Particle separation using surface acoustic waves based on microfluidic chip
How Surface Acoustic Waves Sort Particles in Microfluidic Chips! 🚀
In the realm of microfluidics, precision and efficiency are everything—especially when it comes to manipulating tiny particles like cells, droplets, or nanoparticles. Enter Surface Acoustic Waves (SAWs), a game-changing tool that's redefining how particles are separated on a chip.
Surface Acoustic Waves are sound waves that travel along the surface of a material, typically a piezoelectric substrate. When integrated into a microfluidic chip, these waves can generate precise forces capable of moving and sorting particles suspended in fluid. The process is contactless, label-free, and highly tunable, making it ideal for biological and chemical applications.
Here’s how it works: when SAWs are applied to a microchannel, they create an acoustic pressure field. Depending on their size, density, and compressibility, particles experience different acoustic radiation forces. These forces can push particles toward pressure nodes (or anti-nodes), effectively separating them by physical properties.
This technology holds incredible promise for cell sorting, blood plasma separation, rare cell detection, and point-of-care diagnostics. Its compact design, low power usage, and non-invasive nature make it a powerful contender in next-gen lab-on-a-chip systems.
With SAWs, we’re not just moving particles—we’re shaping the future of microfluidic precision.
6th Edition of Applied Scientist Awards | 29-30 July 2025 | New Delhi, India
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