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UNM acoustofluidics research featured on Lab on a Chip inside front cover

September 15, 2026

photo: cover of Lab on a Chip

Researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at The University of New Mexico have developed a new acoustofluidic technology for capturing and concentrating microscopic particles from flowing liquids. The work, led by CBE postdoctoral researcher Ruben J. Trujillo, with contributions from CBE student Rachel Bui, was published in Lab on a Chip and selected for the inside front cover of the issue.

The technology uses sound waves to move particles toward a precisely positioned 50-micron wire inside a flowing microcapillary, where the particles can be captured, concentrated, and subsequently released. One advancement offered in the results is the deliberate placement of a fixed microstructure within the acoustic field, providing a new way to improve particle trapping in continuously flowing liquids.

The separation and concentration of micro- and nanoplastics from environmental and biological samples could be a promising application, researchers said. Isolating these small particles from large liquid volumes remains a major analytical challenge. By concentrating particles into a much smaller volume, this technology could improve downstream detection, identification, and measurement of microplastics and nanoplastics.

The underlying technology has broader potential for medical and biomedical separations, including the concentration and isolation of cells, extracellular vesicles, and other biological particles. Because acoustic methods can manipulate particles without requiring chemical labels, they could support new approaches to sample preparation for diagnostics, biomedical research, and analytical testing.

The research brought together expertise from UNM and New Mexico Tech University and included Ruben Trujillo, Rachel Bui, Andrew Shreve, Matthew Campen, Menake Piyasena, and Steven Graves.