Continuous particle separation in a microfluidic channel via standing surface acoustic waves (SSAW)

This work introduces a method of continuous particle separation through standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW)-induced acoustophoresis in a microfluidic channel. Using this SSAW-based method, particles in a continuous laminar flow can be separated based on their volume, density and compressibility. In this work, a mixture of particles of equal density but dissimilar volumes was injected into a microchannel through two side inlets, sandwiching a deionized water sheath flow injected through a central inlet.

A one-dimensional SSAW generated by two parallel interdigital transducers (IDTs) was established across the channel, with the channel spanning a single SSAW pressure node located at the channel center. Application of the SSAW induced larger axial acoustic forces on the particles of larger volume, repositioning them closer to the wave pressure node at the center of the channel.

Thus particles were laterally moved to different regions of the channel cross-section based on particle volume. The particle separation method presented here is simple and versatile, capable of separating virtually all kinds of particles (regardless of charge/polarization or optical properties) with high separation efficiency and low power consumption.