Dynamics simulation of positioning and assembling multi-microparticles utilizing optoelectronic tweezers

Optoelectronic tweezer (OET) has become a powerful and versatile technique for manipulating microparticles and cells using real-time reconfigurable optical patterns. However, detailed research in the dynamics of particles in an OET device is still scarce, and the multiple-particle interactions still need further quantitative investigation. In this study, a dynamics simulation model coupling optically induced dielectrophoretic force, interaction forces between particles, and hydrodynamic and sedimentary forces is established and numerically solved by utilizing a finite element method and a dynamics simulation frame for multi-microparticles’ positioning and assembling in a typical OET device. The spatial distributions of particles in the energized OET device before optically projecting are simulated first and the condition for particle chain formation is discussed. Then, the most representative ring-shaped optical pattern is applied, and the influences of optical-ring tweezer’ dimensions of inner radius R _e and width d _e on positioning and assembling effect are dynamically simulated and discussed for 5- and 2-μm radius particles. The simulation results indicate the particles inside and outside optical ring both undergo negative DEP and are distributed centre-symmetrically under the action of ring virtual tweezers. Average distance between the particle and center of ring (ADPC) at equilibrium and the system equilibrium time characterizing particle positioning effect dramatically increase for both 5- and 2-μm radius particles while R _e increases from 35 to 55?μm. Specially, the captured particles will pile up and immediately form a three-dimensional micropyramid structure when R _e approximately equals 25?μm for the 5-μm radius particle. Moreover, ADPC decreases very slowly for both two particle-sizes and the system equilibrium time of 2-μm radius particle vary more obviously than that of 5-μm radius particle with d _e increasing from 10 to 30?μm. And the system equilibrium time for 2-μm radius particle is always larger than that for 5-μm radius particle. The primary simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observations; hence this dynamics simulation model can truly predict the particle-moving trajectory and equilibrium positions in an OET device. Moreover, this dynamics simulation holds promise for designing and optimizing optical patterns for accuracy in assembling particles in order to form a specific microstructure.     

Stepwise gray-scale light-induced electric field gradient for passive and continuous separation of microparticles

This article presents a gray-scale light-induced dielectrophoresis (GS-LIDEP) method that induces the lateral displacements normal to the through-flow for continuous and passive separation of microparticles. In general, DEP force only can affect the particles within very local areas due to the electric field is exponentially decayed by the distance away from the electrodes. Unlike with conventional LIDEP, a broad-ranged electrical field gradient can easily be created by GS pattern illumination, which induces DEP forces with two directions for continuous separation of particles to their specific sub-channels. Candia albicans were effectively guided to the specific outlet with the efficiency of 90% to increase the concentration of the sample below the flow rate of 0.6?μl/min. 2 and 10?μm polystyrene particles can also be passively and well separated using the multi-step GS pattern through positive and negative DEP forces, respectively, under an applied voltage of 36?V_p–p at the frequency of 10?kHz. GS-LIDEP generated a wide-ranged DEP force that is capable of working on the entire area of the microchannel, and thus the mix of particles can be passively and continuously separated toward the opposite directions by the both positive and negative GS-LIDEP forces. This simple, low cost, and flexible separation/manipulation platform could be very promising for many applications, such as in-field detections/pretreatments.     

Bioparticle separation and manipulation using dielectrophoresis

Manipulation and separation of micro-sized particles, particularly biological particles, using the dielectrophoretic (DEP) force is an emerging technique in MEMS technology. This paper presents a DEP-based microsystem for the selective manipulation and separation of bioparticles using dielectrophoretic effects. The microfabricated DEP device consists of a sandwich structure, in which a microchannel with electrode array lining on its bottom is sandwiched between the substrate and the glass lid. Dielectrophoretic behavior of polystyrene particles with diameter of 4.3 μm was studied. Both positive DEP and negative DEP were observed. Particles under positive DEP were attracted to the edges of the electrodes, while those under negative DEP were repelled away from the electrodes and levitated at certain height above the electrodes (within a proper range of frequencies of the electric field). Levitation height of the particles was measured. It was demonstrated that the levitation height of a specific particle strongly depends on the combined contributions of a number of parameters, such as the frequency of the electric field, dielectric properties of the particles and the surrounding medium. Different particles can be separated and manipulated on the basis of their difference in these parameters.     

Particle focusing in a contactless dielectrophoretic microfluidic chip with insulating structures

The focusing of biological and synthetic particles in microfluidic devices is a crucial step for the construction of many microstructured materials as well as for medical applications. The present study examines the feasibility of using contactless dielectrophoresis (cDEP) in an insulator-based dielectrophoretic (iDEP) microdevice to effectively focus particles. Particles 10?μm in diameter were introduced into the microchannel and pre-confined hydrodynamically by funnel-shaped insulating structures near the inlet. The particles were repelled toward the center of the microchannel by the negative DEP forces generated by the insulating structures. The microchip was fabricated based on the concept of cDEP. The electric field in the main microchannel was generated using electrodes inserted into two conductive micro-reservoirs, which were separated from the main microchannel by 20-μm-thick insulating barriers made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The impedance spectrum of the thin insulating PDMS barrier was measured to investigate its capacitive behavior. Experiments employing polystyrene particles were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed microdevice. Results show that the particle focusing performance increased with increasing frequency of the applied AC voltage due to the reduced impedance of PDMS barriers at high frequencies. When the frequency was above 800?kHz, most particles were focused into a single file. The smallest width of focused particles distributed at the outlet was about 13.1?μm at a frequency of 1?MHz. Experimental results also show that the particle focusing performance improved with increasing applied electric field strength and decreasing inlet flow rate. The usage of the cDEP technique makes the proposed microchip mechanically robust and chemically inert.     

Continuous size-based focusing and bifurcating microparticle streams using a negative dielectrophoretic system

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electrokinetic phenomenon which is used for manipulating micro- and nanoparticles in micron-sized devices with high sensitivity. In recent years, electrode-based DEP by patterning narrow oblique electrodes in microchannels has been used for particle manipulation. In this theoretic study, a microchannel with triangular electrodes is presented and a detailed comparison with oblique electrodes is made. For each shape, the behavior of particles is compared for three different configurations of applied voltages. Electric field, resultant DEP force, and particle trajectories for configurations are computed by means of Rayan native code. The separation efficiency of the two systems is assessed and compared afterward. The results demonstrate higher lateral DEP force, responsible for particle separation, distributed wider across the channel width for triangular shape electrodes in comparison with the oblique ones. The proposed electrode shape also shows the ability of particle separation by attracting negative DEP particles to or propelling them from the flow centerline, according to the configuration of applied voltages. A major deficiency of the oblique electrodes, which is the streamwise variation of the lateral DEP force direction near the electrodes, is also eliminated in the proposed electrode shape. In addition, with a proper voltages configuration, the triangular electrodes require lower voltages for particle focusing in comparison with the oblique ones.     

Effect of the seating condition on the transmission of vibration through the seat pan and backrest

Changes in the seating condition may change the body posture which could affect the transmission of vibration through a vehicle seat. This study investigates the effect of different seating conditions on the transmission of vibration through a car seat. Ten male subjects sat on the passenger seat of a sedan car driven at 60 km/h adopting one of six conditions at a time. The VDV was measured on the seat and backrest. Backrest contact affected the VDV measured on the seat pan in the z- and y-axis only. Increasing the backrest angle increased the VDV at the backrest in the x-direction and reduced the VDV at the backrest in the z-direction. With the increase in the backrest angle, the total VDV at the backrest became higher than the total VDV on the seat pan. The study showed no effect of foot position and contact with a headrest on the VDVs.Relevance to industryThis research presents the effect of the seating condition on the transmission of vibration through the seat pan and backrest of a car seat. Research of this kind may help seat manufacturers recommend seating conditions that reduce discomfort caused by whole-body vibration.     

Simultaneous determination of N-acetylcysteine and acetaminophen by voltammetric method using N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl)-3,5-dinitrobenzamide modified multiwall carbon nanotubes paste electrode

A new dopamine-derivative, i.e. N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl)-3,5-dinitrobenzamide (N-DHPB), was synthesized and its application was investigated for the simultaneous determination of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and acetaminophen (AC) using modified multiwall carbon nanotubes paste electrode. This modified electrode exhibited a potent and persistent electron mediating behavior followed by well separated oxidation peaks of NAC and AC. The peaks current of differential pulse voltammograms of NAC and AC increased linearly with their concentration in the ranges of 0.5-200 μmol L⁻¹ NAC and 15.0-270 μmol L⁻¹ AC. The detection limits for NAC and AC were 0.2 μmol L⁻¹ and 10.0 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. The relative standard deviation for seven successive assays of 1.0 and 30.0 μmol L⁻¹ NAC and AC were 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively. The proposed sensor was successfully applied for the determination of NAC in human urine, tablet, and serum samples.     

Studies of particle holding,separating, and focusing using convergent electrodes in microsorters

This paper presents numerical simulation results on the efficacy of dielectrophoretic (DEP) convergent electrodes in a particle sorter. DEP forces created by non-uniform electric fields are used as holding forces to trap and select the particles from a mixture of many samples, as well as confining forces to focus the particles into a single particle stream in the microsorter for further analysis. The key mechanism of the sorter that can hold particles against destabilizing fluid flows is investigated in this study. A barrier is found at X/L=0.84 and Y=0 in the present DEP sorter. By comparing the DEP and hydrodynamic forces at the barrier, one can determine the release velocity when the zero-net-force condition ceases to exist and the particles start to be released.     

Improved concentration and separation of particles in a 3D dielectrophoretic chip integrating focusing, aligning and trapping

This article presents a dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based microfluidic device with the three-dimensional (3D) microelectrode configuration for concentrating and separating particles in a continuous throughflow. The 3D electrode structure, where microelectrode array are patterned on both the top and bottom surfaces of the microchannel, is composed of three units: focusing, aligning and trapping. As particles flowing through the microfluidic channel, they are firstly focused and aligned by the funnel-shaped and parallel electrode array, respectively, before being captured at the trapping unit due to negative DEP force. For a mixture of two particle populations of different sizes or dielectric properties, with a careful selection of suspending medium and applied field, the population exhibits stronger negative DEP manipulated by the microelectrode array and, therefore, separated from the other population which is easily carried away toward the outlet due to hydrodynamic force. The functionality of the proposed microdevice was verified by concentrating different-sized polystyrene (PS) microparticles and yeast cells dynamically flowing in the microchannel. Moreover, separation based on size and dielectric properties was achieved by sorting PS microparticles, and isolating 5 μm PS particles from yeast cells, respectively. The performance of the proposed micro-concentrator and separator was also studied, including the threshold voltage at which particles begin to be trapped, variation of cell-trapping efficiency with respect to the applied voltage and flow rate, and the efficiency of separation experiments. The proposed microdevice has various advantages, including multi-functionality, improved manipulation efficiency and throughput, easy fabrication and operation, etc., which shows a great potential for biological, chemical and medical applications.     

On-chip separation of Lactobacillus bacteria from yeasts using dielectrophoresis

Dielectrophoresis, the induced motion of dielectric particles in non-uniform electric fields, enables the separation of suspended bio-particles based on their dimensions or dielectric properties. This work presents a microfluidic system, which utilises a combination of dielectrophoretic (DEP) and hydrodynamic drag forces to separate Lactobacillus bacteria from a background of yeasts. The performance of the system is demonstrated at two operating frequencies of 10?MHz and 100?kHz. At 10?MHz, we are able to trap the yeasts and bacteria at different locations of the microelectrodes as they experience different magnitudes of DEP force. Alternatively, at 100?kHz we are able to trap the bacteria along the microelectrodes, while repelling the yeasts from the microelectrodes and washing them away by the drag force. These separation mechanisms might be applicable to automated lab-on-a-chip systems for the rapid and label-free separation of target bio-particles.     

Dielectrophoresis in aqueous suspension: impact of electrode configuration

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) allows to moving neutral or charged particles in liquids by supplying a non-uniform electric field. When using alternating current and insulated electrodes, this is possible in conducting media such as aqueous solutions. However, relatively high field strength is required that is discussed to induce also an undesired Joule heating effect. In this paper, we demonstrate boundary conditions for avoiding this side effect and suggest a novel design of an interdigitated electrode (IDE) configuration to reduce the power consumption. Numerical simulation using OpenFOAM demonstrated that, when replacing conventional plate IDE by cylindrical micro-IDE in microchannel systems, the dielectrophoretic force field, i.e., the electric field gradient squared, becomes stronger and more homogeneously distributed along the electrodes array. Also the resulting particle DEP velocities were highest for the cylindrical IDE. The simulations were experimentally confirmed by measuring velocity of resin particle located at the subsurface of demineralized water. Surprisingly the fluid flow induced by electrothermal effect turned out to be negligible in microchannels when compared to the DEP effect and becomes dominant only for distances between particle and IDE larger than 6,000 μm. The well-agreed experimental and simulation results allow for predicting particle motion. This can be expected to pave the way for designing DEP microchannel separators with high throughput and low energy consumption.     

Rapid quantification of bio-particles based on image visualisation in a dielectrophoretic microfluidic chip

We studied an imaging-based technique for the rapid quantification of bio-particles in a dielectrophoretic (DEP) microfluidic chip. Label-free particles could be successively sorted and trapped in a continuous flow manner under the applied alternating current (AC) conditions. Both 2 and 3 μm polystyrene beads at a concentration of 1.0 × 10⁷ particles ml⁻¹ could be rapidly quantified within 5 min in our DEP system. Capturing efficiencies higher than 95% could be 2 μm polystyrene beads with a linear flow speed, applied voltage and frequency of 0.89 mm s⁻¹, 20 V_p-p and 5 MHz. Yeast cells (Candida glabrata and Candida albicans) could also be captured even at a lower concentration of 2.5 × 10⁵ cells ml⁻¹. Images of aggregative particles taken from the designed trapping area were further processed based on the intensity of relative greyscale followed by correction of the particle numbers. The imaging-based quantification method showed higher agreement than that of the conventional counting chamber method and proved the stability and feasibility of our AC DEP system.     

Reachability and controllability of a particle in a dielectrophoretic system

A dielectrophoretic (DEP) force is a result of the interaction between a nonuniform electric field and a polarizable particle. As the electric field is dominant at the micro/nano scale, this force can be effectively used to manipulate and control particles on this scale. We consider the motion of a particle on an invariant line with the suspending medium being a fluid with a low Reynolds number. This DEP system has two states and two parameters: the two states are indicative of the particle’s position and the induced dipole moment and the two parameters are α and c which depend upon the electric properties of the particle and the medium. The system is described by a set of ordinary differential equations with a quadratic term in the control variable (control being the applied voltage on the electrodes which induces the electric field) making the system non-affine in control. In the existing literature, the controllability studies of the DEP system have been restricted to reachability issues in the context of the time-optimal control problem. Here we present a comprehensive study of reachability, accessibility and controllability.     

Electrokinetically driven concentration of particles and cells by dielectrophoresis with DC-offset AC electric field

Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) has been successfully used for on-chip manipulations of biological samples. Despite its effectiveness, iDEP typically requires high DC voltages to achieve sufficient electric field; this is mainly due to the coupled phenomena among linear electrokinetics: electroosmosis (EO) and electrophoresis (EP) and nonlinear electrokinetics: dielectrophoresis (DEP). This paper presents a microfluidic technique using DC-offset AC electric field for electrokinetic concentration of particles and cells by repulsive iDEP. This technique introduces AC electric field for producing iDEP which is decoupled from electroosmosis (EO) and electrophoresis (EP). The repulsive iDEP is generated in a PDMS tapered contraction channel that induces non-uniform electric field. The benefits of introducing AC electric field component are threefold: (i) it contributes to DEP force acting on particles, (ii) it suppresses EO flow and (iii) it does not cause any EP motion. As a result, the required DC field component that is mainly used to transport particles on the basis of EO and EP can be significantly reduced. Experimental results supported by numerical simulations showed that the total DC-offset AC electric field strength required to concentrate 15-μm particles is significantly reduced up to 85.9% as compared to using sole DC electric field. Parametric experimental studies showed that the higher buffer concentration, larger particle size and higher ratio of AC-to-DC electric field are favorable for particle concentration. In addition, the proposed technique was demonstrated for concentration of yeast cells.     

Particle Discharge Rate Analysis and Control Laws of the Exit Gate for Pyramidal Hoppers

In this paper, we investigated a pyramidal hopper with extended discharge at the exit to make a bag of particles to a designated weight. Any feedback control strategy cannot be applied because the exit gate does not have any encoders to check its size, the gate size cannot be adjusted precisely during the closing motion, and the speed of the closing gate is relatively slow compared to the discharge rate of the particles. By only processing the weighing scale measurement in real time, we need to find the best point of time to start the exit gate closure of the pyramidal hopper to fill precise amount of particles into the bag. We developed and compared two control methods to determine appropriate point to initiate gate closure. First, we developed a control method by applying an empirical model describing the correlation between the gate size and the particle discharge rate, which is established by thorough experiments. Second, we developed a control method using curve fitting to predict the discharge rate of particles during gate closing motion without experiment. Both control methods were demonstrated using real time experiments, and the first one with an empirical model showed better result for final weight. This method can be directly applied to weight control of bag filling hopper without modifying the hardware system.

     

Successive derivatives of Whittaker functions with respect to the first parameter

Algorithms are given for the computation of the nth derivatives of the Whittaker functions M_κ,μ(z) and W_κ,μ(z) with respect to the parameter κ. The algorithms are based on a convergent expansion, due to Buchholz, of M_κ,μ(z) in series of Bessel functions. Properties of the Buchholz polynomials and algorithms for evaluating the n-derivative of the reciprocal Gamma function are discussed in two appendices.     

Quantitative characterization of the focusing process and dynamic behavior of differently sized microparticles in a spiral microchannel

In this paper, a spiral microchannel was fabricated to systematically investigate particle dynamics. The focusing process or migration behavior of different-sized particles in the outlet region was presented. Specifically, for focused microparticles, quantitative characterization and analysis of how particles migrate towards the equilibrium positions with the increase in flow rate (De = 0.31–3.36) were performed. For unfocused microparticles, the particle migration behavior and the particle-free region’s formation process were characterized over a wide range of flow rates (De = 0.31–4.58), and the emergence of double particle-free regions was observed at De ≥ 3.36. These results provide insights into the design and operation of high-throughput particle/cell filtration and separation. Furthermore, using the location markers pre-fabricated along with the microchannel structures, the focusing or migration dynamics of different-sized particles along the spiral microchannel was systematically explored. The particle migration length effects on focusing degree and particle-free region width were analyzed. These analyses may be valuable for the optimization of microchannel structures. In addition, this device was successfully used to efficiently filter rare particles from a large-volume sample and separate particles of two different sizes according to their focusing states.     

Analysis of response mechanism of a proton-pumping gate FET hydrogen gas sensor in air

Two different types of hydrogen response signals (DC and AC) of a proton-pumping gate FET with triple layer gate structure (Pd/proton conducting polymer/Pt) were obtained. The proton-pumping gate FET showed good selectivity against other gases (CH₄, C₂H₆, NH₃, and O₂). For practical use, the hydrogen response characteristics of the proton-pumping gate FET were investigated in air (a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen). The proton-pumping gate FET showed different hydrogen response characteristics in nitrogen as well as in air, despite the lack of oxygen interference independently. To clarify the response mechanism of the proton-pumping gate FET, a hydrogen response measurement was performed, using a gas flow system and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Consequently, the difference in response between nitrogen and air was found to be due to the hydrogen dissociation reaction and the interference with the proton transfer caused by the adsorbed oxygen on the upper Pd gate electrode.     

Design and simulation of a high-performance Z-axis SOI-MEMS accelerometer

This paper presents a new micromachined z-axis accelerometer as well as a new method to sense the out-of-plane displacement capacitively via comb finger arrays. The new design built the z-accelerometer using eight folded beam suspension to minimize the off axis sensitivities in both the x- and y- directions. The proposed method implements the sensing electrode as a comb finger arrays surrounding the sensor. This method enables the realization of the sensor by bulk micromachining process, increases the sense capacitance and reduces the off-axis sensitivity. This process allows building the micromachined accelerometer with large inertial mass. This work introduces the design and simulation for this accelerometer. The introduced method results in a high sense capacitance as well as high sensitivity. The simulated sense capacitance is 19.6627 pF. The sensor sensitivity is 2.037 μm/g with a very small total noise equivalent acceleration of 3.096 μg/ $ \sqrt {Hz} $ .     

Improved particle concentration by cascade AC electroosmotic flow

The importance of electrokinetics in microfluidic technology has been growing owing to its versatility and simplicity in fabrication, implementation, and handling. Alternating-current electroosmosis (ACEO), which is the motion of fluid due to the ion movement by an interaction between AC electric field and an electrical double layer on the electrode surface, has a potential for a particle concentration method to detecti rare samples flowing in a microchannel. This study investigates an improved ACEO-based particle concentration by cascade electrokinetic approach. Flow field induced by ACEO and accumulation behavior of particles were parametrically measured to discuss the concentrating mechanism. The accumulation of particles by ACEO can be explained by a balance between the attenuating electroosmotic flow to transport particles and the inherent diffusive motion of the particles, which is hindered due to the near-wall location. Although a parallel double-gap electrode geometry enables particles to be collected at the center of electrode very sharply, it has scattering zones with accumulated particles at sidewalls of the channel. This drawback can be overcome by applying sheath flow or introducing cascade electrode pattern upstream of the focusing zone. As a result, total concentration efficiency was 98.4 % for all the particles flowing in the cascade device. The resultant concentrated particles exist on the electrode surface within 5 μm, and three-dimensional concentration of particle with the concentration factor as large as 700 is possible using a monolithic channel, co-planar electrode, and sheathless solution feeding. This cascade electrokinetic method provides a new and effective preconcentrator for ultra-sensitive detection of rare samples.