Designing a new microchannel to collect microparticles using dielectrophoretic forces: Numerical and experimental investigation

Abstract

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an effective technique for manipulating particles in microfluidic devices. The DEP force depends on the frequency and square gradient of the electric field, as well as the fluid and particle dielectric properties. An efficient system for manipulating particles can be designed by adjusting these factors. This study aims to develop an efficient microsystem for particle trapping using dual-frequency DEP force. The microfluidic system is divided into two parts of focusing and attracting. The negative DEP (nDEP) force in the focusing part concentrates particles near the microchannel axis. The positive DEP (pDEP) force in the attractive area then absorbs particles into the internal chamber via electrodes. In general, the main advantage of the present design is the maximum trapping of incoming particles (with a trapping rate of over 95%) regardless of their initial location. In this study, numerical modeling was first done in three dimensions to sort and trap the microparticles. Then, a microchip was designed, built, and tested in a laboratory to validate the results and confirm the microfluidic system behavior. Finally, a parametric study was conducted to figure out the best voltage range of the electric fields in the microfluidic system.