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Bekir M, Sperling M, Muñoz DV, Braksch C, Böker A, Lomadze N, Popescu MN, Santer S. Versatile Microfluidics Separation of Colloids by Combining External Flow with Light-Induced Chemical Activity. Adv Mater 2023:e2300358. [PMID: 36971035 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Separation of particles by size, morphology, or material identity is of paramount importance in fields such as filtration or bioanalytics. Up to now separation of particles distinguished solely by surface properties or bulk/surface morphology remains a very challenging process. Here a combination of pressure-driven microfluidic flow and local self-phoresis/osmosis are proposed via the light-induced chemical activity of a photoactive azobenzene-surfactant solution. This process induces a vertical displacement of the sedimented particles, which depends on their size and surface properties . Consequently, different colloidal components experience different regions of the ambient microfluidic shear flow. Accordingly, a simple, versatile method for the separation of such can be achieved by elution times in a sense of particle chromatography. The concepts are illustrated via experimental studies, complemented by theoretical analysis, which include the separation of bulk-porous from bulk-compact colloidal particles and the separation of particles distinguished solely by slight differences in their surface physico-chemical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Bekir
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Marcel Sperling
- Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Geiselbergstraße 69, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Daniela Vasquez Muñoz
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Cevin Braksch
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Alexander Böker
- Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Geiselbergstraße 69, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Nino Lomadze
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Mihail N Popescu
- Department Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter, Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstr. 3, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- Física Teórica, Department Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter, Universidad de Sevilla, 41080, Apdo. 1065, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Svetlana Santer
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
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