Design, fabrication and geometric optimization of microchannels for wearable sensors

Hosseinalipour, Seyed Mostafa; Esfandiar, Milad; BashiriNezhad, Ali; FarajiGhalehShahrokhi, Mobina

doi:10.48301/jear.2024.477747.1043

Design, fabrication and geometric optimization of microchannels for wearable sensors

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Seyed Mostafa Hosseinalipour

Milad Esfandiar

Ali BashiriNezhad

Mobina FarajiGhalehShahrokhi

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

10.48301/jear.2024.477747.1043

Abstract

In recent decades, wearable sensors have played a significant role in enhancing personal health management as advanced tools in the medical field and health monitoring. These sensors utilize microchannels to direct fluids for accurate physiological data collection. Microchannels are crucial in improving the precision and efficiency of sensors due to their ability to control fluid flow. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is one of the widely used materials in the fabrication of these microchannels; however, its hydrophobic nature can disrupt fluid flow. To address this issue, coating with agarose nanoparticles has been proposed as an effective solution. Agarose nanoparticles, due to their biocompatibility and ability to improve the hydrophilicity of surfaces, facilitate fluid flow and enhance sensor accuracy. Experimental testing showed that the optimized microchannel design, with a length of 10 millimeters, a depth of 300 microns, and a constant width of 200 microns for all microchannels, including the outlet microchannel Type 1, exhibited the highest fluid velocity of 62.5 millimeters per second. Additionally, computational simulations demonstrated that optimized geometrical shapes can significantly improve sensor performance. This study examines the effects of geometry, nanostructured materials, and integrated optimization methods in microchannel design, providing strategies to enhance the performance of wearable sensors. The results of this research could pave the way for the development of a new generation of high-performance wearable sensors in the healthcare field.

Keywords

Wearable sensors

microchannels

polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)

agarose nanoparticles

hydrophilicity

Subjects

Mechanical Engineering

[1] Cheng, S., Gu, Z., Zhou, L., Hao, M., An, H., Song, K., Wu, X., Zhang, K., Zhao, Z., Dong, Y., & Wen, Y. (2021). Recent Progress in Intelligent Wearable Sensors for Health Monitoring and Wound Healing Based on Biofluids. Front Bioeng Biotechnol, 9, 765987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2021.765987

[2] Cheng, Y., Wang, K., Xu, H., Li, T., Jin, Q., & Cui, D. (2021). Recent developments in sensors for wearable device applications. Anal Bioanal Chem, 413(24), 6037-6057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03602-2

[3] Luo, Y., Fan, H., Lai, X., Zeng, Z., Lan, X., Lin, P., Tang, L., Wang, W., Chen, Y., & Tang, Y. (2024). Flexible liquid metal-based microfluidic strain sensors with fractal-designed microchannels for monitoring human motion and physiological signals. Biosens Bioelectron, 246, 115905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2023.115905

[4] Xu, Z., Song, J., Liu, B., Lv, S., Gao, F., Luo, X., & Wang, P. (2021). A Conducting Polymer PEDOT:PSS Hydrogel Based Wearable Sensor for Accurate Uric Acid Detection in Human Sweat. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 348, 130674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2021.130674

[5] Brothers, M. C., DeBrosse, M., Grigsby, C. C., Naik, R. R., Hussain, S. M., Heikenfeld, J., & Kim, S. S. (2019). Achievements and Challenges for Real-Time Sensing of Analytes in Sweat within Wearable Platforms. Acc Chem Res, 52(2), 297-306. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.8b00555

[6] Mustafa, A., Ertas Uslu, M., & Tanyeri, M. (2023). Optimizing Sensitivity in a Fluid-Structure Interaction-Based Microfluidic Viscometer: A Multiphysics Simulation Study. Sensors (Basel), 23(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23229265

[7] Abidi, A., Ahmadi, A., Enayati, M., Sajadi, S. M., Yarmand, H., Ahmed, A., & Cheraghian, G. (2021). A Review of the Methods of Modeling Multi-Phase Flows within Different Microchannels Shapes and Their Applications. Micromachines (Basel), 12(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12091113

[8] Jayasinghe, U., Harwin, W. S., & Hwang, F. (2019). Comparing Clothing-Mounted Sensors with Wearable Sensors for Movement Analysis and Activity Classification. Sensors (Basel), 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/s20010082

[9] Mounika, C., Tadge, T., Keerthana, M., Velyutham, R., & Kapusetti, G. (2023). Advancements in poly(methyl Methacrylate) bone cement for enhanced osteoconductivity and mechanical properties in vertebroplasty: A comprehensive review. Med Eng Phys, 120, 104049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2023.104049

[10] Trinh, K. T. L., Chae, W. R., & Lee, N. Y. (2021). Pressure-Free Assembling of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Microdevices via Microwave-Assisted Solvent Bonding and Its Biomedical Applications. Biosensors (Basel), 11(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11120526

[11] Jia, C., Jiang, F., Hu, P., Kuang, Y., He, S., Li, T., Chen, C., Murphy, A., Yang, C., Yao, Y., Dai, J., Raub, C. B., Luo, X., & Hu, L. (2018). Anisotropic, Mesoporous Microfluidic Frameworks with Scalable, Aligned Cellulose Nanofibers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 10(8), 7362-7370. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b17764

[12] Wee, K. R., Brennaman, M. K., Alibabaei, L., Farnum, B. H., Sherman, B., Lapides, A. M., & Meyer, T. J. (2014). Stabilization of ruthenium(II) polypyridyl chromophores on nanoparticle metal-oxide electrodes in water by hydrophobic PMMA overlayers. J Am Chem Soc, 136(39), 13514-13517. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja506987a

[13] Gonçalves, M., Gonçalves, I. M., Borges, J., Faustino, V., Soares, D., Vaz, F., Minas, G., Lima, R., & Pinho, D. (2024). Polydimethylsiloxane Surface Modification of Microfluidic Devices for Blood Plasma Separation. Polymers (Basel), 16(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16101416

[14] Zhu, Y., Chen, Y., & Xu, Y. (2018). Interruptible siphon valving for centrifugal microfluidic platforms. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2018.08.123

[15] Khaleque, M. A., Hossain, M. I., Ali, M. R., Bacchu, M. S., Saad Aly, M. A., & Khan, M. Z. H. (2023). Nanostructured wearable electrochemical and biosensor towards healthcare management: a review. RSC Adv, 13(33), 22973-22997. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ra03440b

[16] Lau, W. C., Chen, Y. L., Xia, L., Xiao, X. H., & Li, G. K. (2023). [Surface-modified microchip electrophoretic separation and analysis of functional components in health care products]. Se Pu, 41(10), 937-948. https://doi.org/10.3724/sp.j.1123.2023.08019

[17] Zheng, C., Ma, Z., Yu, L., Wang, X., Zheng, L., & Zhu, L. (2022). Effect of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles on the Friction-Wear Properties of Copper-Based Friction Discs. Materials (Basel), 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15020587

[18] Xie, Z., Pu, H., & Sun, D.-W. (2021). Computer simulation of submicron fluid flows in microfluidic chips and their applications in food analysis. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 20(4), 3818-3837. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12766

[19] Mammari, N., & Duval, R. E. (2023). Photothermal/Photoacoustic Therapy Combined with Metal-Based Nanomaterials for the Treatment of Microbial Infections. Microorganisms, 11(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11082084

[20] Rafeie, M., Hosseinzadeh, S., Taylor, R. A., & Warkiani, M. E. (2019). New insights into the physics of inertial microfluidics in curved microchannels. I. Relaxing the fixed inflection point assumption. Biomicrofluidics, 13(3), 034117. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5109004

[21] Joseph, T. M., Kar Mahapatra, D., Esmaeili, A., Piszczyk, Ł., Hasanin, M. S., Kattali, M., Haponiuk, J., & Thomas, S. (2023). Nanoparticles: Taking a Unique Position in Medicine. Nanomaterials (Basel), 13(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030574

[22] Jiang, F., Xu, X. W., Chen, F. Q., Weng, H. F., Chen, J., Ru, Y., Xiao, Q., & Xiao, A. F. (2023). Extraction, Modification and Biomedical Application of Agarose Hydrogels: A Review. Mar Drugs, 21(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/md21050299

[23] Madadelahi, M., Acosta-Soto, L. F., Hosseini, S., Martinez-Chapa, S. O., & Madou, M. J. (2020). Mathematical modeling and computational analysis of centrifugal microfluidic platforms: a review [10.1039/C9LC00775J]. Lab on a Chip, 20(8), 1318-1357. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9LC00775J

[24] Stone, H. A., Stroock, A. D., & Ajdari, A. (2004). Engineering flows in small devices: microfluidics toward a lab-on-a-chip. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 36(1), 381-411.

[25] Phu Pham, L. H., Bautista, L., Vargas, D. C., & Luo, X. (2018). A simple capillary viscometer based on the ideal gas law. RSC Adv, 8(53), 30441-30447. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra06006a

[26] Lan, W., Wang, Z., Wang, M., Liu, D., Guo, X., Sun, Q., Li, X., & Li, S. (2019). Determination of transient interfacial tension in a microfluidic device using a Laplace sensor. Chemical Engineering Science, 209, 115207.

[27] Shintaku, M., Oga, H., Kusudo, H., Smith, E. R., Omori, T., & Yamaguchi, Y. (2024). Measuring line tension: Thermodynamic integration during detachment of a molecular dynamics droplet. J Chem Phys, 160(22). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0201973

[28] Tokihiro, J. C., McManamen, A. M., Phana, D. N., Thongpang, S., Blake, T. D., Theberge, A. B., & Berthier, J. (2024). On the dynamic contact angle of capillary-driven microflows in open channels. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.24.537941

[29] Jayakumar, K., Bennett, R., & Leech, D. (2021). Electrochemical glucose biosensor based on an osmium redox polymer and glucose oxidase grafted to carbon nanotubes: A design-of-experiments optimisation of current density and stability. Electrochimica Acta, 371, 137845. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2021.137845

[30] Khorshid, S., Goffi, R., Maurizii, G., Benedetti, S., Sotgiu, G., Zamboni, R., Buoso, S., Galuppi, R., Bordoni, T., Tiboni, M., Aluigi, A., & Casettari, L. (2023). Microfluidic manufacturing of tioconazole loaded keratin nanocarriers: Development and optimization by design of experiments. Int J Pharm, 647, 123489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123489

[31] Tang, M., Tan, L., Zhang, M., Shi, H., Zhao, Y., Xu, D., & Zou, J. (2024). Rapid determination of biogenic amines in ossotide injections by microfluidic chip-mass spectrometry platform: Optimization of microfluidic chip derivatization using response surface methodology. Microchemical Journal, 199, 109989. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2024.109989