Positioning System for Particles in Microfluidic Structures

D. Kappe[1], A. Hütten[1]
[1]University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Published in 2012

The possibility to detect and probe molecules in microfluidic devices gives rise to interesting applications. There are different approaches how to detect and probe particles, but a common step, for most methods, is to place the particles on a sensor. This can be done by applying external field gradients, or in this case by utilizing gravitational and hydrodynamic effects. Therefore, the sensor is placed beneath a microfluidic structure of changing height. Numerical simulations for various flow rates show, that the amount of captured material can be significantly increased in comparison to a straight channel. The geometry can be adapted to different flow rates, at the cost of higher aspect ratios and a longer ramp.