Project
Micro fluid mechanics in dielectrophoresis
Project Description Presently there is a strong trend towards miniaturizing chemical analysis and synthesis, i.e. the lab-on-a-chip concept. From the viewpoint of fluid mechanics, there is a rapidly growing research area that could be termed "micro fluid dynamics", dealing with flows in devices of micron sizes or less. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is the effect that a polarizable particle in a non-uniform electric field will be attracted to regions of high electric field gradients. An intriguing possibility is that living cells may be distinguishable from dead cells using DEP, even though they would be impossible to separate by other means. DEP is particularly attractive in small dimensions, since a very strong inhomogeneity is possible, also with modest electric field strengths and ohmic losses. A typical arrangement is that a liquid sample is pumped through a channel where a non-uniform electric field is present. The crucial issue is then how the cells or particles will travel past the electrode in the presence of hydrodynamic drag, DEP forces, other electrokinetic effects, etc. These particles need not be small compared with the geometric dimensions of the electrode, etc. Also, as particles are separated, they may concentrate in some regions and interactions between particles must be accounted for. In this project we will focus on the modelling and analysis of the fluid dynamics of dielectrophoretic separation, in collaboration with analytical chemistry, KTH.
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