Maintaining Stable Interfaces During Microfluidic Transport
V N Lad,
Assistant Professor,
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology Surat
Mobile interface in the small confinement is of importance in biofluid transport in microchannels, deformable particle dynamics in continuous liquid phase, and other Lab-on-a-Chip applications including fundamental studies for multiphase flow in miniature devices. Viscoelasticy of the interfaces need to be addressed to explore the competition between molecular diffusion and convective transport. Cell lyses, gene manipulation and cell sorting require controlled transport of the deformable cells in microchannels. A liquid-liquid interface has been used as a model interface formed by choosing liquids of comparable density and polarity. Geometry of the microchannels and relative flow rates of the liquid streams have been found to affect the mobility of the interface. Relative flow rates of the liquid streams have predominantly affected the molecular diffusion across the interface which resulted in elongated interface with significant stability.
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