Continuous hydrophoretic separation and sizing of microparticles using slanted obstacles in a microchannel

Abstract

We report a microfluidic separation and sizing method of microparticles with hydrophoresis—the movement of suspended particles under the influence of a microstructure-induced pressure field. By exploiting slanted obstacles in a microchannel, we can generate a lateral pressure gradient so that microparticles can be deflected and arranged along the lateral flows induced by the gradient. Using such movements of particles, we completely separated polystyrene microbeads with 9 and 12 µm diameters. Also, we discriminated polystyrene microbeads with diameter differences of ∼7.3%. Additionally, we measured the diameter of 10.4 µm beads with high coefficient of variation and compared the result with a conventional laser diffraction method. The slanted obstacle as a microfluidic control element in a microchannel is analogous to the electric, magnetic, optical, or acoustic counterparts in that their function is to generate a field gradient. Since our method is based on intrinsic pressure fields, we could eliminate the need for external potential fields to induce the movement of particles. Therefore, our hydrophoretic method will offer a new opportunity for power-free and biocompatible particle control within integrated microfluidic devices.