a b s t r a c t
In this paper we discuss the magnetic micro-convection phenomenon as a tool for mixing enhancement
in microfluidics systems in cases when one of the miscible fluids is a magnetic particle colloid. A system
of a water-based magnetic fluid and water is investigated experimentally under homogeneous magnetic
field in a Hele–Shaw cell. Subsequent image analysis both qualitatively and quantitatively reveals the
high enhancement of mixing efficiency provided by this method. The mixing efficiency dependence on
the magnetic field and the physical limits is discussed. A suitable model for a continuous-flow micro-
fluidics setup for mixing with magnetic micro-convection is also proposed and justified with an ex-
periment. In addition, possible applications in improving the speed of ferrohydrodynamic sorting and
magnetic label or selected tracer mixing in lab on a chip systems are noted.
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