Efficient gas–liquid contact using microfluidic membrane devices with staggered herringbone mixers

Abstract

We describe a novel membrane based gas–liquid-contacting device with increased mass transport and reduced pressure loss by combining a membrane with a staggered herringbone static mixer. Herringbone structures are imposed on the microfluidic channel geometry via soft lithography, acting as mixers which introduce secondary flows at the membrane interface. Such flows include Dean vortices and Taylor flows generating effective mixing while improving mass transport and preventing concentration polarization in microfluidic channels. Furthermore, our static herringbone mixer membranes effectively reduce pressure losses leading to devices with enhanced transfer properties for microfluidic gas–liquid contact. We investigate the red blood cell distribution to tailor our devices towards miniaturised extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and improved comfort of patients with lung insufficiencies.