Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering

Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering

Design and Numerical Simulation of a Magnetophoretic System with a Rotating-Field for Manipulation and Separation of Magnetic Microparticles

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Atabak Mohammadi Moazed 1
Roozbeh Abedini-Nassab 2
1 Energy Conversion Department, Faculty of, Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University
2 Energy Conversion Department,, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
10.22060/mej.2026.25348.7943
Abstract
In this study, a novel system based on magnetophoretic chips has been designed and simulated for the manipulation and controlled size-based separation of magnetic microparticles within a microfluidic environment. The system consists of magnetic nanofilms in the form of interconnected disks with a separation gap and a rotating magnetic field generated by permanent magnets. The magnetic field generator setup, using a stepper motor and an Arduino controller, enables adjustment of the rotation frequency. Three-dimensional modeling was carried out using SolidWorks, and the distribution of the magnetic energy on the chip was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. Additionally, particle trajectories and magnetic forces were analyzed through custom-developed MATLAB codes. The simulation results, for validation purposes, were compared with experimental data from previous studies, and the good agreement of the particle trajectories (with an average radial error of 2.61%) demonstrated the high accuracy of the simulations. Then, using this validated model, the performance of the designed system in particle separation was evaluated, and it was found that by selecting gaps of 2 to 7 micrometers, under magnetic field strengths of 50 and 100 Oersted and by adjusting the frequency, micrometric particles with different sizes could be separated. By eliminating challenges associated with coil circuits and undesired heating in previous methods, this study provides a reliable, simple, and efficient solution with biological and medical applications.
Keywords
Lab-on-a-Chip
Single-Cell Analysis
Particle Separation
Magnetic Particle Manipulation
Magnetophoretic Circuits
Subjects
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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 57, Issue 12
March 2026
Pages 1537-1550