Chaotic micromixing in open wells using audio-frequency acoustic microstreaming

Abstract

Mixing fluids for biochemical assays is problematic when volumes are very small (on the order of the 10 μL typical of single drops), which has inspired the development of many micromixing devices. In this paper, we show that micromixing is possible in the simple open wells of standard laboratory consumables using appropriate acoustic frequencies that can be applied using cheap, conventional audio components. Earlier work has shown that the phenomenon of acoustic microstreaming can mix fluids, provided that bubbles are introduced into a specially designed microchamber or that highfrequency surface acoustic wave devices are constructed. We demonstrate a key simplification: acoustic micromixing..