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In traditional computational fluid dynamics, the effect of surface energetics on fluid flow is often ignored or translated into an arbitrary selected slip boundary condition in solving the Navier-Stokes equation. Using a bottom-up approach, we show in this paper that variation of surface energetics through intermolecular theory can be employed in a lattice Boltzmann method to investigate both slip and non-slip phenomena in microfluidics in conjunction with the description of electrokinetic phenomena for electrokinetic slip flow. Rather than using the conventional Navier-Stokes equation with a slip boundary condition, the description of electrokinetic slip flow in microfluidics is manifested by the more physical solid-liquid energy parameters, electrical double layer and contact angle in the mean-field description of the lattice Boltzmann method.

We propose a thermal lattice Boltzmann model to study gaseous flow in microcavities. The model relies on the use of a finite difference scheme to solve the set of evolution equations. By adopting diffuse reflection boundary conditions to deal with flows in the slip regime, we study the micro-Couette flow in order to select the best numerical scheme in terms of accuracy. The scheme based on flux limiters is then used to simulate a micro-lid-driven cavity flow by using an efficient and parallel implementation. The numerical results are in very good agreement with the available results recovered with different methods.

Isothermal gas flow in microtubes with a sudden expansion or contraction is studied numerically by lattice Boltzmann method. An axisymmetric D2Q9 model is used to simulate gas slip flow in micro-circular pipes. With the boundary condition combined specular and bounce-back schemes, the computed results are in excellent agreement with analytical solution for straight microtube. For the gas flow in the expanded or constricted tubes, we carried out simulations of several Knudsen numbers with inlet/outlet pressure ratio 3. It is found the pressure drop in each section can be predicted well by the theory of straight tubes. For smaller Knudsen number, flow separation in the expanded tube is observed. While for large Knudsen number, there is no vortex at corner and the streamlines are attached to boundary. In the constricted tube, the vortex at corner is very weak. These results are consistent with some experimental conclusions.

In this paper, we compare two families of Lattice Boltzmann (LB) models derived by means of Gauss quadratures in the momentum space. The first one is the HLB(N;Q_x,Q_y,Q_z) family, derived by using the Cartesian coordinate system and the Gauss–Hermite quadrature. The second one is the SLB(N;K,L,M) family, derived by using the spherical coordinate system and the Gauss–Laguerre, as well as the Gauss–Legendre quadratures. These models order themselves according to the maximum order N of the moments of the equilibrium distribution function that are exactly recovered. Microfluidics effects (slip velocity, temperature jump, as well as the longitudinal heat flux that is not driven by a temperature gradient) are accurately captured during the simulation of Couette flow for Knudsen number (kn) up to 0.25.

This paper carries out numerical simulation for pressure driven microscale gas flows in transition flow regime. The relaxation time of LBM model was modified with the application of near wall effective mean free path combined with a combination of Bounce-back and Specular Reflection (BSR) boundary condition. The results in this paper are more close to those of DSCM and IP-DSCM compared with the results obtained by other LBM models. The calculation results show that in transition regime, with the increase of Knudsen number, the dimensionless slip velocity at the wall significantly increases, but the maximum linear deviation of nonlinear pressure distribution gradually decreases.

The key requirement to solve the origin of life puzzle are disequilibrium conditions. Early molecular evolution cannot be explained by initial high concentrations of energetic chemicals since they would just react towards their chemical equilibrium allowing no further development. We argue here that persistent disequilibria are needed to increase complexity during molecular evolution. We propose thermal gradients as the disequilibrium setting which drove Darwinian molecular evolution. On the one hand the thermal gradient gives rise to laminar thermal convection flow with highly regular temperature oscillations that allow melting and replication of DNA. On the other hand molecules move along the thermal gradient, a mechanism termed Soret effect or thermophoresis. Inside a long chamber a combination of the convection flow and thermophoresis leads to a very efficient accumulation of molecules. Short DNA is concentrated thousand-fold, whereas longer DNA is exponentially better accumulated. We demonstrated both scenarios in the same micrometer-sized setting. Forthcoming experiments will reveal how replication and accumulation of DNA in a system, driven only by a thermal gradient, could create a Darwinian process of replication and selection.

Bio-inspired microfluidic systems can be obtained through multidisciplinary approaches by using bio-inspired structural and functional designs for the microfluidic devices. This review mainly focuses on the concept of bio-inspired microfluidics to improve the properties of microfluidic systems for breaking through the bottlenecks of the current microfluidic devices, such as anti-fouling, smart, and dynamic response inside the microchannels under different environments. In addition, here, we show the current research progress of bio-inspired microfluidic systems in applications related to anti-fouling and smart devices, and biomedical research. The review discusses both physical theories and critical technologies in the bio-inspired microfluidics, from biomimetic design to real-world applications, so as to offer new ideas for the design and application of smart microfluidics, and the authors hope this review will inspire the active interest of many scientists in the area of the development and application of soft matter, and multifunctional and smart bio-inspired devices.

Electro-osmotic flow can be used as an efficient pumping mechanism in microfluidic devices. For this type of flow, frictional losses at the entrance and exit can induce an adverse longitudinal pressure distribution that can lead to dispersive effects. The present study describes a numerical investigation of the influence of the electric double layer on the induced pressure field and the flow development length. The induced pressure gradient is affected by the volumetric flow rate, fluid viscosity and the channel height. When the electric double layer is small, the development length remains constant at 0.57 of the channel height but decreases as the double layer grows in thickness.

Biological systems such as cells and cellular components are governed by processes, which take place on nanometer to micrometer length scales. X-ray scattering, diffraction and imaging techniques are extremely well suited to study these processes as the spatial resolution extends well into the relevant length scales. At the same time, the investigation of physical and chemical properties and behavior of such systems requires well-defined and controllable sample environments. One successful way to establish such environments, including specified flow fields, concentration gradients and confinement regimes is by employing microfluidic technology tailored to the particular scientific question. This brief review focuses on microfluidic techniques that have been used to investigate biological matter by X-rays. In particular, we show how the characteristics of flow on the micron scale enable new scientific approaches as compared to macroscale experiments.

Photometric detection plays a significant role in microfluidics technology. However, the mismatch between the solution concentration and the optical path length will increase detection error. In this study, we proposed a round microfluidic chip for concentration detection to obtain the continuous gradient distribution of concentration. The optimum absorbance can be found by dynamic accurately searching. The solution concentration will be accurately calculated finally according to the relationship between arc length and solution concentration. The overall detection process runs automatically. Under the optimization of injection velocity and concentration, the experimental result shows that the compensation ratio increases as the solution concentration increases. The compensation ratio in the detection of pesticide residue has already reached 14.22% and the reproducibility is acceptable. Therefore, this novel method lays the theoretical foundation for the research of high precision microfluidic photometric detection equipment.

A transient continuum model of the ODEP chip containing single circular particle inside is constructed based on multi-physical field coupling. The dielectrophoresis force and liquid viscous resistance acting on particle are calculated by employing the full Maxwell stress tensor. The coupled flow field, electric field and particle are solved by the arbitrary Lagrange–Euler (ALE) method simultaneously. The throughout dynamic process of particle in the ODEP chip is demonstrated, and the effect of several critical parameters on particle electrodynamics is illuminated. The additional disturbing effect of the photoconductive layer on the electric field as well as the micro-channel wall on the flow field is presented to clarify the particle motion in the vertical direction. The results in this study provide a detailed understanding of the particle dynamics in the ODEP chip.

Electrokinetics is a good fluid control tool in microfluidics and usually microelectrodes play important roles in such approach such as generating a desired electric field. Though the fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) microelectrodes has been relatively mature, they cannot generate uniform electric field in space. Three-dimensional (3D) microelectrodes developed more recently may solve the problem, however the fabrication process is usually complicated and requires micro-alignment platform. Non-toxic liquid metal is a good material for making electrodes that has been introduced into microfluidics. It can be injected directly into a microchannel to form an electrode, but its special physical properties make the injection process complex and difficult to control. In this study, we investigated an optimized manufacturing method of liquid metal microelectrode in a microchip by numerical analysis and experimental study. High quality microelectrodes on morphology and stability were successfully fabricated. A fluorescent enrichment experiment was performed using the developed microelectrode in a microfluidic chip. The result shows that the optimized fabrication method of microelectrode in this study provides a promising way for high quality and good performance liquid metal microelectrode formation, and paves the way for its versatile applications.

In recent times, among all the substrates used in microfluidic systems, cellulose paper is used as a handy, low-cost substrate that has gained attention for carrying fluid on its surface over capillary pressure. Cellulose paper substrate has exhibited great potential on microfluidic devices owing to prevalent obtainability, easy fluid (sample) flow system, flexibility, and low cost. Cellulose paper is fibrous, biocompatible, and hydrophilic in nature due to the hydroxyl group of the cellulose molecule. Based on the dominance of functional hydroxyl groups, cellulose is very reactive and every single cellulose fiber acts like a microchannel on the paper substrates. Aggregation of inter- and intra-cellulose fiber chains has a strong binding affinity to it and toward materials containing hydroxyls groups. In this paper, impact of inter- and intra-cellulose fiber on the paper substrate has been discussed through an experimental study. For the addition of work a “hydrophobic penetration-on-paper substrate (Hyp-POP)” method has been shown by using TiO₂ ink as a hydrophobic material to design the microfluidic channel on the Whatman cellulose filter paper (grade 1) as a paper substrate. In this experimental study, the intra-cellulose fibers of paper substrate interact through hydrogen bonds with water molecules and form a hydrophilic surface on paper substrate while TiO₂ binds with intra-cellulose fibers by electrostatic forces which change the crystallinity of intra-cellulose fiber and make the surface of paper substrate; hydrophobic. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) analysis is conceded for microfluidic channel analysis on the paper surface and EDS is carried out for TiO₂ ink contents analysis. It has been experimentally observed that the printing material of TiO₂ ink with 17.2% Ti content is suitable to integrate hydrophobic barrier on paper substrate for microfluidic channel fabrication. The wetting ability of Whatman cellulose filter paper (grade 1) was further evaluated by contact angle measurements (Data physics OCA 15EC). Using “Hyp-POP” method a hydrophobic pattern (width 3140 $\mu$m) on paper substrate has been made for the flow of liquid (blue fountain ink) into a paper fluidic channel (width 1860 $\mu$m) without any leakage.

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Japan's Bioventures Today — ImmunoFrontier, Inc.

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Microfluidics for Cancer Diagnosis.

Antibody-based cell isolation using microfluidics finds widespread applications in disease diagnostics and treatment monitoring at point of care (POC) for global health. However, the lack of knowledge on underlying mechanisms of cell capture greatly limits their developments. To address this, in this study, we developed a mathematical model using a direct numerical simulation for the detachment of single leukocyte captured on a functionalized surface in a rectangular microchannel under different flow conditions. The captured leukocyte was modeled as a simple liquid drop and its deformation was tracked using a level set method. The kinetic adhesion model was used to calculate the adhesion force and analyze the detachment of single captured leukocyte. The results demonstrate that the detachment of single captured leukocyte was dependent on both the magnitude of flow rate and flow acceleration, while the latter provides more significant effects. Pressure gradient was found to represent as another critical factor promoting leukocyte detachment besides shear stress. Cytoplasmic viscosity plays a much more important role in the deformation and detachment of captured leukocyte than cortex tension. Besides, better deformability (represented as lower cytoplasmic viscosity) noteworthy accelerates leukocyte detachment. The model presented here provides an enabling tool to clarify the interaction of target cells with functional surface and could help for developing more effective POC devices for global health.

Inspired by the complex biophysical processes of cell adhesion and detachment under blood flow in vivo, numerous novel microfluidic devices have been developed to manipulate, capture, and separate bio-particles for various applications, such as cell analysis and cell enumeration. However, the underlying physical mechanisms are yet unclear, which has limited the further development of microfluidic devices and point-of-care (POC) systems. Mathematical modeling is an enabling tool to study the physical mechanisms of biological processes for its relative simplicity, low cost, and high efficiency. Recent development in computation technology for multiphase flow simulation enables the theoretical study of the complex flow processes of cell adhesion and detachment in microfluidics. Various mathematical methods (e.g., front tracking method, level set method, volume of fluid (VOF) method, fluid–solid interaction method, and particulate modeling method) have been developed to investigate the effects of cell properties (i.e., cell membrane, cytoplasma, and nucleus), flow conditions, and microchannel structures on cell adhesion and detachment in microfluidic channels. In this paper, with focus on our own simulation results, we review these methods and compare their advantages and disadvantages for cell adhesion/detachment modeling. The mathematical approaches discussed here would allow us to study microfluidics for cell capture and separation, and to develop more effective POC devices for disease diagnostics.

Microfluidics technology has emerged as an attractive approach in physics, chemistry and biomedical science by providing increased analytical accuracy, sensitivity and efficiency in minimized systems. Numerical simulation can improve theoretical understanding, reduce prototyping consumption, and speed up development. In this paper, we setup a 3D model of an integrated microfluidic system and study the multi-physical dynamics of the system via the finite element method (FEM). The fluid–structure interaction (FSI) of fluid and an immobilized single cell within the cell trapping component, and the on-chip thermodynamics have been analyzed. The velocity magnitude and streamline of flow field, the distribution of von Mises stress and Tresca stress on the FSI interface have been studied. In addition, the on-chip heat transfer performance and temperature distribution in the heating zone have been evaluated and analyzed respectively. The presented approach is capable of optimizing microfluidic design, and revealing the complicated mechanism of multi-physical fields. Therefore, it holds the potential for improving microfluidics application in fundamental research and clinical settings.

A mathematical model is developed to analyze electro-kinetic effects on unsteady peristaltic transport of blood in cylindrical vessels of finite length. The Newtonian viscous model is adopted. The analysis is restricted under Debye–Hückel linearization (i.e., wall zeta potential $\le$ 25mV) is sufficiently small). The transformed, nondimensional conservation equations are derived via lubrication theory and long wavelength and the resulting linearized boundary value problem is solved exactly. The case of a thin electric double layer (i.e., where only slip electro-osmotic velocity considered) is retrieved as a particular case of the present model. The response in pumping characteristics (axial velocity, pressure gradient or difference, volumetric flow rate, local wall shear stress) to the influence of electro-osmotic effect (inverse Debye length) and Helmholtz–Smoluchowski velocity is elaborated in detail. Visualization of trapping phenomenon is also included and the bolus dynamics evolution with electro-kinetic effects examined. A comparative study of train wave propagation and single wave propagation is presented under the effects of thickness of EDL and external electric field. The study is relevant to electrophoresis in haemotology, electrohydrodynamic therapy and biomimetic electro-osmotic pumps.

It is known that the metal nanoparticles, when dispersed in fluids to form nanofluids, improve the heat conductivity of the fluids. The present paper studies the flow and heat transfer of the nanofluids in a microchannel by using Computational Fluid Dynamic method. It is found that although the nanoparticles enhance the heat transfer of the fluids about certain percent, the nanoparticles also cause a big increase of viscous shear stress on the wall, which causes an increase of the power consumption for driving the nanofluids through the microchannel.