High throughput particle sorting based on traveling surface acoustic wave (TSAW) is realized by coupling spiral microchannel and a novel arc electrode

Abstract

Abstract Acoustofluidic technology is an ideal tool for biomedical applications. However, the sorting performance and flux of acoustofluidic chips cannot be achieved simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a method for coupling a novel arc gold interdigital transducer (IDT) with a spiral microchannel. A spiral microchannel is used to focus the target particle (20 μm) inertially to improve the sorting efficiency of the chip. The channel uses a Y-shaped inlet to bind small particles (5 μm) in a fixed stream beam to improve the sorting efficiency of the chip. The fit of arc electrode and spiral flow channel enlarges the acoustic control area, so that the target particles can still be separated effectively at high flow velocity. The results show that when the signal source frequency is 33.7 MHz and the voltage is 5 V, the designed chip can effectively separate the target particles at the flow rate of 25–65 μl min−1, and the sorting purity is 100%. The sorting efficiency decreased with the increase of flow rate, 25 μl min−1: 100 %, 35 μl min−1: 100 %, 45 μl min−1: 94 .8% (within 1.2% error), 55 μl min−1: 92 % (within 1% error), 65 μl min−1: 83 .4% (within 2.4% error). This chip provides an idea for achieving high throughput, high purity and high efficiency cell sorting.