AHPCRC Projects
Project 2–2: Micro- and Nanofluidic Devices for Sorting and Sensing Biowarfare Agents and Blood Additive Development Principal Investigators: Eric Shaqfeh and Eric Darve (Stanford University) |
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| Adhesion of fluorescent particles (shown in false color) in a bifurcated microfluidic channel, at decreasing shear rates. (Courtesy CFD, Inc. Used with permission.) | Red blood cells and platelets in a capillary |
| Graphics this page courtesy Eric Shaqfeh (Stanford University). | |
Computer modeling is a valuable tool for designing inexpensive, rugged field sensors capable of detecting and identifying biological warfare agents rapidly and accurately. In the micro- or nano-sized channels typical of miniaturized sensors, charged particles, such as DNA molecules, have strong hydrodynamic and electrostatic interactions with nearby particles or the channel walls, which affects the way they flow. AHPCRC researchers have developed a technical approach for simulating the flow of variously-shaped particles (e.g., DNA, protein molecules, or blood cells) through microchannel devices. They have modeled particles with various characteristics under several flow conditions. Results of the simulation runs compare well with laboratory results for microfluidic flow, including electro-osmotic effects. Simulating channel configurations including bends and splits requires coupling channel geometry with the particle interaction code using new fast algorithms. Because human blood vessels are a type of microchannel, these simulations can be extended to the study of particles in the bloodstream. Recent AHPCRC computational work has produced models of flexible particles and segregation of particle mixtures (such as red blood cells and platelets) in microcirculation. Medical researchers can use HPC simulations to study the effects of synthetic clotting agents, cryo-preserved platelets, and drug delivery molecules that can then be applied to treating soldiers in the field and in clinical settings. |
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