Experimental study of microfluidic devices for particle separation and manipulation using standing surface acoustic waves (ssaw)

Separation of cells or molecules plays an extremely crucial role in the fields of biology, pharmaceutical and medicine, which can include a wide range of applications from disease diagnostics, cellular analysis, drug screening to therapeutics. There are already various types of acoustophoresis methods employed achieving successful microparticles separation or manipulation with great efficiency. However, as the demand for a more efficient microparticles manipulation increases, new techniques are being discovered and explored. The project aims to achieve successful acoustophoresis microparticles separation via a superior SSAW device consisting of Poly (methyl methacrylate)-based microfluidic channel (PMMA) and a single IDT. By employing a new methodology, the separation is made possible and successful microparticles separation have been demonstrated in this project via actuation with the setup and achieving separation efficiency of up to 95.40 %. In addition, this project also aims to achieve the pattern of wave-like arrangement of microparticles within the microfluidic channel via phase-modulation. Experiments were conducted via PDMS-based microfluidic channel with a pair of IDT. By applying a new methodology, the microparticles manipulation to achieve the required pattern seems to be possible. However, the setup and methods employed in the phase-varying sinusoidal waves technique were not desirable to achieve the required pattern. The limitations and constraints faced are listed and discussed in this report. Future works are also mentioned.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering