Novel nanoconcentrator for recovering viral particles of biomedical interest: Design and simulation

This study introduces the counter-flow nanoconcentrator (nC) as a novel concept for viral pathogen concentration. The nC incorporates cross-section varied penetrating nanochannels arranged between aerofoil shaped micropillars. Nanofluidic characteristics of the concentrator were thoroughly investigated by conducting COMSOL FEM simulation. Simulations were performed to investigate fluid flow behavior in single penetrating channels, and to investigate the fluid flow in all gaps of full concentrator units in order to assess separation efficiency of the units. This was then compared to the results of the microconcentrator (μC) the results showed that the performance of the nC is consistent with that of the the counter-flow μC, and that the continuum theory employing the Navier-Stokes equations may be applied to describe the flow in the device. Furthermore, the simulation results inferred that the nC might be able to concentrate viral particles from water with high efficiency and reduced clogging risk.