Electrophoretic maneuvering of nonuniformly charged particles suspended in linear flows: Impact of the medium viscoelasticity

Electrophoresis often coexists with imposed background flows in many applications. When particles carry nonuniform surface charge, and the fluid itself is complex, the particles may follow fascinating trajectories, as shown in this work. Indeed, the combined action of a background flow and complex fluidic medium may cause particles to undergo cross-stream migration. However, the very nature of its trajectory and the extent of its migration depends on whether the imposed flow or the electrophoretic propulsion dominates the motion. The insights provided here may be exploited for improving electrophoretic separation and sorting of particles based on their size and surface charge.