Analysis of a chaotic micromixer by novel methods of particle tracking and FRET
Journal
Microfluidics and Nanofluidics
Journal Volume
5
Journal Issue
6
Pages
749-759
Date Issued
2008
Author(s)
Tung, K.-Y.
Abstract
Two novel numerical and experimental methods are proposed for quantitatively analyzing the chaotic mixing in a circulation-disturbance micromixer (CDM). A particle-tracking approach incorporated with the geometric distribution of particles is derived to evaluate the mixing performance. This method provides additional evaluation about the degree of particles scattering, when compared to the Shannon entropy method. In addition, the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method using R-Phycoerythrin (RPE) and cross-linked allophycocyanin (clAPC) is developed to demonstrate both the mixing performance and the applicability of CDM for biochemical reaction. The two proposed indices, including the particle-tracking distribution and FRET factor, are verified to sufficiently reveal the periodic constructive interference of the vortices in a CDM and a slanted groove micromixer. They also explicitly indicate the mixing performance of the chaotic micromixers. The methodologies are expected to be applied successfully for performance analysis of various micromixers or microreactors, and thus have a great potential for μTAS applications. © Springer-Verlag 2008.
Type
journal article