Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Surface Acoustic Wave Driven Microfluidic Biochips

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This project is concerned with the mathematical modeling, numerical simulation and model validation of surface-acoustic-wave driven microfluidic biochips. The operational behavior of such biochips represents a multiphysics, multiscale problem that can be described by a coupling of the equations of piezoelectrics and the compressible Navier-Stokes equations featuring flow patterns on extremely different time-scales. Heterogeneous homogenization techniques will be applied for a proper modeling of the resulting flow field (acoustic streaming) and develop, analyze and implement efficient and reliable algorithmic tools for the numerical simulation. A model validation will be performed on the basis of available experimental data.Biochips and bioarrays are devices that are used in pharmaceutical, medical and forensic applications for the chemical analysis of DNA and proteins and thus play an important role in genomics, proteomics, and cell analysis. Current technological efforts focus on the development of devices that guarantee a significant speed-up of the analysis. Microfluidic biochips are characterized by an integration of the fluidics on the chip itself and can provide such a speed-up along with a better sensitivity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. This project will lead to a better understanding of the operational behavior and develop methods that can be used for an optimal design of biochips and bioarrays.