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Park JS, Cho I, Park J, Kim SJ. Differential Impact of Surface Conduction and Electroosmotic Flow on Ion Transport Enhancement by Microscale Auxiliary Structures. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:10098-10106. [PMID: 38696820 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Our research investigates the impact of auxiliary structures on ion transport in electrochemical systems such as batteries and microscale desalination units, whose importance for sustainable development has increased dramatically in recent decades. The electrochemical systems typically feature ion-selective surfaces, such as electrodes and ion exchange membranes, where ion depletion can cause performance issues including metal dendrite formation and flow instability. Recent research has shown that auxiliary structures in these electrochemical systems can enhance ion transfer near ion-selective surfaces, thereby resolving the instability problem and improving the energy conversion efficiency of the system. Our study leverages recent advancements in nanoscale electrokinetics to model these auxiliary structures as pillar arrays near an ion exchange membrane in a microchannel. We examine how these structures enhance ion transports relative to the characteristic length scale of microchannel depth and pillars' proximity to the ion-selective surface. Results show that the effect of the pillars varies significantly with their placement. Specifically, in deeper microchannels, where electrokinetic convection is stronger, the closer the auxiliary structure is to the ion-selective membrane, the better the ion transfer. However, in the thinner microchannel, the proximity of the auxiliary structure to the ion selective membrane has a less significant correlation with the ion transfer. Therefore, this finding highlights the importance of spatial arrangement of the auxiliary structures in improving the performance of electrochemical devices. Conclusively, this study can help to better understand energy conversion systems such as fuel cells, salinity gradient power generation systems, and electrochemical desalination systems, where auxiliary structures can be used in the vicinity of ion-selective surfaces. Especially, our fundamental electrokinetic study provides an effective means for designing the efficient electrochemical platforms utilizing micro/nanofluidics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Suk Park
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Inhee Cho
- Korea-Russia Innovation Center, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Incheon 21655, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihee Park
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- SOFT Foundry Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Jae Kim
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- SOFT Foundry Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- Inter-university Semiconductor Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
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2
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Wang Z, Liu M, Lin H, Zhu G, Dong Z, Wu N, Fan Y, Xu G, Chang L, Wang Y. An Ion Concentration Polarization Microplatform for Efficient Enrichment and Analysis of ctDNA. ACS NANO 2024; 18:2872-2884. [PMID: 38236597 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c07137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Strategies for rapid, effective nucleic acid processing hold tremendous significance to the clinical analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), a family of important markers indicating tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, traditional techniques remain challenging to achieve efficient DNA enrichment, further bringing about complicated operation and limited detection sensitivity. Here, we developed an ion concentration polarization microplatform that enabled highly rapid, efficient enrichment and purification of ctDNA from a variety of clinical samples, including serum, urine, and feces. The platform demonstrated efficiently separating and enriching ctDNA within 30 s, with a 100-fold improvement over traditional methods. Integrating an on-chip isothermal amplification module, the platform further achieved 100-fold enhanced sensitivity in ctDNA detection, which significantly eliminated false-negative results in the serum or urine samples due to the low abundance of ctDNA. Such a simple-designed platform offers a user-friendly yet powerful diagnosis technique with a wide applicability, ranging from early tumor diagnosis to infection screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiying Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ming Liu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Haocheng Lin
- Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Guiying Zhu
- School of Biomedical Engineering/Med-X, Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, P. R. China
| | - Zaizai Dong
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Nan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yubo Fan
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Gaolian Xu
- School of Biomedical Engineering/Med-X, Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, P. R. China
- Shanghai Sci-Tech InnoCenter for Infection & Immunity, Shanghai, 200000, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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3
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Free-flow biomolecular concentration and separation of proteins and nucleic acids using teíchophoresis. Talanta 2023; 255:124198. [PMID: 36580810 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.124198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ability to preconcentrate, separate, and purify biomolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, is an important requirement for the next generation of portable diagnostic tools for environmental monitoring and disease detection. Traditionally, such pretreatment has been accomplished using large, centralized liquid- or solid-phase extraction equipment, which can be time-consuming and requires many processing steps. Here, we present a newly developed electrokinetic concentration technique, teíchophoresis (TPE), to concentrate and separate proteins, and to concentrate nucleic acids. In TPE, a free-flowing sample is exposed to a perpendicular electric field in the vicinity of a mass-impermeable conductive wall and a conductive terminating electrolyte (TE), which creates a high electric field strength zone between the lower mobility sample and the no-flux barrier. Unlike a similar electrokinetic concentration method, isotachophoresis (ITP), TPE does not require a leading electrolyte (LE), yet still enables a continuous field-driven electrophoretic ion migration across the channel and a free-flowing biomolecular concentration at the conductive wall. Here, we demonstrate the use of free-flow TPE (FFTPE) to manipulate biomolecular samples containing proteins or nucleic acids. We first use TPE to drive a 6.6-fold concentration increase of avidin-FITC, and also demonstrate protein separation and stacking between ovalbumin-fluorescein and BSA-AlexaFluor 555, both without the use of a conventional LE. Further, we utilize TPE to perform a 21-fold concentration increase of nucleic acids. Our results show that TPE is biocompatible with both proteins and nucleic acids, requires only 10 V DC, produces no significant sample pH changes during operation, and demonstrates that this method can be used as an effective sample pretreatment to prepare biological samples for downstream analysis in a continuous free-flowing microfluidic channel.
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Thompson JR, Crooks RM. Electrokinetic separation techniques for studying nano- and microplastics. Chem Sci 2022; 13:12616-12624. [PMID: 36519045 PMCID: PMC9645370 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc04019k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, microplastics have been found in seawater, soil, food, and even human blood and tissues. The ubiquity of microplastics is alarming, but the health and environmental impacts of microplastics are just beginning to be understood. Accordingly, sampling, separating, and quantifying exposure to microplastics to devise a total risk assessment is the focus of ongoing research. Unfortunately, traditional separation methods (i.e., size- and density-based methods) unintentionally exclude the smallest microplastics (<10 μm). Limited data about the smallest microplastics is problematic because they are likely the most pervasive and have distinct properties from their larger plastic counterparts. To that end, in this Perspective, we discuss using electrokinetic methods for separating the smallest microplastics. Specifically, we describe three methods for forming electric field gradients, discuss key results within the field for continuously separating microplastics, and lastly discuss research avenues which we deem critical for advancing electrokinetic separation platforms for targeting the smallest microplastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin 105 E. 24th St., Stop A5300 Austin Texas 78712-1224 USA +1-512-475-8674
| | - Richard M Crooks
- Department of Chemistry and Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin 105 E. 24th St., Stop A5300 Austin Texas 78712-1224 USA +1-512-475-8674
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Thompson JR, Crooks RM. Enriching Cations Using Electric Field Gradients Generated by Bipolar Electrodes in the Absence of Buffer. ChemElectroChem 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.202200251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Texas Materials Institute The University of Texas at Austin 105 E. 24th St., Stop A5300 Austin Texas 78712-1224 United States
| | - Richard M. Crooks
- Department of Chemistry and Texas Materials Institute The University of Texas at Austin 105 E. 24th St., Stop A5300 Austin Texas 78712-1224 United States
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Flores‐Galicia F, Eden A, Pallandre A, Pennathur S, Haghiri‐Gosnet A. Predicting ion concentration polarization and analyte stacking/focusing at nanofluidic interfaces. Electrophoresis 2022; 43:741-751. [DOI: 10.1002/elps.202100297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Flores‐Galicia
- Université Paris‐Saclay CNRS Centre de Nanosciences et Nanotechnologies Palaiseau France
| | - Alexander Eden
- Department of Mechanical Engineering University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Antoine Pallandre
- Université Paris‐Saclay CNRS Institut de Chimie Physique Orsay France
| | - Sumita Pennathur
- Department of Mechanical Engineering University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
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Berzina B, Kim S, Peramune U, Saurabh K, Ganapathysubramanian B, Anand RK. Out-of-plane faradaic ion concentration polarization: stable focusing of charged analytes at a three-dimensional porous electrode. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:573-583. [PMID: 35023536 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01011e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Ion concentration polarization (ICP) accomplishes preconcentration for bioanalysis by localized depletion of electrolyte ions, thereby generating a gradient in electric field strength that facilitates electrokinetic focusing of charged analytes by their electromigration against opposing fluid flow. Such ICP focusing has been shown to accomplish up to a million-fold enrichment of nucleic acids and proteins in single-stage preconcentrators. However, the rate at which the sample volume is swept is limited, requiring several hours to achieve these high enrichment factors. This limitation is caused by two factors. First, an ion depleted zone (IDZ) formed at a planar membrane or electrode may not extend across the full channel cross section under the flow rate employed for focusing, thereby allowing the analyte to "leak" past the IDZ. Second, within the IDZ, large fluid vortices lead to mixing, which decreases the efficiency of analyte enrichment and worsens with increased channel dimensions. Here, we address these challenges with faradaic ICP (fICP) at a three-dimensional (3D) electrode comprising metallic microbeads. This 3D-electrode distributes the IDZ, and therefore, the electric field gradient utilized for counter-flow focusing across the full height of the fluidic channel, and its large area, microstructured surface supports smaller vortices. An additional bed of insulating microbeads restricts flow patterns and supplies a large area for surface conduction of ions through the IDZ. Finally, the resistance of this secondary bed enhances focusing by locally strengthening sequestering forces. This easy-to-build platform lays a foundation for the integration of enrichment with user-defined packed bed and electrode materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrise Berzina
- The Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, 2415 Osborn Drive, 1605 Gilman Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011-1021, USA.
| | - Sungu Kim
- The Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, 2415 Osborn Drive, 1605 Gilman Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011-1021, USA.
- The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2043 Black Engineering, 2529 Union Drive, Ames, Iowa 50011-2030, USA
| | - Umesha Peramune
- The Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, 2415 Osborn Drive, 1605 Gilman Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011-1021, USA.
| | - Kumar Saurabh
- The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2043 Black Engineering, 2529 Union Drive, Ames, Iowa 50011-2030, USA
| | - Baskar Ganapathysubramanian
- The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2043 Black Engineering, 2529 Union Drive, Ames, Iowa 50011-2030, USA
| | - Robbyn K Anand
- The Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, 2415 Osborn Drive, 1605 Gilman Hall, Ames, Iowa 50011-1021, USA.
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Krishnamurthy A, Anand RK. Recent advances in microscale extraction driven by ion concentration polarization. Trends Analyt Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2022.116537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Choe SW, Kim B, Kim M. Progress of Microfluidic Continuous Separation Techniques for Micro-/Nanoscale Bioparticles. BIOSENSORS 2021; 11:464. [PMID: 34821680 PMCID: PMC8615634 DOI: 10.3390/bios11110464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Separation of micro- and nano-sized biological particles, such as cells, proteins, and nucleotides, is at the heart of most biochemical sensing/analysis, including in vitro biosensing, diagnostics, drug development, proteomics, and genomics. However, most of the conventional particle separation techniques are based on membrane filtration techniques, whose efficiency is limited by membrane characteristics, such as pore size, porosity, surface charge density, or biocompatibility, which results in a reduction in the separation efficiency of bioparticles of various sizes and types. In addition, since other conventional separation methods, such as centrifugation, chromatography, and precipitation, are difficult to perform in a continuous manner, requiring multiple preparation steps with a relatively large minimum sample volume is necessary for stable bioprocessing. Recently, microfluidic engineering enables more efficient separation in a continuous flow with rapid processing of small volumes of rare biological samples, such as DNA, proteins, viruses, exosomes, and even cells. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the recent advances in microfluidic separation of micro-/nano-sized bioparticles by summarizing the physical principles behind the separation system and practical examples of biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Se-woon Choe
- Department of Medical IT Convergence Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39253, Korea;
- Department of IT Convergence Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39253, Korea
| | - Bumjoo Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan 1223-24, Korea;
- Department of Future Convergence Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan 1223-24, Korea
| | - Minseok Kim
- Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39177, Korea
- Department of Aeronautics, Mechanical and Electronic Convergence Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39177, Korea
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Zhang D, Zhang X, Xing L, Li Z. Numerical Simulation of Continuous Extraction of Li + from High Mg 2+/Li + Ratio Brines Based on Free Flow Ion Concentration Polarization Microfluidic System. MEMBRANES 2021; 11:membranes11090697. [PMID: 34564514 PMCID: PMC8472120 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11090697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ion concentration polarization (ICP) is a promising mechanism for concentrating and/or separating charged molecules. This work simulates the extraction of Li+ ions in a diluted high Mg2+/Li+ ratio salt lake brines based on free flow ICP focusing (FF-ICPF). The model solution of diluted brine continuously flows through the system with Li+ slightly concentrated and Mg2+ significantly removed by ICP driven by external pressure and perpendicular electric field. In a typical case, our results showed that this system could focus Li+ concentration by ~1.28 times while decreasing the Mg2+/Li+ ratio by about 85% (from 40 to 5.85). Although Li+ and Mg2+ ions are not separated as an end product, which is preferably required by the lithium industry, this method is capable of decreasing the Mg2+/Li+ ratio significantly and has great potential as a preprocessing technology for lithium extraction from salt lake brines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongxiang Zhang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, China;
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China;
- National Engineering Research Center for Technological Innovation Method and Tool, Tianjin 300401, China
| | - Xianglei Zhang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, China;
- Correspondence: (X.Z.); (Z.L.)
| | - Leilei Xing
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China;
- National Engineering Research Center for Technological Innovation Method and Tool, Tianjin 300401, China
| | - Zirui Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China;
- National Engineering Research Center for Technological Innovation Method and Tool, Tianjin 300401, China
- Correspondence: (X.Z.); (Z.L.)
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Tutorial review: Enrichment and separation of neutral and charged species by ion concentration polarization focusing. Anal Chim Acta 2020; 1128:149-173. [PMID: 32825899 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2020] [Revised: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Ion concentration polarization focusing (ICPF) is an electrokinetic technique, in which analytes are enriched and separated along a localized electric field gradient in the presence of a counter flow. This field gradient is generated by depletion of ions of the background electrolyte at an ion permselective junction. In this tutorial review, we summarize the fundamental principles and experimental parameters that govern selective ion transport and the stability of the enriched analyte plug. We also examine faradaic ICP (fICP), in which local ion concentration is modulated via electrochemical reactions as an attractive alternative to ICP that achieves similar performance with a decrease in both power consumption and Joule heating. The tutorial covers important challenges to the broad application of ICPF including undesired pH gradients, low volumetric throughput, samples that induce biofouling or are highly conductive, and limited approaches to on- or off-chip analysis. Recent developments in the field that seek to address these challenges are reviewed along with new approaches to maximize enrichment, focus uncharged analytes, and achieve enrichment and separation in water-in-oil droplets. For new practitioners, we discuss practical aspects of ICPF, such as strategies for device design and fabrication and the relative advantages of several types of ion selective junctions and electrodes. Lastly, we summarize tips and tricks for tackling common experimental challenges in ICPF.
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Papadimitriou VA, Kruit SA, Segerink LI, Eijkel JCT. Droplet encapsulation of electrokinetically-focused analytes without loss of resolution. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:2209-2217. [PMID: 32432628 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00191k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Lab-on-chip electrokinetic focusing and separation techniques are widely used in several scientific fields. In a number of cases, these techniques have been combined with a selective analyte extraction for off-chip analysis. Nevertheless, the usability of the extracts is limited by diffusion which reduces the separation resolution. In this paper we propose the integration of a droplet generator capable of continuous or on-demand generation and extraction of electrokinetically separated and focused analytes. We demonstrate the selective droplet extraction of model analytes separated and concentrated via ion concentration polarization focusing (ICPF). We report extracted droplets with 1000-fold increased concentration. Importantly, the droplet generator does not interrupt the ICPF process making it suitable for integration with the majority of electrokinetic separation techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasileios A Papadimitriou
- BIOS-Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute of Nanotechnology, Technical Medical Centre, Max Planck Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
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