Continuum model of dielectrophoretic particle transport

This study introduces a continuum model for dielectrophoretic particle separations and transport, demonstrating its capability to accurately predict molecular transport at the nanoscale. These techniques can be adapted to accurately predict and control transport at the nanoscale, facilitating the efficient and precise separation of solutes across various applications. As solutes move through nanoscale systems, they are affected by various inputs such as fluid velocity, electric fields, and molecular interactions with surfaces. This model utilizes particle solution permittivity as input to predict the spatial distribution of solute concentration. This study extends our previously validated continuum model by incorporating a theoretical enhancement to address concentration-dependent effects in dielectrophoresis (DEP). We propose a novel transport equation derived from a new constitutive function that defines solution permittivity as a function of molecular concentration, explicitly enforcing feedback between the DEP transport equation and electric field strength. We validated our simulations against a comprehensive experimental matrix to rigorously test this framework, mapping solute concentration distributions across various flow rates and voltages.