A Pressure Controlled Pinched Flow Fractionation Device for Continuous Particle Separation

摘要

In this work the problem of separating small particles of different sizes is solved by developing a simple mi-crofluidic device using pinched flow fractionation (PFF), a technique originally presented by Yamada et al. in 2004 [1]. The present work takes the concept of PFF to the next level by making the device tunable using a simple pressure control. Through analytical calculations and FEM simulations in COMSOL, the required dimensions and operating pressures of the device was determined. The device was subsequently fabricated by injection molding of a COC TOPAS grade 5013 polymer (TOPAS Advanced Polymers GmbH) using a micro machined silicon master. The functionality of the device was confirmed using polymer beads, and by adjusting the pressure accordingly a complete separation of 2 μm and 4.5 μm. beads was demonstrated.