Measurement of flow velocity and inference of liquid viscosity in a microfluidic channel by fluorescence photobleaching

Citation:

Carroll, NJ, KH Jensen, S Parsa, NM Holbrook, and DA Weitz. 2014. “Measurement of flow velocity and inference of liquid viscosity in a microfluidic channel by fluorescence photobleaching.” Langmuir 30: 4868-74.

Date Published:

Apr 29

Abstract:

We present a simple, noninvasive method for simultaneous measurement of flow velocity and inference of liquid viscosity in a microfluidic channel. We track the dynamics of a sharp front of photobleached fluorescent dye using a confocal microscope and measure the intensity at a single point downstream of the initial front position. We fit an exact solution of the advection diffusion equation to the fluorescence intensity recovery curve to determine the average flow velocity and the diffusion coefficient of the tracer dye. The dye diffusivity is correlated to solute concentration to infer rheological properties of the liquid. This technique provides a simple method for simultaneous elucidation of flow velocity and liquid viscosity in microchannels.

Notes:

Carroll, Nick JJensen, Kaare HParsa, ShimaHolbrook, N MicheleWeitz, David AengResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.2014/04/16 06:00Langmuir. 2014 Apr 29;30(16):4868-74. doi: 10.1021/la404891g. Epub 2014 Apr 14.

Last updated on 03/25/2015