Microfluidic Mixing with the Dynamic Control of Magnetic Actuation

Mixing under laminar flow conditions remains a key challenge in microfluidic systems due to limited convective transport. Overcoming this limitation is essential for the advancement of real‐time biochemical analyses, point‐of‐care diagnostics, and autonomous lab‐on‐chip operations. This study investigates magnetically actuated microrobots that utilizes moment of inertia as mobile mixers to enhance fluid interface elongation and promote effective mixing. A modular design approach is used to fabricate microrobots with asymmetric mass distributions optimized for rotational dynamics. The experimental results show that increasing the moment of inertia and promoting sustained angular momentum improve the mixing performance. The longer arm length of the high‐inertia design also increases the geometric swept area, extending the hydrodynamic reach and supporting enhanced mixing. A high‐inertia three‐robot configuration achieves up to 80% mixing efficiency, surpassing the lower‐inertia setup by 10% due to enhanced interface stretching and vorticity generation. Circulation and vorticity analyses reveal that counter‐rotational motion and spatial placement amplify local shear rates, accelerating dye dispersion through continuous interface elongation. Furthermore, dynamic actuation patterns enable real‐time control of the mixing state by modulating flow‐induced interface evolution. Herein, new insights are offered into designing and controlling microrobotic actuators for adaptive microscale mixing with applications in lab‐on‐chip and diagnostic systems.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Intelligent Systems
Published
2025-12-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202500802
Primary Topic
Micro and Nano Robotics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Microfluidic Mixing with the Dynamic Control of Magnetic Actuation

Chia‐Yuan Chen, Prashant Kishor Sharma, Tsung‐Yen Lu
Advanced Intelligent Systems
Micro and Nano Robotics
article

Microfluidic Mixing with the Dynamic Control of Magnetic Actuation

Chia‐Yuan Chen, Prashant Kishor Sharma, Tsung‐Yen Lu
article en

Abstract

Mixing under laminar flow conditions remains a key challenge in microfluidic systems due to limited convective transport. Overcoming this limitation is essential for the advancement of real‐time biochemical analyses, point‐of‐care diagnostics, and autonomous lab‐on‐chip operations. This study investigates magnetically actuated microrobots that utilizes moment of inertia as mobile mixers to enhance fluid interface elongation and promote effective mixing. A modular design approach is used to fabricate microrobots with asymmetric mass distributions optimized for rotational dynamics. The experimental results show that increasing the moment of inertia and promoting sustained angular momentum improve the mixing performance. The longer arm length of the high‐inertia design also increases the geometric swept area, extending the hydrodynamic reach and supporting enhanced mixing. A high‐inertia three‐robot configuration achieves up to 80% mixing efficiency, surpassing the lower‐inertia setup by 10% due to enhanced interface stretching and vorticity generation. Circulation and vorticity analyses reveal that counter‐rotational motion and spatial placement amplify local shear rates, accelerating dye dispersion through continuous interface elongation. Furthermore, dynamic actuation patterns enable real‐time control of the mixing state by modulating flow‐induced interface evolution. Herein, new insights are offered into designing and controlling microrobotic actuators for adaptive microscale mixing with applications in lab‐on‐chip and diagnostic systems.

Advanced Intelligent Systems
National Cheng Kung University (TW)
National Science and Technology Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 30%
Micro and Nano Robotics
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Microfluidic Mixing with the Dynamic Control of Magnetic Actuation — Chia‐Yuan Chen, Prashant Kishor Sharma, et al. · Advanced Intelligent Systems (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS