ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the theoretical background of inertial microfluidics that is important for applications in the field of hematology. The inertial microfluidics field has emerged from the finding of the importance of fluid inertia in microfluidic flows. The chapter reviews two main applications of inertial microfluidics in hematology: separations and single cell analysis. Microfluidic systems for cell sorting and separation are often suggested as solutions to the limitations of the conventional methods due to advantages of small sample volume, low cost, portability, disposability, high efficiency, and diverse separation principles. For applications for hematology, in particular, it is imperative to have a better understanding of the effects of particle deformability, particle-particle interactions, and fluid rheology. The non-intuitive physics of fluid mechanics at finite Reynolds number flows led to initial difficulties in both understanding and applications of the inertial microfluidics.
