SUTD: Ye Ai, Mahnoush Tayebi, Richard O’Rorke, Him Cheng Wong and Hong Yee Low
University of Melbourne: David J. Collins
MIT: Jong Yoon Han
Acoustofluidics is the fusion of acoustics and fluid mechanics which provides a contact-free, rapid and effective manipulation of fluids and suspended particles. The applied acoustic wave can produce a non-zero time-averaged pressure field to exert an acoustic radiation force on particles suspended in a microfluidic channel. However, for particles below a critical size the viscous drag force dominates over the acoustic radiation forces due to the strong acoustic streaming resulting from the acoustic energy dissipation in the fluid. Thus, particle size acts as a key limiting factor in the use of acoustic fields for manipulation and sorting applications that would otherwise be useful in fields including sensing (plasmonic nanoparticles), biology (small bioparticle enrichment) and optics (micro-lenses).
Massively multiplexed submicron particle patterning in acoustically driven oscillating nanocavities.
You can find more details at https://www.sutd.edu.sg/Research/Research-News/2020/5/SUTD-Novel-Acoustofluidic-Tech-Submicron-Particles