Guo, Lihua;
Liu, Yuanchang;
Ran, Penghui;
Wang, Gang;
Shan, Jie;
Li, Xudong;
Liu, Chong;
(2022)
A bioinspired bubble removal method in microchannels based on angiosperm xylem embolism repair.
Microsystems & Nanoengineering
, 8
, Article 34. 10.1038/s41378-022-00367-1.
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Abstract
It is difficult to remove and eliminate bubbles in microchannels in many devices used in various biomedical fields, such as those needed for microfluidic immunoassays, point-of-care testing, and cell biology evaluations. Accumulated bubbles are associated with a number of negative outcomes, including a decrease in device sensitivity, inaccuracy of analysis results, and even functional failure. Xylem conduits of angiosperm have the ability to remove bubbles in obstructed conduits. Inspired by such an embolism repair mechanism, this paper proposes a bioinspired bubble removal method, which exhibits a prominent ability to dissolve bubbles continuously within a large range of flow rates (2 µL/min–850 µL/min) while retaining the stability and continuity of the flow without auxiliary equipment. Such a method also shows significant bubble removal stability in dealing with Newtonian liquids and non-Newtonian fluids, especially with high viscosity (6.76 Pa s) and low velocity (152 nL/min). Such advantages associated with the proposed bioinspired method reveal promising application prospects in macro/microfluidic fields ranging from 3D printing, implantable devices, virus detection, and biomedical fluid processing to microscale reactor operation and beyond.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A bioinspired bubble removal method in microchannels based on angiosperm xylem embolism repair |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41378-022-00367-1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-022-00367-1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10145965 |
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