title: Inertio-elastic focusing of bioparticles in microchannels at high throughput.
abstract: Controlled manipulation of particles from very large volumes of fluid at high throughput is critical for many biomedical, environmental and industrial applications. One promising approach is to use microfluidic technologies that rely on fluid inertia or elasticity to drive lateral migration of particles to stable equilibrium positions in a microchannel. Here, we report on a hydrodynamic approach that enables deterministic focusing of beads, mammalian cells and anisotropic hydrogel particles in a microchannel at extremely high flow rates. We show that on addition of micromolar concentrations of hyaluronic acid, the resulting fluid viscoelasticity can be used to control the focal position of particles at Reynolds numbers up to Re≈10,000 with corresponding flow rates and particle velocities up to 50 ml min(-1) and 130 m s(-1). This study explores a previously unattained regime of inertio-elastic fluid flow and demonstrates bioparticle focusing at flow rates that are the highest yet achieved.
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA [2] Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA [3].
authors.forename: Eugene J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA [2].
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ober
authors.affiliation: Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Jon F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Edd
authors.affiliation: Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Salil P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: LaVision Inc., Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neal
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA [2] Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-713, Korea.
authors.forename: Ki Wan
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Bong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Gareth H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: McKinley
authors.affiliation: Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toner
mesh_terms: D002477:Cells; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000379:methods*; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D020100:Hydrogels; D008832:Microchemistry / Q000379:methods*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D008863:Microspheres; D055682:Viscoelastic Substances
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D055682:Viscoelastic Substances; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid