A pressure driven nanoconcentrator with anti-clogging behavior for recovery of bio-nanoparticles

This study proposes a counterflow nanoconcentrator (nC) with anti-clogging behavior as a concept for concentration of nano-sized particles, with the purpose of concentrating viruses in water samples and improving the sensitivity of subsequent detection. The nC incorporates penetrating nanochannels of varying cross section arranged between aerofoil-shaped micropillars distributed in an elliptical shape, with critical separation in the nanoscale. Continuum theory and discrete lattice Boltzmann method are used to describe the flow through channels at a critical width of 40 nm. Nanofluidic and microfluidic performance characteristics of the concentrator were investigated by simplifying the filtrate channels as effective fluidic lumped resistance elements. Comparison between nC units and microconcentrator units showed that the performance of the nC is consistent with that of the counterflow microconcentrator. But due to the large fluidic resistance exerted by the nC, operational parameter (pressure) and design parameters must be changed to preserve the anti-clogging behavior. Through a downscaling and a denser distribution of concentrating units compared with the microconcentrator, the results infer that the nC is capable of transporting a sufficient volume of liquid and is able to concentrate nanoparticles from water samples with reduced clogging risk and at high concentration efficiency.