Separation of Surface Grafted Microparticles via Light and Temperature.

ABSTRACT: Separation of equally sized particles distinguished solely by interfacial properties remains a highly challenging task. Herein, a particle fractioning method is proposed, which is suitable to differentiate between polymer-grafted microparticles that are equal in size. The separation relies on the combination of a pressure driven microfluidic flow, together with simultaneous light illumination and temperature control. Heating the solution forces thermo-responsive surface grafts to undergo a volume phase transition and therefore locally changing the interfacial properties of the microparticles. Light illumination induces the phoretic/osmotic activity of the microparticles and lifts them into a higher plane, where hovering particles experience a different shear stress proportional to the heig

SUBMITTER: Vasquez-Munoz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11935095 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature