Natural Sciences, Physical Sciences, Other Physics Topics, Naturvetenskap, Fysik, Annan fysik, Engineering and Technology, Medical Engineering, Other Medical Engineering, Teknik, Medicinteknik, Annan medicinteknik

Achieving good acoustic particle or cell separation performance requires skilled operators, who must carefully fine-tune the input parameters (actuation voltages, flow rates, and flow split ratios). Often the fine-tuning is done by time-consuming parameter sweeps, which are tedious and expensive. Here, we present a straightforward model-based approach to determining input parameters that yield optimal separation performance. The optimal parameters are a function of the device performance, the material properties of the separation species (compressibility, density, size), and the properties of the buffer (compressibility and density). The device performance is assessed by a calibration step, while the material properties are combined into the mobility ratio and measured by the in-flow mobility-ratio method, which is introduced in this work. The optimal separation settings are validated by separating green fluorescent 7.8-μm particles from red fluorescent 4.9-μm particles.