Induced-charge Electro-osmotic Research Articles

Enrichment and Selection of Particles through Parallel Induced-Charge Electro-osmotic Streaming for Detection of Low-Abundance Nanoparticles and Targeted Microalgae.

Manipulation of micro- and nanoscale objects is an essential procedure in many detection and sensing applications, including disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring. Induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) vortices present excellent advantages in the enrichment and selection of micro/nanoscale particles for downstream detection due to gentle conditions and contactless operation, but the application of this method is currently constrained by the throughput. Double-layer charging at the ends of bipolar electrodes can maintain a continuous flow of electric current in the fluidically isolated channels, which provides a feasible method to manipulate particles using parallel ICEO vortices, promoting throughput of particle manipulation without compromising efficiency and overcoming the complicated ohmic contact of electrodes. Encouraged by these, we put forward a novel method with parallel ICEO vortices to manipulate micro/nanoscale samples for downstream detection. First, we study the extension regulation of the low-frequency electric field and mediating effect of the open BPEs on the extended electric field and characterize electric equilibrium states of microparticles and their voltage dependence. Afterward, we leverage this method to enrich nanoparticles for detection of low-abundance nanoparticles with about 20- and 40-fold fluorescence intensities by integrating with a simple fiber-optic sensor. Furthermore, this technique is engineered for the selection of targeted microalgae to continuously detect their proliferation behaviors by combining with a homemade electrical impedance spectroscopy device. This method can reinforce the throughput of ICEO vortices and enables it to integrate with simple and economical sensors to accomplish disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring.

Scattering of Metal Colloids by a Circular Post under Electric Fields.

We consider the scattering of metal colloids in aqueous solutions by an insulating circular post under the action of an AC electric field. We analyze the effects on the particle of several forces of electrical origin: the repulsion between the induced dipole of the particle and its image dipole in the post, the hydrodynamic interaction with the post due to the induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) flow around the particle, and the dielectrophoresis arising from the distortion of the applied electric field around the post. The relative influence of these forces is discussed as a function of frequency of the AC field, particle size and distance to the post. We perform numerical simulations of the scattering of the metal colloid by the insulating circular post flowing in a microchannel and subjected to alternating current electric fields. Our simulation results show that the maximum particle deviation is found for an applied electric field parallel to the flow direction. The deviation is also greater at low electric field frequencies, corresponding to the regime in which the ICEO's interaction with the post is predominant over other mechanisms.

Analysis of Sequential Micromixing Driven by Sinusoidally Shaped Induced-Charge Electroosmotic Flow.

Multi-fluid micromixing, which has rarely been explored, typically represents a highly sought-after technique in on-chip biochemical and biomedical assays. Herein, we propose a novel micromixing approach utilizing induced-charge electroosmosis (ICEO) to implement multicomplex mixing between parallel streams. The variations of ICEO microvortices above a sinusoidally shaped floating electrode (SSFE) are first investigated to better understand the microvortex development and the resultant mixing process within a confined channel. On this basis, a mathematical model of the vortex index is newly developed to predict the mixing degree along the microchannel. The negative exponential distribution obtained between the vortex index and mixing index demonstrates an efficient model to describe the mixing performance without solving the coupled diffusion and momentum equations. Specifically, sufficient mixing with a mixing index higher than 0.9 can be achieved when the vortex index exceeds 51, and the mixing efficiency reaches a plateau at an AC frequency close to 100 Hz. Further, a rectangle floating electrode (RFE) is deposited before SSFE to enhance the controlled sequence for three-fluid mixing. One side fluid can fully mix with the middle fluid with a mixing index of 0.623 above RFE in the first mixing stage and achieve entire-channel mixing with a mixing index of 0.983 above SSFE in the second mixing stage, thereby enabling on-demand sequential mixing. As a proof of concept, this work can provide a robust alternative technique for multi-objective issues and structural design related to mixers.

Numerical investigation of field-effect control on hybrid electrokinetics for continuous and position-tunable nanoparticle concentration in microfluidics.

We introduce herein an effective way for continuous delivery and position-switchable trapping of nanoparticles via field-effect control on hybrid electrokinetics (HEK). Flow field-effect transistor exploiting HEK delicately combines horizontal linear electroosmosis and transversal nonlinear electroosmosis of a shiftable flow stagnation line (FSL) on gate terminals under DC-biased AC forcing. The microfluidic nanoparticle concentrator proposed herein makes use of a simple device geometry, in which an individual or a series of planar metal strips serving as gate electrode (GE) are subjected to a hybrid gate voltage signal and arranged in parallel between a pair of 3D driving electrodes. On the application of a DC-biased AC electric field across channel length direction, all the GE are electrochemically polarized, and the action of imposed hybrid electric field on the multiple-frequency bipolar counterions within the composite-induced double layer generates two counter-rotating induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) micro-vortices on top of each GE. Symmetry breaking in ICEO flow profile occurs once the gate voltage deviates from natural floating potential of corresponding GE. The gate voltage offset not only results in an additional pump motion of working fluid for enhanced electroosmotic transport but also directly changes the location of FSL where nanoparticles are preferentially collected by field-effect HEK. Our results of field-effect control on HEK are supposed to guide an elaborate design of flexible electrokinetic frameworks embedding coplanar metal strips for a high degree of freedom analyte manipulation in modern micro-total-analytical systems.

Travelling-Wave Electrophoresis, Electro-Hydrodynamics, Electro-Rotation, and Symmetry- Breaking of a Polarizable Dimer in Non-Uniform Fields.

A theoretical framework is presented for calculating the polarization, electro-rotation, travelling-wave dielectrophoresis, electro-hydrodynamics and induced-charge electroosmotic flow fields around a freely suspended conducting dimer (two touching spheres) exposed to non-uniform direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) electric fields. The analysis is based on employing the classical (linearized) Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) formulation under the standard linearized ‘weak-field’ assumption and using the tangent-sphere coordinate system. Explicit expressions are first derived for the axisymmetric AC electric potential governed by the Robin (mixed) boundary condition applied on the dimer surface depending on the resistance–capacitance circuit (RC) forcing frequency. Dimer electro-rotation due to two orthogonal (out-of-phase) uniform AC fields and the corresponding mobility problem of a polarizable dimer exposed to a travelling-wave electric excitation are also analyzed. We present an explicit solution for the non-linear induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) flow problem of a free polarized dimer in terms of the corresponding Stokes stream function determined by the Helmholtz–Smoluchowski velocity slip. Next, we demonstrate how the same framework can be used to obtain an exact solution for the electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) problem of a polarizable sphere lying next to a conducting planar electrode. Finally, we present a new solution for the induced-charge mobility of a Janus dimer composed of two fused spherical colloids, one perfectly conducting and one dielectrically coated. So far, most of the available electrokinetic theoretical studies involving polarizable nano/micro shapes dealt with convex configurations (e.g., spheres, spheroids, ellipsoids) and as such the newly obtained electrostatic AC solution for a dimer provides a useful extension for similar concave colloids and engineered particles.

Characterization of Particle Movement and High-Resolution Separation of Microalgal Cells via Induced-Charge Electroosmotic Advective Spiral Flow.

Microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of biofuels and are capable of addressing pressing global demand for energy security. However, two challenging issues to produce high-level biofuels are to separate promising algal strains and protect biofuels from contamination of undesired bacteria, which rely on an economical and high-resolution separation technology. Separation technology based on induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) vortices offers excellent promise in economical microalga separation for producing biofuels because of its reconfigurable and flexible profiles and sensitive and precise selectivity. In this work, a practical ICEO vortex device is developed to facilitate high-resolution isolation of rich-lipid microalgae for the first time. We investigate electrokinetic equilibrium states of particles and particle-fluid ICEO effect in binary-particle manipulation. Nanoparticle separation is performed to demonstrate the feasibility and resolution of this device, yielding clear separation. Afterward, we leverage this technology in isolation of Chlorella vulgaris from heterogeneous microalgae with the purity exceeding 96.4%. Besides, this platform is successfully engineered for the extraction of single-cell Oocystis sp., obtaining the purity surpassing 95.2%. Moreover, with modulating parameters, we isolate desired-cell-number Oocystis sp. enabling us to investigate proliferation mode and carry out transcriptome analyses of Oocystis sp. for high-quality neutral lipids. This platform can be extended directly to economically separate other biological micro/nanosamples to address pressing issues, involving energy security, environmental monitoring, and disease diagnosis.

Breaking electrolyte symmetry in induced-charge electro-osmosis

Abstract

Buoyancy-Free Janus Microcylinders as Mobile Microelectrode Arrays for Continuous Microfluidic Biomolecule Collection within a Wide Frequency Range: A Numerical Simulation Study.

We numerically study herein the AC electrokinetic motion of Janus mobile microelectrode (ME) arrays in electrolyte solution in a wide field frequency, which holds great potential for biomedical applications. A fully coupled physical model, which incorporates the fluid-structure interaction under the synergy of induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) slipping and interfacial Maxwell stress, is developed for this purpose. A freely suspended Janus cylinder free from buoyancy, whose main body is made of polystyrene, while half of the particle surface is coated with a thin conducting film of negligible thickness, will react actively on application of an AC signal. In the low-frequency limit, induced-charge electrophoretic (ICEP) translation occurs due to symmetric breaking in ICEO slipping, which renders the insulating end to move ahead. At higher field frequencies, a brand-new electrokinetic transport phenomenon called “ego-dielectrophoresis (e-DEP)” arises due to the action of the localized uneven field on the inhomogeneous particle dipole moment. In stark contrast with the low-frequency ICEP translation, the high-frequency e-DEP force tends to drive the asymmetric dipole moment to move in the direction of the conducting end. The bidirectional transport feature of Janus microspheres in a wide AC frequency range can be vividly interpreted as an array of ME for continuous loading of secondary bioparticles from the surrounding liquid medium along its direction-controllable path by long-range electroconvection. These results pave the way for achieving flexible and high-throughput on-chip extraction of nanoscale biological contents for subsequent on-site bioassay based upon AC electrokinetics of Janus ME arrays.

Electrokinetics of metal cylinders.

We study theoretically the rotation induced on an uncharged metal nanocylinder immersed in an electrolyte by AC electric fields. We consider the rotation of the cylinder when subjected to a rotating electric field (electrorotation) and the orientation of the cylinder in an AC field with constant direction (electro-orientation). The cylinder rotation is due to two mechanisms: the electric field interaction with the induced dipole on the particle and the hydrodynamic stress on the particle originated by the induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow around the particle. The cylinder rotation induced by the ICEO mechanism can be calculated by using the Lorentz reciprocal theorem, while the rotation due to the induced dipole is calculated from the cylinder polarizability. We employ 3D numerical computations using finite elements for the general case as well as analytical methods for slender cylinders. Both calculations use the thin-double-layer approximation. We compare the results for slender cylinders of both methods showing good agreement. The electro-orientation (EOr) due to dipole torque aligns the axis of slender cylinders with the applied field, but aligns the axis of short cylinders perpendicularly to the field. The EOr due to ICEO torque always aligns the axis of cylinders with the field. The rotation induced by ICEO torque tends to disappear for frequencies of the applied field much greater than the characteristic frequency for charging the double-layer capacitance of the metal-electrolyte interface.

Asymmetrical Induced Charge Electroosmotic Flow on a Herringbone Floating Electrode and Its Application in a Micromixer.

Enhancing mixing is of significant importance in microfluidic devices characterized by laminar flows and low Reynolds numbers. An asymmetrical induced charge electroosmotic (ICEO) vortex pair generated on the herringbone floating electrode can disturb the interface of two-phase fluids and deliver the fluid transversely, which could be exploited to accomplish fluid mixing between two neighbouring fluids in a microscale system. Herein we present a micromixer based on an asymmetrical ICEO flow induced above the herringbone floating electrode array surface. We investigate the average transverse ICEO slip velocity on the Ridge/Vee/herringbone floating electrode and find that the microvortex generated on the herringbone electrode surface has good potential for mixing the miscible liquids in microfluidic systems. In addition, we explore the effect of applied frequencies and bulk conductivity on the slip velocity above the herringbone floating electrode surface. The high dependence of mixing performance on the floating electrode pair numbers is analysed simultaneously. Finally, we investigate systematically voltage intensity, applied frequencies, inlet fluid velocity and liquid conductivity on the mixing performance of the proposed device. The microfluidic micromixer put forward herein offers great opportunity for fluid mixing in the field of micro total analysis systems.

Design and Numerical Study of Micropump Based on Induced Electroosmotic Flow

Induced charge electroosmotic flow is a new electric driving mode. Based on the Navier–Stokes equations and the Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) ion transport equations, the finite volume method is adopted to calculate the equations and boundary conditions of the induced charge electroosmotic flow. In this paper, the formula of the induced zeta potential of the polarized solid surface is proposed, and a UDF program suitable for the simulation of the induced charge electroosmotic is prepared according to this theory. At the same time, on the basis of this theory, a cross micropump driven by induced charge electroosmotic flow is designed, and the voltage, electric potential, charge density, and streamline of the induced electroosmotic micropump are obtained. Studies have shown that when the cross-shaped micropump is energized, in the center of the induction electrode near the formation of a dense electric double layer, there exist four symmetrical vortices at the four corners, and they push the solution towards both outlets; it can be found that the average velocity of the solution in the cross-flow microfluidic pump is nonlinear with the applied electric field, which maybe helpful for the practical application of induced electroosmotic flow in the field of micropump.

Trapping and chaining self-assembly of colloidal polystyrene particles over a floating electrode by using combined induced-charge electroosmosis and attractive dipole-dipole interactions.

We propose a novel low-frequency strategy to trap 10 μm colloidal polystyrene (PS) particles of small buoyancy velocity on the surface of a floating electrode, on the basis of combined induced-charge electroosmotic (ICEO) flow and dipole-dipole chaining phenomenon. For field frequencies of 5-50 Hz, much lower than the reciprocal RC time scale, double-layer polarization makes electric field lines pass around the 'insulating' surface of the ideally polarizable floating electrode. Once the long-range ICEO convective micro-vortexes transport particles quickly from the bulk fluid to the electrode surface, neighbouring particles aligned along the local horizontal electric field attract one another by attractive dipolar interactions, and form arrays of particle chains that are almost parallel with the applied electric field. Most importantly, this low-frequency trapping method takes advantage of the dielectrophoretic (DEP) particle-particle interaction to enhance the downward buoyancy force of this dipolar chaining assembly structure, in order to overcome the upward ICEO fluidic drag and realize stable particle trapping around the flow stagnation region. For the sake of comparison, the field frequency is further raised far above the DC limit. At the intermediate frequencies of 200 Hz-2 kHz, this trapping method fails to work, since the normal electric field component emanates from the conducting electrode surface. Besides, at high field frequencies (>3 kHz), particles can be once again effectively trapped at the electrode center, though with a compact (3 kHz) or disordered (10 kHz) 2D packing state on the electrode surface and mainly governed by the short-range negative DEP force field, resulting in requiring a much longer trapping time. To gain a better interpretation of the various particle behaviours observed in experiments, we develop a theoretical framework that takes into account both Maxwell-Wagner interfacial charge relaxation at the particle/electrolyte interface and the field-induced double-layer polarization at the electrode/electrolyte interface, and apply it to quantify the particle-particle electrokinetic interactions. With this simple geometrical configuration of a floating electrode, our results provide a new way to realize trapping of colloidal particles with a small buoyancy velocity under the combined action of ICEO flow and an attractive dipole-dipole interaction.

Induced-charge electro-osmosis of polymer-containing fluid around a metallic rod

Induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow of polymer-containing electrolyte solution around a cylindrical gold-coated stainless steel rod under AC electric field is measured by micro-particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) for the first time. The ICEO flows as functions of the amount of non-ionic PEG (polyethylene glycol), cationic PDADMA (polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride), and anionic PVSASS (polyvinylsulfonic acid sodium salt) polymers added into the salt solution, frequency, and strength of the AC electric field are measured. The ICEO flow of polymer-containing fluid around the rod is quadrupolar with four vortices and is proportional to the square of imposed electric field. The ICEO flow velocity exponentially decreases with an increased concentration of neutral PEG. Ionic polyelectrolytes significantly increase ICEO velocities due to the enriched net charge within the induced electric double layer arising from the electrostatic interaction between the polarized rod’s surface and the charged polyelectrolytes in ionic polymer solution. In addition, polymer concentration affects the dependence of the ICEO flow on the frequency of AC electric field.

Design of T-Shaped Micropump Based on Induced Charge Electroosmotic

The fluid-driven efficiency of the micropump based on induced charge electroosmotic was studied by numerical simulation method. In this paper, we propose to make some improvement against the T-shaped piping design of micropump, and we embed a janus cylinder in the junction of the T-shaped pipe for the micropump design. We offer different voltage to the inlet of the pipe and carry out the numerical study of the fluid field induced by the cylinder, and the comparison of the velocity and flux of the outlet in different voltage as carried out. It is found that there are two symmetrical circulations around the polarizable side of the cylinder. And the comparison results show that the flow and the velocity of the outlet were increased with the increasing voltage of the entrance.

Micro-PIV measurements of induced-charge electro-osmosis around a metal rod

A cylindrical gold-coated stainless steel rod was positioned at the center of a straight microchannel connecting two fluid reservoirs on either end. The microchannel was filled with 1 mM KCl containing 0.5 μm diameter carboxylate-modified spherical particles. Induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow occurred around the metallic rod under a sinusoidal AC electric field applied using two platinum electrodes. The ICEO flows around the metallic rod were measured using micro particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) technique as functions of the AC electric field strength and frequency. The present study provides experimental data about ICEO flow in the weakly nonlinear limit of thin double layers, in which, the charging dynamics of the double layer cannot be presented analytically. The measured ICEO flow pattern qualitatively agrees with the theoretical results obtained by Squires and Bazant (J Fluid Mech 509:217–252, 2004). Flow around the rod is quadrupolar, driving liquid towards the rod along the electric field and forcing it away from the rod in the direction perpendicular to the imposed electric field. The measured ICEO flow velocity is proportional to the square of the electric field strength, and depends on the applied AC frequency.

Dipolophoresis of dielectric spheroids under asymmetric fields

Non-spherical particles are common in colloidal science. Spheroidal shapes are particularly convenient for the analysis of the pertinent electrostatic and hydrodynamic problems and are thus widely used to model the manipulation of biological cells as well as deformed drops and bubbles. We study the rotary motion of a dielectric spheroidal micro-particle which is freely suspended in an unbounded electrolyte solution in the presence of a uniform applied electric field, assuming a thin Debye layer. For the common case of a uniform distribution of the native surface-charge density, the rotary motion of the particle is generated by the contributions of the induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) slip and the dielectrophoresis associated with the distribution of the Maxwell stress, respectively. Series solutions are obtained by using spheroidal (prolate or oblate) coordinates. Explicit results are presented for the angular velocity of particles spanning the entire spectrum from rod-like to disk-like shapes. These results demonstrate the non-monotonic variation of the angular speed with the eccentricity of particle shape and the singularity of the multiple limits corresponding to conducting (ideally polarizable) particles of extreme eccentricity (e ≈ 1). The non-monotonic variation of the angular speed with the particle dielectric permittivity is related to the induced-charge contribution. We apply these results to describe the motion of particles subject to a uniform field rotating in the plane. For a sufficiently slow rotation rate, prolate particles eventually become “locked” to the external field with their stationary relative orientation in the plane of rotation being determined by the particle eccentricity and dielectric constant. This effect may be of potential use in the manipulation of poly-disperse suspensions of dielectric non-spherical particles. Oblate spheroids invariably approach a uniform orientation with their symmetry axes directed normal to the external-field plane of rotation.

On-demand particle enrichment in a microfluidic channel by a locally controlled floating electrode

A flexible strategy for the on-demand control of the particle enrichment and positioning in a microfluidic channel is proposed and demonstrated by the use of a locally controlled floating metal electrode attached to the channel bottom wall. The channel is subjected to an axially acting global DC electric field, but the degree of charge polarization of the floating electrode is governed largely by a local control of the voltage applied to two micron-sized control electrodes (CEs) on either side of the floating electrode (FE). This strategy allows an independent tuning of the electrokinetic phenomena engendered by the floating electrode regardless of the global electric field across the channel, thus making the method for particle manipulation far more versatile and flexible. In contrast to a dielectric microchannel wall possessing a nearly uniform surface charge (or zeta potential), the patterned metal strip (floating electrode) is polarized under electric field resulting in a non-uniform distribution of the induced surface charge with a zero net surface charge, and accordingly induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow. The ICEO flow can be regulated by the control electric field through tuning the magnitude and polarity of the voltage applied to the CEs, which in turn affects both the hydrodynamic field as well as the particle motion. By controlling the control electric field, on-demand control of the particle enrichment and its position inside a microfluidic channel has been experimentally demonstrated.

Analysis of Electrokinetic Mixing Techniques Using Comparative Mixing Index

The performance of micro-mixers is evaluated in terms of deviations from perfectly mixed state and mixing length (i.e., device length required to achieve perfect mixing). Different variations of T-mixer are reported for improved mixing performance, including geometric constrictions/obstacles embedded in the channel wall, heterogeneously charged walls, grooves on channel base, etc. Most of the reported designs provide improved mixing at the expense of reduced flow rate; there exists therefore a tradeoff between mixing and transport. The reduced flow rate, which affects species residence time, is unfortunately not taken into account in most micro-mixing performance analyses. This issue is addressed by the comparative mixing index (CMI), which evaluates mixing performance more appropriately by normalizing the effect of residence time among different designs. In this study, the performance of several mixing strategies are evaluated based on the CMI; these are mixer designs that incorporate (a) physical constrictions, (b) induced charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) effects, and (c) heterogeneously charged walls. The present analysis clearly identifies conditions under which a given mixer design is superior to a T-mixer.

Topology and shape optimization of induced-charge electro-osmotic micropumps

For a dielectric solid surrounded by an electrolyte and positioned inside an externally biased parallel-plate capacitor, we study numerically how the resulting induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow depends on the topology and shape of the dielectric solid. In particular, we extend existing conventional electrokinetic models with an artificial design field to describe the transition from the liquid electrolyte to the solid dielectric. Using this design field, we have succeeded in applying the method of topology optimization to find system geometries with non-trivial topologies that maximize the net induced electro-osmotic flow rate through the electrolytic capacitor in the direction parallel to the capacitor plates. Once found, the performance of the topology-optimized geometries has been validated by transferring them to conventional electrokinetic models not relying on the artificial design field. Our results show the importance of the topology and shape of the dielectric solid in ICEO systems and point to new designs of ICEO micropumps with significantly improved performance.

Asymmetric flows over symmetric surfaces: capacitive coupling in induced-charge electro-osmosis

We report curious asymmetric induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flows over a symmetric, planar gate electrode under applied ac electric fields, whereas symmetric, counter-rotating rolls are expected. Furthermore, the asymmetric component of the flow is consistently directed towards the grounded electrode. We propose that capacitive coupling of the gate electrode to the microscope stage—a comparatively large equipotential surface that acts effectively as a ground—is responsible for this symmetry breaking. This stray capacitance drives the formation of a double layer whose zeta potential is proportional to the potential drop from the electrolyte directly above the gate electrode to the external stage. Therefore, the charge in this ‘stray’ double layer varies in phase with the driving field, resulting in a rectified, steady flow as with standard ICEO. We experimentally vary the stray capacitance, the electric potential of the stage and the location of the gate electrode, and find that the effect on the stray flow is qualitatively consistent with the predictions of the proposed mechanism. In the process, we demonstrate that capacitive coupling offers an additional means of manipulating fluid flow over a polarizable surface.