A New Microfluidic Device For Complete, Continuous Separation Of Microparticles

A microchannel with symmetric sharp corners is reported for particle separation, based on the interplay between the inertial lift force and the centrifugal force induced by sharp corners. At an appropriate flow rate, the centrifugal force is larger than the inertial lift force on large particles, while the inertial lift force is dominant on small particles. Hence large particles are centrifuged to the center, while small particles are focused at side streams, achieving complete particle separation. The device requires no sheath flow, avoiding the dilution of analyte sample and complex operation, and can be potentially used for many lab-on-a-chip applications.