Abstract
The paper discusses a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model for the analysis of the multiphase flow occurring in an experimental microfluidic device for conformal coating of pancreatic islets with a biocompatible and permeable polymer. The proposed numerical model, based on a weakly-compressible SPH approach, accurately mimics the encapsulation process while assuring phase conservation, thus overcoming potential limitations of grid-based models. The proposed SPH model is a triphasic multi-phase model that allows one: (i) to reproduce the physics of islet conformal coating, including the effects of surface tension at the interface of the involved fluids and of the islet diameter; and (ii) to evaluate how modulation of process parameters influences the fluid dynamics within the microfluidic device and the resulting coating characteristics. This model can represent a valuable, time- and cost-effective tool for the definition of optimized encapsulation conditions through in silico screening of novel combinations of conformal coating parameters, including polymeric coating blends, size range of insulin-secreting cell clusters, utilized chemical reagents, device geometry and scale.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 19-30 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Medical Engineering and Physics |
Volume | 77 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2020 |
Keywords
- Biphasic fluid
- Cell clusters
- Encapsulation
- Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
- Surface tension
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biomedical Engineering