Two dimensional simulation on immunoassay for a biosensor with applying electrothermal effect

For diffusion-limited proteins, the diffusion boundary layer on the reacting surface hinders the binding reaction. The authors performed finite-element simulations of the electrothermal effect on the reaction kinetics of C-reactive protein (CRP)-anti-CRP. The induced vortices stir the flow and enhance the transport rate of analytes. They attribute the enhancement to the reduction of the thickness of diffusion boundary layer. Significant interference patterns of the votices are observed by varying the position of the reacting surface. These patterns are utilized to optimize the enhancement factor, yielding 5.166 and 3.744 times for association and dissociation, respectively, under voltage (15 V-rms) and frequency (100 kHz).