The alveolus is a basic functional unit of the human respiratory system, and the airflow in the alveoli plays an important role in determining the transport and deposition of particulate matter, which is crucial for inhaled disease diagnosis and drug delivery. In the present study, taking advantage of the precise control ability of the microfluidic technique, a rhythmically expanding alveolar chip with multiple alveoli in two generations is designed and both the geometric and kinematic similarities are matched with the real human respiration system. With the help of a micro-PIV measurement system, the microflow patterns inside each alveolus can be studied. The observed vortex and radial flow patterns and the discovery of stagnant saddle points are similar to those captured in our previous platform with only one alveolus [Lv et al., Lab Chip 20, 2394–2402 (2020)]. However, the interactions between multiple alveoli also uncover new phenomena, such as the finding of stagnant saddle points in non-vortex flow patterns and significant differences in the flow pattern around the points between the time of T/4 and 3T/4. The obtained results could enrich the understanding of microflow in a whole alveolar tree with multiple generations.
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September 2022
Research Article|
September 06 2022
Microflows in two-generation alveolar cells at an acinar bifurcation
Yue Yang
;
Yue Yang
(Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Contribution)
Center for Microflows and Nanoflows, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Weitao Bai;
Weitao Bai
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Contribution)
Center for Microflows and Nanoflows, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Jun Dong
;
Jun Dong
(Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft)
Center for Microflows and Nanoflows, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Huimin Lv;
Huimin Lv
(Methodology, Writing – original draft)
Center for Microflows and Nanoflows, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Yonggang Zhu
Yonggang Zhu
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
Center for Microflows and Nanoflows, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology
, Shenzhen 518055, China
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
Biomicrofluidics 16, 054101 (2022)
Article history
Received:
May 07 2022
Accepted:
August 02 2022
Citation
Yue Yang, Weitao Bai, Jun Dong, Huimin Lv, Yonggang Zhu; Microflows in two-generation alveolar cells at an acinar bifurcation. Biomicrofluidics 1 September 2022; 16 (5): 054101. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0098302
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