High pressure inertial focusing for separation and concentration of bacteria at high throughput

Inertial focusing is a phenomenon where particles migrate across streamlines in microchannels and focus at well-defined, size dependent equilibrium points of the cross section. It can be taken into advantage for focusing, separation and concentration of particles at high through-put and high efficiency. As particles decrease in size, smaller channels and higher pressures are needed. Hence, new designs are needed to decrease the pressure drop. In this work a novel design was adapted to focus and separate 1 μm from 3 μm spherical polystyrene particles. Also 0.5 μm spherical polystyrene particles were separated, although in a band instead of a single line. The ability to separate, concentrate and focus bacteria, its simplicity of use and high throughput make this technology a candidate for daily routines in laboratories and hospitals.