Manual centrifuge system: Bearing-based hand spinner made with 3-D printer

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Mechanical Design

Background:

• Compact disk (CD) microfluidic platforms face challenges with bulkiness and electricity requirements for centrifugation.
• Existing solutions like paperfuge lack consistent rotation direction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a novel, electricity-free bearing-based hand spinner for microfluidic applications.
• To assess the impact of bearing type and weighting on spinner performance (RPM).
• To demonstrate the device's efficacy in separating biological and non-biological mixtures.

Main Methods:

• A bearing-based hand spinner was designed and fabricated using 3D printing technology.
• Different bearing types (e.g., ceramic ball bearing) and weighting configurations were tested.
• Performance was evaluated by measuring changes in revolutions per minute (RPM) over time.
• Separation experiments were conducted using a mixture of red ink and oil, and whole blood.

Main Results:

• The 3D-printed spinner operates without electricity, maintaining a stable rotation direction.
• Ceramic ball bearings demonstrated effective separation of red ink from oil.
• Successful separation of whole blood into red blood cells and plasma was achieved using the ceramic ball bearing configuration.

Conclusions:

• The developed bearing-based hand spinner offers a low-cost, electricity-free alternative for microfluidic centrifugation.
• The device shows promise for point-of-care diagnostics and other medical applications requiring sample separation.
• Spinner performance is influenced by bearing type and weighting, requiring further optimization.