Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) is a common name given to a class of continuous microfluidic separation devices that use a repeating array of pillars to selectively displace particles having a mean diameter greater than the critical diameter (Dc). This Dc is an emergent property influenced by pillar shape, size, and spacing, in addition to the suspending fluid and target particle properties. The majority of previous research in DLD applications has focused on the utilization of laminar flow in low Reynolds number (Re) regimes. While laminar flow exhibits uniform streamlines and predictable separation characteristics, this low-Re regime is dependent on relatively low fluid velocities, and may not hold true at higher processing speeds. Through numerical modeling and experimentation, we investigated high-Re flow characteristics and potential separation enhancements resulting from vortex generation within a DLD array. We used an analytical model and computational software to simulate DLD performance spanning a Re range of 1–100 at flow rates of 2–170 μL/s (0.15–10 mL/min). Each simulated DLD array configuration was composed of 60 μm cylindrical pillars with a 45 μm gap size. The experimental DLD device was fabricated using conventional soft lithography, and injected with 20 μm particles at varying flow rates to observe particle trajectories. The simulated results predict a shift in Dc at Re > 50, while the experimental results indicate a breakdown of typical DLD operation at Re > 70.
Gravity driven deterministic lateral displacement for suspended particles in a 3D obstacle array