The development of acoustofluidic devices using printed circuit boards

Mikhaylov, Roman 2023. The development of acoustofluidic devices using printed circuit boards. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Acoustofluidic devices utilise acoustophoretic forces to actuate fluids and particles and have attracted increasing interest in biomedical research, due to their label-free and biocompatible nature. They have demonstrated the ability to precisely manipulate particles and cells by creating acoustic forces that are proportional to the size, shape, and density of the particles and cells. These devices have demonstrated the ability to manipulate cells with considerable accuracy and sensitivity, in applications such as cell patterning, separation and concentration, and even demonstrated their capability to be applied in stimulation and transfection applications. One of the most prominent acoustofluidic devices for separation and manipulation based applications are the surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Conventional SAW based devices are manufactured by using the photolithography technique and require high-end cleanroom facilities, which results in devices that are not reconfigurable and not very accessible. In this thesis, a new PCB based fabrication technique for making SAW based devices is introduced as an alternative to the conventional method. This technique patterns interdigital transducers (IDTs) on a printed circuit board (PCB) to create PCB IDTs, which are mechanically clamped onto a piezoelectric substrate to form a PCB based SAW device. The PCB -SAW device removes the need for cleanroom facilities, which results in a device made via a widely accessible manufacturing technique that is reconfigurable. Additionally, this technique offers having the capability to couple the PCB IDTs with different piezoelectric substrates without the need of re-manufacturing. Herein, the PCB SAW device demonstrates its capability to generate SAW to pattern particles and cells with 128o Y-cut LiNbO3 piezoelectric substrate using a standing SAW (SSAW), similarly to the conventionally manufactured SAW devices. The same device also demonstrated its capability to quickly couple with ZnO based piezoelectric substrate and generate SAWs. This thesis then explores the capability of different PCB substrates to generate SAWs and to develop a portable and compact acoustofluidic device made from widely accessible components, including its microchannel. Finally, the PCB based SAW technique is applied to develop a device for particle actuation, to study experimentally the actuation of different sized particles and at different microchannel configurations under flow conditions, to demonstrate its capability to potentially be applied for separation-based applications

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Engineering
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Acoustofluidics; PCB IDTs; Surface acoustic waves; SAW; Cell manipulation; Acoustophoresis
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 January 2025
Last Modified:	23 Jan 2025 14:49
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175540

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