Micromixing and microparticle separation: A review

Abstract

This review paper presents an overview of micromixing and the separation of microparticles using active and passive approaches. Various techniques are introduced and their main characteristics are compared. This paper reveals that hybrid and active methods can provide higher performance for microfluidic devices; however, passive approaches employ simpler structures. The type of microfluidic devices, their geometry, and the range of Reynolds number (Re) are compared for active and passive devices. Hybrid methods can be utilized to improve the mixing index of micromixers. It can be concluded that the separation of microparticles/cells is based on their size, deformability, density, inlet flow rate, strength of external forces, etc.