the theory, technology, and applications[J]. Biomicrofluidics, 2010, 4(2): 022811–022846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. REN Y, WU H, FENG G, et al. Effects of chip geometries on dielectrophoresis and electrorotation investigation[J]. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2014, 27(1): 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. SUSCILLON C, VELEV O D, SLAVEYKOVA V I. Alternating current-dielectrophoresis driven on-chip collection and chaining of green microalgae in freshwaters[J]. Biomicrofluidics, 2013, 7(2): 024109–024124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. OTTO S, KALETTA U, BIER F, et al. Dielectrophoretic immobilisation of antibodies on microelectrode arrays[J]. Lab on a Chip, 2013, 14(5): 998–1012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. REN Y, AO H, GU J. Research of micro-particle manipulation in micro systems using DEP force[J]. Acta Phys Sin, 2009, 58(11): 7.

    Google Scholar 

  6. JIANG Hongyuan, REN Yukun, TAO Ye. Microwire formation based on dielectrophoresis of electroless gold plated polystyrene microspheres[J]. Chinese Physics B, 2011, 20(5): 057701–057709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. DASH S, MOHANTY S. Dielectrophoretic separation of micron and sub-micron particles: a review[J]. Electrophoresis, 2014, 35(18): 2656–2672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. LI M, QU Y, DONG Z, et al. Limitations of Au particle nanoassembly using dielectrophoretic force—a parametric experimental and theoretical study[J]. Nanotechnology, IEEE Transactions on, 2008, 7(4): 477–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. ABDALLAH B G, CHAO T C, KUPITZ C, et al. Dielectrophoretic sorting of membrane protein nanocrystals[J]. ACS Nano, 2013, 7(10): 9129–9137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. LUMSDON S O, KALER E W, WILLIAMS J P, et al. Dielectrophoretic assembly of oriented and switchable two-dimensional photonic crystals[J]. Applied Physics Letters, 2003, 82(6): 949–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. KANG Y, CETIN B, WU Z, et al. Continuous particle separation with localized AC-dielectrophoresis using embedded electrodes and an insulating hurdle[J]. Electrochimica Acta, 2009, 54(6): 1715–1735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. WANG L, FLANAGAN L A, MONUKI E, et al. Dielectrophoresis switching with vertical sidewall electrodes for microfluidic flow cytometry[J]. Lab on a Chip, 2007, 7(9): 1114–1134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. YE J, YANG J, ZHENG J, et al. Rarefaction and temperature gradient effect on the performance of the Knudsen pump[J]. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2012, 25(4): 745–797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. LI M, LI S, LI W, et al. Continuous particle manipulation and separation in a hurdle-combined curved microchannel using DC dielectrophoresis[J]. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2013, 1542: 1150–1153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. ZHU J, CANTER R C, KETEN G, et al. Continuous-flow particle and cell separations in a serpentine microchannel via curvatureinduced dielectrophoresis[J]. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 2011, 11(6): 743–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. LI M, LI S, CAO W, et al. Continuous particle focusing in a waved microchannel using negative dc dielectrophoresis[J]. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 2012, 22(9): 095001–095009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. JEN C P, MASLOV N A, SHIH H Y, et al. Particle focusing in a contactless dielectrophoretic microfluidic chip with insulating structures[J]. Microsystem Technologies, 2012, 18(11): 1879–1965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. REN Y, LI B, JIANG H. Control of the dielectric microrods rotation in liquid by alternating current electric field[J]. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2014, 27(3): 622–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. LAPIZCO-ENCINAS B H, SIMMONS B A, CUMMINGS E B, et al. Dielectrophoretic concentration and separation of live and dead bacteria in an array of insulators[J]. Analytical Chemistry, 2004, 76(6): 1571–1579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. LAPIZCO-ENCINAS B H, SIMMONS B A, CUMMINGS E B, et al. Insulator-based dielectrophoresis for the selective concentration and separation of live bacteria in water[J]. Electrophoresis, 2004, 25(10–11): 1695–1704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. HAWKINS B G, SMITH A E, SYED Y A, et al. Continuous-flow particle separation by 3D insulative dielectrophoresis using coherently shaped, dc-biased, ac electric fields[J]. Analytical Chemistry, 2007, 79(19): 7291–7300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. KIM U, QIAN J, KENRICK S A, et al. Multitarget dielectrophoresis activated cell sorter[J]. Analytical chemistry, 2008, 80(22): 8656–8707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. LEWPIRIYAWONG N, YANG C. Continuous separation of multiple particles by negative and positive dielectrophoresis in a modified H-filter[J]. Electrophoresis, 2014, 35(5): 714–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. RAMOS A, MORGAN H, GREEN N G, et al. Ac electrokinetics: a review of forces in microelectrode structures[J]. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 1998, 31(18): 2338–2353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. JONES T B, JONES T B. Electromechanics of particles[M]. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  26. ERMOLINA I, MORGAN H. The electrokinetic properties of latex particles: comparison of electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis[J]. J Colloid Interface Sci, 2005, 285(1): 419–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. RAMOS A, MORGAN H, GREEN N G, et al. AC electric-field-induced fluid flow in microelectrodes[J]. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1999, 217(2): 420–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. ARNOLD W, SCHWAN H, ZIMMERMANN U. Surface conductance and other properties of latex particles measured by electrorotation[J]. Journal of Physical Chemistry, 1987, 91(19): 5093–5101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. LEWPIRIYAWONG N, YANG C. AC-dielectrophoretic characterization and separation of submicron and micron particles using sidewall AgPDMS electrodes[J]. Biomicrofluidics, 2012, 6(1): 12807–12809.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. RAMOS A. Electrohydrodynamic pumping in microsystems[M]. Springer, 2011.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  31. GREEN N G, RAMOS A, GONZÁLEZ A, et al. Electrothermally induced fluid flow on microelectrodes[J]. Journal of Electrostatics, 2001, 53(2): 71–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. SRIDHARAN S, ZHU J, HU G, et al. Joule heating effects on electroosmotic flow in insulator-based dielectrophoresis[J]. Electrophoresis, 2011, 32(17): 2274–2355.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Ye Tao, Yukun Ren, Hui Yan & Hongyuan Jiang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Yukun Ren

Authors
  1. Ye Tao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yukun Ren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hui Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hongyuan Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yukun Ren or Hongyuan Jiang.

Additional information

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 51305106), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China(Grant Nos. HIT. NSRIF. 2014058, HIT. IBRSEM. 201319), and Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power Transmission and Control, China(GZKF-201402)

Biographical notes

TAO Ye, born in 1985, is currently a PhD candidate at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China His interest topic is microfluidics and nanofluidics.

REN Yukun, born in 1981, is currently an associate professor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include microfluidics, AC electrokinetics, et al.

YAN Hui, born in 1974, is currently an associate professor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include metal rubber, microfluidics, et al.

JIANG Hongyuan, born in 1960, is currently a professor and a PhD candidate supervisor at School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China. His main research interests include metal rubber, microfluidics, et al.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tao, Y., Ren, Y., Yan, H. et al. Continuous separation of multiple size microparticles using alternating current dielectrophoresis in microfluidic device with acupuncture needle electrodes. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 29, 325–331 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.1028.128

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2015.1028.128

Keywords

Search

Navigation