Separation of nano/microparticles based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs) has shown great promise for biological, chemical, and medical applications ranging from sample purification to cancer diagnosis. However, the permanent bonding of a microchannel onto relatively expensive piezoelectric substrates and excitation transducers renders the SAW separation devices non-disposable. This limitation not only requires cumbersome cleaning and increased labor and material costs, but also leads to cross-contamination, preventing their implementation in many biological, chemical, and medical applications. Here, we demonstrate a high-performance, disposable acoustofluidic platform for nano/microparticle separation. Leveraging unidirectional interdigital transducers (IDTs), a hybrid channel design with hard/soft materials, and tilted-angle standing SAWs (taSSAWs), our disposable acoustofluidic devices achieve acoustic radiation forces comparable to those generated by existing permanently bonded, non-disposable devices. Our disposable devices can separate not only microparticles but also nanoparticles. Moreover, they can differentiate bacteria from human red blood cells (RBCs) with a purity of up to 96%. Altogether, we developed a unidirectional IDT-based, disposable acoustofluidic platform for micro/nanoparticle separation that can achieve high separation efficiency, versatility, and biocompatibility.

中文翻译：

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一种使用单向声换能器进行纳米/微粒分离的一次性声流控芯片。

基于表面声波 (SAW) 的纳米/微粒分离在从样品纯化到癌症诊断等生物、化学和医学应用中显示出巨大的前景。然而，微通道永久粘合到相对昂贵的压电基板和激励换能器上使得SAW分离装置成为非一次性的。这种限制不仅需要繁琐的清洁以及增加的劳动力和材料成本，而且还会导致交叉污染，阻碍其在许多生物、化学和医学应用中的实施。在这里，我们展示了一种用于纳米/微米颗粒分离的高性能一次性声流控平台。利用单向叉指换能器 (IDT)、硬/软材料混合通道设计以及倾斜角直立声表面波 (taSSAW)，我们的一次性声流控设备可实现与现有永久粘合非一次性设备产生的声辐射力相当的声辐射力。我们的一次性设备不仅可以分离微粒，还可以分离纳米颗粒。此外，它们可以区分细菌和人类红细胞 (RBC)，纯度高达 96%。总之，我们开发了一种基于 IDT 的单向一次性声流控微/纳米颗粒分离平台，可以实现高分离效率、多功能性和生物相容性。