Computational analysis on design and optimization of microfluidic channel for the separation of Staphylococcus aureus from blood using dielectrophoresis

This paper develops a computational microfluidic channel to investigate the design parameters to separate sepsis-causing bacteria staphylococcus aureus from blood components using dielectrophoresis. COMSOL Multiphysics was used to create the proposed channel design, which consists of two inlets, three outlets, and seven electrodes spaced out along the length of the channel. Particle focusing width, inlet velocity ratio, applied electric field on the channel, placements of electrode height from the channel, and operating frequency are the design parameters taken into consideration for optimisation to study their effects on the triple separation of Staphylococcus aureus, RBCs, and Platelets. The resulting simulation demonstrates that greater inlet velocity ratio differences will result in better particle focusing. Furthermore, placing the electrodes at an optimal height of 40 μm from the channel results in the efficient separation of bacteria from blood components in the 8 to 9Vpp range with a 10 kHz applied frequency.