Fluid paths inside a spiral-shaped microchannel: a CFD study with discussion about possible Chinese hamster ovary cell trajectories

Enthalten in
Microfluidics and nanofluidics 
Volume
18
Issue
4
Start Page
685
End Page
694
Citation
Microfluidics and Nanofluidics 4 (18): 685-694 (2015)
Publisher DOI
10.1007/s10404-014-1468-x
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85028167100
The spiral-shaped microchannel geometry of a microfluidic system was investigated for a separation process of suspension-adapted Chinese hamster ovary cells. The fluid phase of the transported cell suspension thereby consists of the culture medium TC42, with added glutamine, and saltwater. Paths of fictive cells reproduced as massless and dimensionless particles, i.e., certain flow lines of the fluid phase, have been analyzed according to their dynamic motion behavior and exposure to shear stresses with single-phase, steady-state computational fluid dynamic simulation results. A parameter study has been made by varying the volume flow. The vertical motion component of the paths inside the inlet and the spiral geometry are also in main focus contrary to many publications, in which the lateral component plays the major role. Two periods with a local path accumulation have been identified. The shear stresses in terms of the energy dissipation rate were calculated along the paths to estimate possible cell loading. At the highest modeled volume flow, a cell lysis probability was estimated to be likely for a small cell fraction.
Schlagworte
Biological cells
Dean effect
Energy dissipation
Motion path
Spiral-shaped microchannel