Computational Microfluidic Channel for Separation of Escherichia coli from Blood-Cells

Microfluidic channels play a vital role in separation of analytes of interest such as bacteria and platelet cells, etc., in various biochemical diagnosis procedures including urinary tract infections (UTI) and bloodstream infections. This paper presents the multi physics computational model specifically designed to study the effects of design parameters of a microfluidics channel for the separation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from various blood constituents including red blood cells (RBC) and platelets. A standard two inlet and a two outlet microchannel of length 805 mu m with a channel width of 40 mu m is simulated. The effect of electrode potentials and the effect of electrode placement along the channel length and also the levitation of electrodes from the channel wall are studied to optimize the selective particle separation throughput. Simulated results show the efficient separation of E-coli with a mean diameter 0.68 mu m is achieved at low voltages (less than 20 V) when electrodes placed near to the micro channel and also noticed that the applied electric potential is inversely proportional to the number of electrodes placed along the microfluidic channel. The computer aided multi physics simulations with multiple governing parameters could be advantage in design optimization of microfluidics channels and support precise bioparticle separation for better diagnosis.

Automated summary

Microfluidic channels are crucial in separating analytes like bacteria and platelet cells and a computational model was specifically designed to study the effects of design parameters for the separation of E. coli from blood constituents. The study found that electrode potentials and placement, as well as electric potential, play a role in optimizing selective particle separation. Multiple governing parameters in computer aided simulations can aid in design optimization for precise bioparticle separation.