The importance of particle type selection and temperature control for on-chip free-flow magnetophoresis

Free-flow magnetophoresis is becoming a popular technique for the separation and manipulation of magnetic particles and materials in microsystems. A wide variety of magnetic particles are commercially available that differ greatly in size and in magnetic properties. To investigate the suitability of different particle types for magnetophoretic operations in microfluidic devices, we compared a range of particles from three manufacturers by pumping them through a microfluidic separation chamber and deflecting them from the direction of laminar flow by applying an external magnetic field. The on-chip deflection of particles was compared to data provided by the manufacturers and magnetisation data obtained from vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measurements. Additionally, the extent of deflection was examined over a range of temperatures. Deflection distances were found to increase significantly with increasing temperature. Further to this, a separation of 2.8 and 1.0 μm magnetic particles was performed at different temperatures. Separation resolution was found to improve at higher temperatures. Hence, temperature manipulation provides a simple and effective means for improving a magnetic separation or for controlling the angle at which a particle is deflected from its hydrodynamic flow path.