Influence of magnetic convection on separation efficiency in magnetophoretic microfluidic processes: a combined simulation and experimental study

This work explores the complex hydrodynamics in magnetophoretic microfluidic processes, focusing on the interplay of forces and particle concentrations. The study employs a combined simulation and experimental approach to investigate the impact of magnetophoresis on magneto-responsive nanoparticles (MNPs) and their environment, including non-magneto-responsive nanoparticles (non-MNPs) in a microfluidic system. Our findings reveal that the motion of MNPs induces a hydrodynamic convective motion of non-MNPs, significantly affecting the separation efficiency and purity of the particles. The separation efficiency of MNPs increases with the Péclet number, reflecting the increase in the magnetophoretic force, but decreases with lower concentrations. Conversely, non-MNPs exhibit high and constant separation efficiency with increasing Péclet number, independent of the magnetophoretic force. In a mixture, the separation efficiency of non-MNPs decreases, suggesting that non-MNPs drag along MNPs. The Mason number, representing the ratio between shear and magnetophoretic force, also plays a crucial role in the separation process. The results underscore the need for careful control and optimization of the Péclet and Mason numbers, as well as particle concentrations, for efficient magnetophoretic microfluidic processes. This study provides valuable information on the underlying principles of magnetophoresis in microfluidic applications, with implications for biochemistry, biomedicine, and biotechnology.