Researchers from Penn State:
Dr. Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Mathematics
Researchers from MSI:
Dr. Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez
Project Summary
Ultrasound is routinely used to focus and separate spherical microbeads, cells, or particles with different properties, e.g., density or shape. While several investigations have been performed exploring how different particle shapes affect movement, there has been no focus on different channel geometries, and little is known about how anisotropic and heterogeneous particles behave in microfluidic channels of complex shapes, e.g., nozzles and funnels.
Understanding transport in microfluidic channels with a converging nozzle is essential, as the flow rate increases with the width decrease. Many practical realizations of biomedical devices rely on the effective extrusion, deposition, and manipulation of cells and drug-carrying particles from liquid media in the desired location. The successful implementation of our project could have significant implications for biomedical technology, such as a new generation of smart ultrasound devices like syringes and catheters, as well as in bioprinting and tissue engineering.