We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Dielectrophoretic separation of microalgae cells in ballast water in a microfluidic chip
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a microfluidic chip using dielectrophoresis to continuously separate microalgae cells from ballast water, which also contains bacteria, microplastics, and other particles. Improved ballast water treatment is important because ships spread invasive species and contaminants including microplastics to new ocean regions.
The composition of the ship's ballast water is complex and contains a large number of microalgae cells, bacteria, microplastics, and other microparticles. To increase the accuracy and efficiency of detection of the microalgae cells in ballast water, a new microfluidic chip for continuous separation of microalgae cells based on alternating current dielectrophoresis was proposed. In this microfluidic chip, one piece of 3-dimensional electrode is embedded on one side and eight discrete electrodes are arranged on the other side of the microchannel. An insulated triangular structure between electrodes is designed for increasing the inhomogeneity of the electric field distribution and enhancing the dielectrophoresis (DEP) force. A sheath flow is designed to focus the microparticles near the electrode, so as to increase the suffered DEP force and improve separation efficiency. To demonstrate the performance of the microfluidic separation chip, we developed two species of microalgae cells (Platymonas and Closterium) and a kind of microplastics to be used as test samples. Analyses of the related parameters and separation experiments by our designed microfluidic chip were then conducted. The results show that the presented method can separate the microalgae cells from the mixture efficiently, and this is the first time to separate two or more species of microalgae cells in a microfluidic chip by using negative and positive DEP force simultaneously, and moreover it has some advantages including simple operation, high efficiency, low cost, and small size and has great potential in on-site pretreatment of ballast water.
More Papers Like This
DC-Dielectrophoretic Manipulation and Isolation of Microplastic Particle-Treated Microalgae Cells in Asymmetric-Orifice-Based Microfluidic Chip
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a microfluidic chip using direct-current dielectrophoresis to isolate microplastic-contaminated microalgae cells from uncontaminated ones, demonstrating that polystyrene adsorption coverage and thickness affected cell trajectory in ways detectable enough to enable separation of contaminated from clean cells.
Microfluidic fractionation of microplastics, bacteria and microalgae with induced-charge electro-osmotic eddies
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists developed a microfluidic device that uses electrically generated fluid eddies to separate microalgae from microplastic particles and bacteria without physical contact. The system achieved nearly 100 percent efficiency in sorting microalgae from microplastics and about 95 percent purity when removing bacteria. This technology could be valuable for both environmental monitoring of microplastic contamination and producing clean microalgae for pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications.
Focusing, sorting, and separating microplastics by serial faradaic ion concentration polarization
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers demonstrated a microfluidic technique that uses electric fields to continuously separate two types of microplastic particles in flowing water. This lab-on-chip approach could be developed into tools for monitoring or removing specific microplastic types from water treatment systems.
Microfluidic integrated impedance flow cytometry for selection and probing of flagellate microalgae
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists built a tiny lab-on-a-chip device that can automatically sort and identify beneficial algae from contaminants like microplastics and other unwanted cells, using electrical signals rather than manual microscope work. This matters because these particular algae are being explored for uses like helping wounds heal and powering tiny biological robots, so having a fast, reliable way to purify and study them could speed up development of these future medical technologies. While the device isn't a treatment itself, it's a promising tool for improving the quality control behind emerging biotech health applications.
A microfluidic device for size-based microplastics and microalgae separation
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers designed a microfluidic device that separates microplastics and microalgae by size using controlled flow patterns. The device could be used to isolate microplastics from complex environmental water samples containing biological material, improving the accuracy of microplastic monitoring.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.