On-chip label-free manipulation and enrichment of microparticles by utilizing DLD microfluidic chip

Abstract The proposed DLD (deterministic lateral displacement) microfluidic chip utilizes pressure-actuated flow for the successive separation of mixtures based on particle size. A triangular column array was designed to induce the DLD effect for improving sorting resolution and minimizing particle clogging. In the DLD device, particles having diameters larger than the critical diameter (Dc) move in a collision mode and collide with the microcolumns. Conversely, particles with sizes below DC flow in zigzag mode. This chip simplifies preparation and offers high-throughput and label-free performance. Notably, DC is lower in asymmetric level flow, resulting in high resolution and separation sensitivity. This underscores the chip’s advantages, particularly its application in label-free, high-throughput scenarios. Experiments demonstrated the proposed chip with leveled triangular columns can separate polystyrene microparticles with different diameters. The chip offers high-throughput analysis without label, selective and sensitive microparticle detection, and potential for nanoparticle sorting.