Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

UC San Diego

UC San Diego Previously Published Works bannerUC San Diego

Electric tempest in a teacup: The tea leaf analogy to microfluidic blood plasma separation

Published Web Location

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2345590
Abstract

In a similar fashion to Einstein's tea leaf paradox, the rotational liquid flow induced by ionic wind above a liquid surface can trap suspended microparticles by a helical motion, spinning them down towards a bottom stagnation point. The motion is similar to Batchelor [Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 4, 29 (1951)] flows occurring between stationary and rotating disks and arises due to a combination of the primary azimuthal and secondary bulk meridional recirculation that produces a centrifugal and enhanced inward radial force near the chamber bottom. The technology is thus useful for microfluidic particle trapping/concentration; the authors demonstrate its potential for rapid erythrocyte/blood plasma separation for miniaturized medical diagnostic kits. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.