GMI detection of magnetic-particle concentration in continuous flow

We describe a microfluidic device for the determination of the concentration of magnetic beads under continuous flow of the carrier fluid by means of the Giant Magneto-Impedance effect (GMI). The microfluidic chip is composed of a 10 mu l chamber situated on top of the GMI sensing material, which is inserted in a microstrip transmission line for the impedance measurements. Two different GMI materials have been used for the experiments: an amorphous ribbon and a permalloy based multilayer, sputtered onto the same polymeric material of the microfluidic chamber. Detection tests in continuous flow have been performed using solutions containing two types of beads: one made of ferromagnetic microparticles and the other made of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. A basic calculation of the magnitude of the fringe field created by the beads assures a detectable signal on the sensors, but the experimental difficulties severely condition the measurements. The results show a promising sensitivity for both types of particles but also reveal an important number of detection problems that must be overcame before the prototype become functional. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.