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A thermally shielded acoustofluidic device for robust particle focusing

Corato, Enrico LU orcid ; Jakobsson, Ola LU ; Gerlt, Michael LU orcid ; Qiu, Wei LU orcid and Augustsson, Per LU (2026) In Ultrasonics 166.
Abstract

Temperature control is crucial when handling biological particles. In acoustofluidics, temperature regulation is also critical since its fluctuations induce resonance shifts that deteriorates the acoustophoretic performance. In this work, we present a novel simple design that thermally decouples a microfluidic chip from the piezoelectric actuator through a thin copper sheet, allowing precise temperature control of the chip. By automating our experimental setup, we obtained precise multiparameter control and characterization of the device, which allows studying how the effects of flowrate, input power, voltage, temperature and frequency affect the acoustic focusing performance. We show that constant power is the preferred electrical... (More)

Temperature control is crucial when handling biological particles. In acoustofluidics, temperature regulation is also critical since its fluctuations induce resonance shifts that deteriorates the acoustophoretic performance. In this work, we present a novel simple design that thermally decouples a microfluidic chip from the piezoelectric actuator through a thin copper sheet, allowing precise temperature control of the chip. By automating our experimental setup, we obtained precise multiparameter control and characterization of the device, which allows studying how the effects of flowrate, input power, voltage, temperature and frequency affect the acoustic focusing performance. We show that constant power is the preferred electrical excitation method to minimize temperature fluctuations within a broad frequency range. We investigated the performance of the device at different set temperatures and found heat-induced resonance shifts and performance degradation close to physiological temperature. Our work confirms that the design enables precise temperature control, which is essential for robust performance, especially at high input power to the piezoelectric transducer. This work lays the basis for future optimized acoustofluidic devices able to focus particles reproducibly and efficiently at high throughput.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ultrasonics
volume
166
article number
108094
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:42066416
ISSN
0041-624X
DOI
10.1016/j.ultras.2026.108094
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
id
53f32610-2424-4411-a39d-0d919b91744f
date added to LUP
2026-05-07 10:36:33
date last changed
2026-05-08 11:59:49
@article{53f32610-2424-4411-a39d-0d919b91744f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Temperature control is crucial when handling biological particles. In acoustofluidics, temperature regulation is also critical since its fluctuations induce resonance shifts that deteriorates the acoustophoretic performance. In this work, we present a novel simple design that thermally decouples a microfluidic chip from the piezoelectric actuator through a thin copper sheet, allowing precise temperature control of the chip. By automating our experimental setup, we obtained precise multiparameter control and characterization of the device, which allows studying how the effects of flowrate, input power, voltage, temperature and frequency affect the acoustic focusing performance. We show that constant power is the preferred electrical excitation method to minimize temperature fluctuations within a broad frequency range. We investigated the performance of the device at different set temperatures and found heat-induced resonance shifts and performance degradation close to physiological temperature. Our work confirms that the design enables precise temperature control, which is essential for robust performance, especially at high input power to the piezoelectric transducer. This work lays the basis for future optimized acoustofluidic devices able to focus particles reproducibly and efficiently at high throughput.</p>}},
  author       = {{Corato, Enrico and Jakobsson, Ola and Gerlt, Michael and Qiu, Wei and Augustsson, Per}},
  issn         = {{0041-624X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Ultrasonics}},
  title        = {{A thermally shielded acoustofluidic device for robust particle focusing}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultras.2026.108094}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ultras.2026.108094}},
  volume       = {{166}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}