Young 4ever--the use of capillarity for passive flow handling in lab on a chip devices.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jan C T Eijkel.
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A continuous flow microfluidic demixing process is realized. It utilizes high external electrical fields that are applied over electrically floating noble metal electrodes in an otherwise straight microchannel. The process converts axial electrical potential gradients into lateral molecular selective transport via a structure oriented ensemble of numerous electrodes. While the individual electrodes locally modify the electrolyte distribution by nonlinear electrokinetic effects and concentration polarization, the directed orientation of the electrode array combines the individual polarization zones to a dedicated molecular enrichment against the generated concentration gradient. A homogeneously concentrated electrolyte can be separated into arbitrarily shaped laminae of increased and depleted concentration by the presented microfluidic demixer.
An overview is given of the possible applications of nanotechnology to optimise existing separation methods and to enable new methods. Attention is paid to nanotechnological contributions in the fields of HPLC, CEC, sieves, Brownian ratchets and preconcentration units. A brief description is also given of some selection/separation mechanisms that occur in biological (cell) structures and possible future applications of these mechanisms in separation devices are investigated. Especially the active transport in discrete events occurring in cells is mentioned as a potentially powerful separating mechanism.
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This Tutorial Review shows the behaviour of water in micro- and nanofluidic systems. The chemical potential of water ('water potential') conveniently describes the energy level of the water at different locations in and around the system, both in the liquid and gaseous state. Since water moves from high to low potential, the water potential enables us to predict and describe the direction of water movement inside systems and between systems and their surroundings. Practical examples of microfluidic devices illustrate the different contributions to the water potential (capillary, gravitational, entropic (osmotic) in liquid water; the partial vapour pressure in atmospheric water and van der Waals forces in water films) and the resulting water movement.
This paper describes the working principle of a DC magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump that can be operated at high DC current densities (J) in 75-microm-deep microfluidic channels without introducing gas bubbles into the pumping channel. The main design feature for current generation is a micromachined frit-like structure that connects the pumping channel to side reservoirs, where platinum electrodes are located. Current densities up to 4000 A m(-2) could be obtained without noticeable Joule heating in the system. The pump performance was studied as a function of current density and magnetic field intensity, as well as buffer ionic strength and pH. Bead velocities of up to 1 mm s(-1) (0.5 microL min(-1)) were observed in buffered solutions using a 0.4 T NdFeB permanent magnet, at an applied current density of 4000 A m(-2). This pump is intended for transport of electrolyte solutions having a relatively high ionic strength (0.5-1 M) in a DC magnetic field environment. The application of this pump for the study of biological samples in a miniaturized total analysis system (microTAS) with integrated NMR detection is foreseen. In the 7 T NMR environment, a minimum 16-fold increase in volumetric flow rate for a given applied current density is expected.
A simple method using spin-deposition and sacrificial layer etching is used to fabricate all-polyimide nanochannels (100 and 500 nm channel height). Channels are characterized using spontaneous capillary filling with water, ethanol and isopropanol, and with electroosmotic flow. The channels can be produced with simple cleanroom equipment, namely spinning and metal deposition facilities. Polyimide is an excellent material for micro- and nanofluidic channels due to its favourable electrical and mechanical properties and its biocompatibility.
A review is given of the application of cyclic analytical methods in capillary electroseparation (CE) and liquid chromatography (LC) systems. Cyclic methods have been used since the early sixties in chromatographic systems to overcome pressure limitations to resolution. From the early nineties on they have also been applied in capillary electroseparation systems to overcome voltage limitations. Some basic theory is given, outlining the temporal development of resolution in cyclic CE and LC systems and calculating the maximal resolution that can be obtained as a function of the operational parameters of pressure and electrical field. Simple equations are given for the temporal change in the peak capacity and the loss of peaks from the systems as it occurs in some cyclic systems. Finally, a circular open tubular chromatographic system is proposed using integrated pumping and continuous detection. The performance of such a system is discussed using magnetohydrodynamic and alternating current electroosmotic pumping as examples of integrated pumps and Shah Convolution Fourier transform detection as an example of a continuous detection method.
A microfabricated capillary electrophoresis device for velocity measurements of flowing particles is presented. It consists of a 1 x 128 planar waveguide beam splitter monolithically integrated with an electrically insulated fluidic channel network for fluorescence excitation at multiple points. Stray light rejection structures are included in order to suppress unwanted light between the detection regions. The emission pattern of particles passing the detection region was collected by a photomultiplier tube that was placed in close proximity to the channel, thereby avoiding the use of transfer optics. The integrated planar waveguide beam splitter was, furthermore, permanently connected to the light source by a glued-on optical fiber, to achieve a robust and alignment-free operation of the system. The velocity was measured using a Fourier transformation with a Shah function, since the response of the light array was designed to approximate a square profile. Deviations from this response were observed as a result of the multimode nature of the integrated waveguides.