Design of blood cells micro-separator using magnetophoresis and hydrodynamics

Abstract

This dissertation presents a model for direct and continuous blood cells micro-separator to separate red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC). The micro-separator is designed and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics®. It consists of a ferromagnetic wire magnetized by a neodymium magnet inside a U-shaped micro-channel. WBCs behave as diamagnetic micro-particles while RBCs exhibit paramagnetic micro-particles behavior. Therefore, separation using magnetic force or magnetophoresis (MAP) is possible. In this research, the micro-separator uses the combination of MAP with hydrodynamics in order to separate WBCs and RBCs by taking into account the magnetization of the ferromagnetic elements and fluidic forces on the cells. Here, the numerical analysis of the magnetic force on RBCs and WBCs were studied together with the effect of hydrodynamic elements inside the U-shape micro-channel. The movement of WBCs and RBCs has been investigated and analyzed using particles tracing module of COMSOL Multiphysics®. Results showed that the combination of MAP and hydrodynamic force is capable of separating the WBCs and RBCs as they flow through the micro-channel. The blood cells micro-separator has significant advantages over other techniques such as centrifuging, hydrodynamics or other methods that involve labeled materials, because of its ability to separate RBCs and WBCs in their native state, without the need of magnetic beads.