Analysis of Colloidal Transport Mechanisms in Western Blotting

This work investigates electrokinetically driven protein transport in open microfluidic devices with microwells featuring axial shape variations. The results indicate that protein propagation, which is lysed at the surface, depends on two key parameters: the electrical potential ratio <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:semantics><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo> <mml:mrow><mml:mi>α</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mi>ζ</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:msub><mml:mi>ϕ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow> <mml:annotation>$( {\alpha = \zeta /{{\phi }_0}} )$</mml:annotation></mml:semantics> </mml:math> , and the geometric curvature of the microwell. The concave microwell configuration presents the best outcome due to the emergence of a transverse velocity component that confines the cell within the microwell. Lastly, protein concentration can be improved when the negative microwell geometric slope exhibits nondifferentiable behavior (e.g., edges or fractal geometries), while a higher zeta potential can broaden the influence of the Stern layer.