This article proposes a novel a magnetophoretic microfluidic device for separation of magnetic microparticles based on size and subsequently carries out simulation-based parametric analysis of the same. The microfluidic device is constructed with two inlets as well as two outlets and employs a soft magnetic element subjected to a uniform magnetic field to create the desired spatially varying magnetic field inside the microchannel. The first inlet introduces the sample while the second inlet is for introducing sheath flow to focus the microparticles close to the microchannel’s bottom surface prior to being deflected by magnetophoresis to the appropriate outlets. Parameters such as location of outlets, microchannel height, fluid velocity, and ratio of inlet and of outlet flow rates influence the movement of microparticles inside the microchannel and the associated performance metrics. Parametric study, carried out using 1 and 10 µm magnetic microparticle suspended in water, revels that the best performance metrics occur when flow rate ratios are maintained as low as possible. In addition, the performance metrics are examined for different designs to determine the optimal value of the location of the outlet associated with large microparticles.

本文提出了一种新颖的磁致微流体装置，用于根据尺寸分离磁性微粒，随后对其进行基于仿真的参数分析。该微流体装置被构造成具有两个入口以及两个出口，并且采用经受均匀磁场的软磁元件以在微通道内部产生期望的空间变化的磁场。第一入口引入样品，而第二入口用于引入鞘流以使微粒在通过磁致变流偏转至合适的出口之前聚焦在靠近微通道底表面的位置。参数，例如出口位置，微通道高度，流体速度，入口流速与出口流速之比的大小会影响微粒在微通道内的运动以及相关的性能指标。使用悬浮在水中的1和10 µm磁性微粒进行的参数研究表明，当流速比保持尽可能低时，将出现最佳性能指标。另外，检查不同设计的性能指标，以确定与大微粒相关的出口位置的最佳值。