Computational Modelling Group

Seminar  10th September 2014 5 p.m.  Building 53, Room 4025

Simulation of microfluidic components of a LoC for food pathogen detection: A ?PCR device and a passive micromixer

Various Speakers
NCSR Demokritos

Submitter
Luke Goater

Simulation of microfluidic components of a LoC for food pathogen detection: A ?PCR device and a passive micromixer

I. Kefala, V. Papadopoulos, G. Kaprou, D. Papageorgiou, G. Papadakis, G. Kokkoris, A. Tserepi

Modeling and simulation of microfluidic components can be a powerful tool toward the design and optimization of Lab-on-Chip (Loc) systems. In the context of the EU project LOVEFOOD, two simulation examples are presented. The first refers to ?PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) devices. In particular, a continuous flow and a static chamber device, with specifications coming from the flexible circuit (FPC) technology, are compared through a computational study in terms of DNA amplification, energy consumption, and total operating time. A detailed model starting from the operation of the temperature controller and ending up to PCR kinetics and DNA amplification is formulated. COMSOL is utilized for the numerical solution. The second example refers to a passive planar micromixer with specifications coming again from FPC technology. In particular, a split-and-merge micromixer with labyrinthine channels, combining advantages of previous designs and additionally a high concentration gradient at the junctions is presented. It is computationally evaluated through a comparison with three different geometries, i.e. a zigzag, a spiral, and a linear micromixer. The computations are performed with ANSYS Fluent.