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Handling of sub-micrometer bioparticles such as bacteria are becoming increasingly important in the biomedical field and in environmental and food analysis. As a result, there is an increased need for less labor-intensive and time-consuming handling methods. Here, an acoustophoresis-based microfluidic chip that uses ultrasound to focus sub-micrometer particles and bacteria, is presented. The ability to focus sub-micrometer bioparticles in a standing one-dimensional acoustic wave is generally limited by the acoustic-streaming-induced drag force, which becomes increasingly significant the smaller the particles are. By using two-dimensional acoustic focusing, i.e. focusing of the sub-micrometer particles both horizontally and vertically in the cross section of a microchannel, the acoustic streaming velocity field can be altered to allow focusing. Here, the focusability of E. coli and polystyrene particles as small as 0.5 μm in diameter in microchannels of square or rectangular cross sections, is demonstrated. Numerical analysis was used to determine generic transverse particle trajectories in the channels, which revealed spiral-shaped trajectories of the sub-micrometer particles towards the center of the microchannel; this was also confirmed by experimental observations. The ability to focus and enrich bacteria and other sub-micrometer bioparticles using acoustophoresis opens the research field to new microbiological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a tunable-angle wedge ultrasound transducer for improved control of microparticle acoustophoresis in a microfluidic chip. The transducer is investigated by analyzing the pattern of aligned particles and induced acoustic energy density while varying the transducer geometry, transducer coupling angle, and transducer actuation method (single-frequency actuation or frequency-modulation actuation). The energy-density analysis is based on measuring the transmitted light intensity through a microfluidic channel filled with a suspension of 5 µm diameter beads and the results with the tunable-angle transducer are compared with the results from actuation by a standard planar transducer in order to decouple the influence from change in coupling angle and change in transducer geometry. We find in this work that the transducer coupling angle is the more important parameter compared to the concomitant change in geometry and that the coupling angle may be used as an additional tuning parameter for improved acoustophoretic control with single-frequency actuation. Further, we find that frequency-modulation actuation is suitable for diminishing such tuning effects and that it is a robust method to produce uniform particle patterns with average acoustic energy densities comparable to those obtained using single-frequency actuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized that the osmotic transport characteristics of membranes may be strongly influenced by the presence of unstirred concentration boundary layers adjacent to the membrane. Previous experimental as well as theoretical works have mainly focused on the case where the solutions on both sides of the membrane remain well mixed due to an external stirring mechanism. We investigate the effects of concentration boundary layers on the efficiency of osmotic pumping processes in the absence of external stirring, i.e. when all advection is provided by the osmosis itself. This case is relevant in the study of intracellular flows, e.g. in plants. For such systems, we show that no well-defined boundary-layer thickness exists and that the reduction in concentration can be estimated by a surprisingly simple mathematical relation across a wide range of geometries and Péclet numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a dielectric solid surrounded by an electrolyte and positioned inside an externally biased parallel-plate capacitor, we study numerically how the resulting induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow depends on the topology and shape of the dielectric solid. In particular, we extend existing conventional electrokinetic models with an artificial design field to describe the transition from the liquid electrolyte to the solid dielectric. Using this design field, we have succeeded in applying the method of topology optimization to find system geometries with non-trivial topologies that maximize the net induced electroosmotic flow rate through the electrolytic capacitor in the direction parallel to the capacitor plates. Once found, the performance of the topology-optimized geometries has been validated by transferring them to conventional electrokinetic models not relying on the artificial design field. Our results show the importance of the topology and shape of the dielectric solid in ICEO systems and point to new designs of ICEO micropumps with significantly improved performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive analytical expressions for the three-dimensional (3D) acoustophoretic motion of spherical microparticles in rectangular microchannels. The motion is generated by the acoustic radiation force and the acoustic streaming-induced drag force. In contrast to the classical theory of Rayleigh streaming in shallow, infinite, parallel-plate channels, our theory does include the effect of the microchannel side walls. The resulting predictions agree well with numerics and experimental measurements of the acoustophoretic motion of polystyrene spheres with nominal diameters of 0.537 and 5.33 μm. The 3D particle motion was recorded using astigmatism particle tracking velocimetry under controlled thermal and acoustic conditions in a long, straight, rectangular microchannel actuated in one of its transverse standing ultrasound-wave resonance modes with one or two half-wavelengths. The acoustic energy density is calibrated in situ based on measurements of the radiation dominated motion of large 5-μm-diameter particles, allowing for quantitative comparison between theoretical predictions and measurements of the streaming-induced motion of small 0.5-μm-diameter particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Possible mechanisms for overlimiting current (OLC) through aqueous ion-exchange membranes (exceed-ing diffusion limitation) have been debated for half a century. Flows consistent with electro-osmotic instability have recently been observed in microfluidic experiments, but the existing theory neglects chemical effects and remains to be quantitatively tested. Here, we show that charge regulation and water self-ionization can lead to OLC by "current-induced membrane discharge" (CIMD), even in the absence of fluid flow, in ion-exchange membranes much thicker than the local Debye screening length. Salt depletion leads to a large electric field resulting in a local pH shift within the membrane with the effect that the membrane discharges and loses its ion selectivity. Since salt co-ions, H+ ions, and OH∼ ions contribute to OLC, CIMD interferes with electrodialysis (salt counterion removal) but could be exploited for current-assisted ion exchange and pH control. CIMD also suppresses the extended space charge that leads to electro-osmotic instability, so it should be reconsidered in both models and experiments on OLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]