Design of a sedimentation hole in a microfluidic channel to remove blood cells from diluted whole blood

With the aim of developing a sensor for rapidly detecting viruses in a drop of blood, in this study, we analyze the shape of a hole in a microfluidic channel in relation to the efficiency of sedimentation of blood cells. The efficiency of sedimentation is examined on the basis of our calculation and experimental results for two types of sedimentation hole, cylindrical and truncated conical holes, focusing on the Boycott effect, which can promote the sedimentation of blood cells from a downward-facing wall. As a result, we demonstrated that blood cells can be eliminated with an efficiency of 99% or higher by retaining a diluted blood sample of about 30 μL in the conical hole for only 2 min. Moreover, we succeeded in detecting the antihepatitis B surface antigen antibody in blood using a waveguide-mode sensor equipped with a microfluidic channel having the conical sedimentation hole.