Quasi-steady imbibition of physiological liquids in paper-based microfluidic kits: Effect of shear-thinning

In the present work, spontaneous imbibition of shear-dependent fluids is numerically investigated in a two-layered, rectangular/fan-shaped, paper-based diagnostic kit using the modified Richards equation. It is shown that the average velocity at the test line of the kit is strongly influenced by the absorbent pad's microstructure with its contact angle playing a predominant role. Assuming that the test fluid is shear-thinning, a generalized version of the Richards equation, valid for power-law fluids, was used to investigate the effect of shear-thinning on the quasi-steady regime. The shear-thinning behavior of the test fluid is predicted to shorten the duration of the constant-velocity regime on the nitrocellulose membrane used as the test cell. By manipulating the contact angle and/or choosing appropriate microstructure for the absorbent pad, it is still possible to establish a constant velocity regime at the test line for nearly five minutes even for such fluids. A comparison between our numerical results and published numerical results obtained using simplistic theories has revealed the key role played by the transition, partially saturated zone near the advancing front during the liquid imbibition. The general conclusion is that use should preferably be made of robust models such as Richards equation for the design of lateral-flow, paper-based assays.

Automated summary

This study numerically investigates the spontaneous imbibition of shear-dependent fluids in a paper-based diagnostic kit using the modified Richards equation. The results show that the microstructure of the absorbent pad and its contact angle strongly influence the average velocity at the test line. The shear-thinning behavior of the test fluid is found to shorten the constant-velocity regime on the nitrocellulose membrane, but it can still be extended by manipulating the contact angle and/or choosing appropriate microstructure.