Hydrophoresis: A New -Phoretic Method for High-Resolution Particle Separation

We report a new separation method of microscopic particles with hydrophoresis - the movement of suspended particles under the influence of a microstructure-induced pressure field. By exploiting slanted obstacles in a microchannel, we can generate a lateral pressure gradient so that microparticles can be deflected and arranged along the pressure gradient. The hydrophoretic method for high-resolution particle separation was successfully applied to discriminate microbeads with a diameter difference of- 7.3% and to separate blood plasma.