Controlling Transport of Colloidal Particles in Complex Fluids in Microfluidic Devices
Not stated
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
- Application deadline
- Year-round applications
About the project
About the Project The rapidly evolving field of microfluidics, in which fluids are manipulated at a microscopic scale, finds many applications in industries, ranging from the pharmaceutical to the oil industry. Most ubiquitous fluids are non-Newtonian and complex such as paints, blood, inks and personal-care products are just a few examples. It also raises curiosity to understand the behaviour of micro- and nano-particles in confinement and under flow that is widely used in various industrial applications, including drug delivery, cosmetics, food, medical diagnostics, environmental remediation, energy and agro-based industries. The technique of controlled manipulation of colloidal particles using microfluidics as a tool in lab-on-a-chip has unlocked opportunities to overcome many limitations of conventional technologies such as the requirement of multiple preparation steps, long processing times and large sample volumes . The project aims to develop and optimise innovative strategies to control the motion and spatio-temporal distribution of micro/nano-particles in complex fluids in a microfluidic environment. The candidate will design and fabricate microfluidic devices and characterise the flow/particle interaction through optical microscopy methods. There will be exposure to several experimental techniques for the synthesis and characterisation of functional particles and undertaking proof-of-concept studies to identify prospective applications of the developed microfluidic systems - especially for drug delivery and point-of-care diagnostics.