Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting

Simulative and experimental studies were carried out to address multi-dimensional particle fractionation of non-biological particles according to size, shape, and density inside a high-throughput DLD array. Density sensitive separation was achieved for melamine and polystyrene particles at a diamete...

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Main Authors: Jonathan Kottmeier, Maike Sophie Wullenweber, Zhen Liu, Ingo Kampen, Arno Kwade, Andreas Dietzel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Powders
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0516/4/2/13
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author Jonathan Kottmeier
Maike Sophie Wullenweber
Zhen Liu
Ingo Kampen
Arno Kwade
Andreas Dietzel
author_facet Jonathan Kottmeier
Maike Sophie Wullenweber
Zhen Liu
Ingo Kampen
Arno Kwade
Andreas Dietzel
author_sort Jonathan Kottmeier
collection DOAJ
description Simulative and experimental studies were carried out to address multi-dimensional particle fractionation of non-biological particles according to size, shape, and density inside a high-throughput DLD array. Density sensitive separation was achieved for melamine and polystyrene particles at a diameter of 5 µm at a Reynolds number (<i>Re</i>) of 82, corresponding to an overall flow rate of 11.3 mL/min. This process is very sensitive, as no fractionation occurred for <i>Re</i> = 85 (11.7 mL/min). For the first time, the fractionation of elliptical polystyrene particles (5 × 10 µm) at <i>Re</i> > 1 was investigated up to <i>Re</i> = 80 (11 mL/min). A separation of elliptical particles from spherical melamine particles (5 µm) was observed in single experiments at all investigated Reynolds numbers. However, the separation is not reliably repeatable due to partial clogging of ellipsoidal particles along the posts. In addition, higher concentrations of polydisperse silica suspensions were experimentally investigated by using polydisperse silica particles at concentrations up to 0.4% (m/V) up to <i>Re</i> = 80 (20 mL/min). The separation size generally decreased with increasing Reynolds number and increased with increasing concentration. Separation efficiency decreased with increasing concentration, independent of the Reynolds number. In order to investigate the material-dependent separation in a contactless dielectrophoresis system (cDEP), the resolved CFD-DEM software was extended to calculate dielectrophoretic forces on particles. With this, the second stage of a serial-combined DLD-DEP system was simulated, showing good separation at lower flow rates. For these systems, different fabrication methods to minimize the distance between the electrodes and the fluid as well as the requirement to withstand high-throughput applications, were investigated.
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spelling doaj-art-a2c1b5fa353147f89c7455ac6f252b872025-08-20T02:21:53ZengMDPI AGPowders2674-05162025-05-01421310.3390/powders4020013Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle SortingJonathan Kottmeier0Maike Sophie Wullenweber1Zhen Liu2Ingo Kampen3Arno Kwade4Andreas Dietzel5Institute of Microtechnology, TU Braunschweig, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyCenter of Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ), TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyCenter of Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ), TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyCenter of Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ), TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyCenter of Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ), TU Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyInstitute of Microtechnology, TU Braunschweig, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanySimulative and experimental studies were carried out to address multi-dimensional particle fractionation of non-biological particles according to size, shape, and density inside a high-throughput DLD array. Density sensitive separation was achieved for melamine and polystyrene particles at a diameter of 5 µm at a Reynolds number (<i>Re</i>) of 82, corresponding to an overall flow rate of 11.3 mL/min. This process is very sensitive, as no fractionation occurred for <i>Re</i> = 85 (11.7 mL/min). For the first time, the fractionation of elliptical polystyrene particles (5 × 10 µm) at <i>Re</i> > 1 was investigated up to <i>Re</i> = 80 (11 mL/min). A separation of elliptical particles from spherical melamine particles (5 µm) was observed in single experiments at all investigated Reynolds numbers. However, the separation is not reliably repeatable due to partial clogging of ellipsoidal particles along the posts. In addition, higher concentrations of polydisperse silica suspensions were experimentally investigated by using polydisperse silica particles at concentrations up to 0.4% (m/V) up to <i>Re</i> = 80 (20 mL/min). The separation size generally decreased with increasing Reynolds number and increased with increasing concentration. Separation efficiency decreased with increasing concentration, independent of the Reynolds number. In order to investigate the material-dependent separation in a contactless dielectrophoresis system (cDEP), the resolved CFD-DEM software was extended to calculate dielectrophoretic forces on particles. With this, the second stage of a serial-combined DLD-DEP system was simulated, showing good separation at lower flow rates. For these systems, different fabrication methods to minimize the distance between the electrodes and the fluid as well as the requirement to withstand high-throughput applications, were investigated.https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0516/4/2/13microfluidicsparticle fractionationhigh-throughputDLDcDEPmulti-dimensional particle fractionation
spellingShingle Jonathan Kottmeier
Maike Sophie Wullenweber
Zhen Liu
Ingo Kampen
Arno Kwade
Andreas Dietzel
Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
Powders
microfluidics
particle fractionation
high-throughput
DLD
cDEP
multi-dimensional particle fractionation
title Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
title_full Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
title_fullStr Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
title_full_unstemmed Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
title_short Experimental and Simulative Investigation of Deterministic Lateral Displacement and Dielectrophoresis Methods for Continuous Multi-Property Particle Sorting
title_sort experimental and simulative investigation of deterministic lateral displacement and dielectrophoresis methods for continuous multi property particle sorting
topic microfluidics
particle fractionation
high-throughput
DLD
cDEP
multi-dimensional particle fractionation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2674-0516/4/2/13
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