Whole-system ultrasound resonances as the basis for acoustophoresis in all-polymer microfluidic devices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates theoretically that effective acoustophoresis can be achieved in all-polymer microfluidic devices by exciting whole-system ultrasound resonances, eliminating the need for high acoustic contrast materials.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using whole-system resonances in soft polymer devices for acoustophoresis, expanding material options for microfluidic applications.

Findings

Whole-system resonances support effective acoustophoresis in polymer devices.

The quality of acoustophoresis is comparable to traditional hard-walled systems.

Polymer-based microfluidic devices can be designed for single-use applications.

Abstract

Using a previously well-tested numerical model, we demonstrate theoretically that good acoustophoresis can be obtained in a microchannel embedded in an acoustically soft, all-polymer chip, by excitation of whole-system ultrasound resonances. In contrast to conventional techniques based on a standing bulk acoustic wave inside a liquid-filled microchannel embedded in an elastic, acoustically hard material, such as glass or silicon, the proposed whole-system resonance does not need a high acoustic contrast between the liquid and surrounding solid. Instead, it relies on the very high acoustic contrast between the solid and the surrounding air. In microchannels of usual dimensions, we demonstrate the existence of whole-system resonances in an all-polymer device, which support acoustophoresis of a quality fully comparable to that of a conventional hard-walled system. Our results open up for using cheap and easily processable polymers in a controlled manner to design and fabricate microfluidic devices for single-use acoustophoresis.