Magnetic microrobot and its application in a microfluidic system

AbstractThis paper researches the design and control method of a microrobot in a microfluidic system by electromagnetic field. The microrobot can move along the microchannel to a required position, and by changing the magnetic torque, the microrobot can also rotate in the microfluidic chip. As an application of the microrobot, it is used as a mobile micromixer to mix two solutions in the microfluidic chip, and the experimental results verify its effectiveness

Study of microvascular blood flow modulated by electroosmosis

An analytical study of microvascular non-Newtonian blood flow is conducted incorporating the electro-osmosis phenomenon. Blood is considered as a Bingham rheological aqueous ionic solution. An externally applied static axial electrical field is imposed on the system. The Poisson-Boltzmann equation for electrical potential distribution is implemented to accommodate the electrical double layer (EDL) in the microvascular regime. With long wavelength, lubrication and Debye-Hückel approximations, the boundary value problem is rendered non-dimensional. Analytical solutions are derived for the axial velocity, volumetric flow rate, pressure gradient, volumetric flow rate, averaged volumetric flow rate along one time-period, pressure rise along one wavelength and stream function. A plug width is featured in the solutions. Via symbolic software (MathematicaTM), graphical plots are generated for the influence of Bingham plug flow width parameter, electrical Debye length (thickness) and Helmholtz-Smoluchowski velocity (maximum electro-osmotic velocity) on the key hydrodynamic variables. An increase in plug flow width is observed to accelerate the axial flow, enhance volumetric flow rate and has a varied influence on the pressure rise depending on whether the flow is in the free pumping or pumping region. Increasing electrical Debye length consistently enhances axial flow, volumetric flow rate and also pressure rise (at any value of volumetric flow rate)