Focusing and Sorting of Ellipsoidal Magnetic Particles in Microchannels

We present a simple method to control the position of ellipsoidal magnetic particles in microchannel Poiseuille flow at low Reynolds number using a static uniform magnetic field. The magnetic field is utilized to pin the particle orientation, and the hydrodynamic interactions between ellipsoids and channel walls allow control of the transverse position of the particles. We employ a far-field hydrodynamic theory and simulations using the boundary element method and Brownian dynamics to show how magnetic particles can be focused and segregated by size and shape. This is of importance for particle manipulation in lab-on-a-chip devices.