Abstract
The adjustable microfluidic devices that have been developed for hydrodynamic-based fractionation of beads and cells are important for fast performance tunability through interaction of mechanical properties of particles in fluid flow and mechanically flexible microstructures. In this review, the research works reported on fabrication and testing of the tunable elastomeric microfluidic devices for applications such as separation, filtration, isolation, and trapping of single or bulk of microbeads or cells are discussed. Such microfluidic systems for rapid performance alteration are classified in two groups of bulk deformation of microdevices using external mechanical forces, and local deformation of microstructures using flexible membrane by pneumatic pressure. The main advantage of membrane-based tunable systems has been addressed to be the high capability of integration with other microdevice components. The stretchable devices based on bulk deformation of microstructures have in common advantage of simplicity in design and fabrication process.
Highlights
Effective fractionation of beads and cells in microfluidic devices is essential for applications such as lab-on-chip for pharmaceutical and biological studies [1,2,3]
Design and sizing of the microfluidic device is normally performed such that any unwanted deformation in microstructures is at lowest while displacement of membrane is maximum [45,46].The pneumatic pressure or vacuum required for actuating the membrane at different frequencies is usually supplied by off-chip pumping systems [45]
Physical manipulation of cells and beads by mechanical tuning of elastomeric microfluidic devices via bulk deformation of their microstructures has been implemented in different ways
Summary
Effective fractionation of beads and cells in microfluidic devices is essential for applications such as lab-on-chip for pharmaceutical and biological studies [1,2,3]. The active techniques of fractionation that are reported extensively for microfluidic applications are normally based on discrimination between different parameters of cells or beads due to the physics of motion in fields of acoustic [17], optical [18,19], electrical [20], or magnetic [21,22] as external sources of forces. Some of these techniques need labeling of the cells and they demand complicated, bulky, and costly systems for effective functioning [23].
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