Optimization modeling of analyte adhesion over an inclined microcantilever-based biosensor

Abstract

The effect of the microcantilever inclination on analyte adhesion is numerically analyzed in this work. A generalized model for the analyte adhesion is considered based on wall shear stress (WSS) at the microcantilever surface. Several analytical solutions for special cases are obtained. It is found numerically that the total mass transfer is enhanced by increasing the adhesion rate, the Peclet number and the use of converging flows over the microcantilever. Further, it is found that there exists a critical Peclet number that can maximize the total mass transfer when WSS slows down the adhesion process. The critical Peclet number increases as adhesion rate increases while it decreases as the flow becomes more convergent. Correlations are established on the basis of the numerical simulations for predicting flow operating conditions inside fluidic cells under maximized mass transfer rate conditions. Finally, this work paves the way for future experimental work in this area.