Search results for "Microfluidics"

2020

Desulfurization of hydrocarbons is an important step in the processing of petroleum products, which requires an accurate and robust method for the sulfur-containing component evaluation. On the other hand, sulfur-containing heteroatomic hydrocarbon additives are harmful for people and the environment. Therefore, it is advantageous to conduct laboratory tests at low volumes to reduce doses of exposure of sulfur-containing vapors to the personnel. Microfluidics is an emerging platform that provides an advantage to operate with low volumes. The microfluidic dielectric spectroscopy approach is proposed in the current contribution as a platform for determination of the concentration of polar het…

Opening of New Synthetic Routes Using Segmented Microflow in Multistep Syntheses

2017

The application of microfluidics in organic chemistry is a valuable tool to access new synthesis pathways and to break limitations set by traditional batch chemistry. In the past, the majority of research focused on solving problems associated with individual reactions. It is necessary to advance the field by incorporating flow chemistry in longer multistep syntheses to open more direct paths towards complicated compounds. Several strategies were developed to meet the demands of a four-step synthesis, which includes biphasic nitrations, gaseous substrates, and very fast reactions on multifunctional molecules. A unique micro flow setup was applied in each reaction to meet its specific requir…

2020

Droplet microfluidics is a technology that enables the production and manipulation of small volumes. In biosciences, the most popular application of this technology is Droplet Digital™ PCR (ddPCR™), where parallel nanoliter-scale PCR assays are used to provide a high sensitivity and specificity for DNA detection. However, the recovery of PCR products for downstream applications such as sequencing can be challenging due to the droplets' stability. Here we compared five methods for disrupting the droplets to recover DNA. We found that rapid freezing in liquid nitrogen results in a clear phase separation and recovery of up to 70% of the DNA content. Liquid nitrogen freezing can thus offer a s…

Rational Design of Thermoresponsive Microgel Templates with Polydopamine Surface Coating for Microtissue Applications.

2021

Functional microgels provide a versatile basis for synthetic in vitro platforms as alternatives to animal experiments. The tuning of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of synthetic microgels can be achieved by blending suitable polymers and formulating them such to reflect the heterogenous and complex nature of biological tissues. Based on this premise, this paper introduces the development of volume-switchable core-shell microgels as 3D templates to enable cell growth for microtissue applications, using a systematic approach to tune the microgel properties based on a deep conceptual and practical understanding. Microscopic microgel design, such as the tailoring of the microg…

Magnetic In-Tube Solid Phase Microextraction

2012

We report a new in-tube solid phase microextraction approach named magnetic in-tube solid phase microextraction, magnetic-IT-SPME. Magnetic-IT-SPME has been developed, taking advantage of magnetic microfluidic principles with the aim to improve extraction efficiency of IT-SPME systems. First, a magnetic hybrid material formed by Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles supported on SiO(2) was synthesized and immobilized in the surface of a bared fused silica capillary column to obtain a magnetic adsorbent extraction phase. The capillary column was placed inside a magnetic coil that allowed the application of a variable magnetic field. Acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, atenolol, diclofenac, and ibuprofen …

Analytical potential of mid-infrared detection in capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography: a review.

2010

Literature published in the last decade concerning the use of mid-infrared spectrometry as a detection system in separation techniques employing a liquid mobile phase is reviewed. In addition to the continued use of isocratic liquid chromatographic (LC) techniques, advances in chemometric data evaluation techniques now allow the use of gradient techniques on a routine basis, thus significantly broadening the range of possible applications of LC-IR. The general trend towards miniaturized separation systems was also followed for mid-IR detection where two key developments are of special importance. Firstly, concerning on-line detection the advent of micro-fabricated flow-cells with inner volu…

Micro magnetofluidics: droplet manipulation of double emulsions based on paramagnetic ionic liquids

2013

The ability to control and manipulate discrete fluid droplets by magnetic fields offers new opportunities in microfluidics. A surfactant-free and easy to realize technique for the continuous generation of double emulsion droplets, composed of an organic solvent and a paramagnetic ionic liquid, is applied. The inner phase of the emulsion droplet consists of imidazolium-based ionic liquids with either iron, manganese, nickel or dysprosium containing anions which provide paramagnetic behaviour. The double emulsion droplets are dispersed in a continuous phase of FC-40. All substances - the organic phase, the paramagnetic ionic liquid and the continuous phase -are immiscible. The magnetic proper…

Biomedical Applications of Polylactide (PLA) and Its Copolymers.

2018

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Crowdsourced analysis of fungal growth and branching on microfluidic platforms

2021

Fungal hyphal growth and branching are essential traits that allow fungi to spread and proliferate in many environments. This sustained growth is essential for a myriad of applications in health, agriculture, and industry. However, comparisons between different fungi are difficult in the absence of standardized metrics. Here, we used a microfluidic device featuring four different maze patterns to compare the growth velocity and branching frequency of fourteen filamentous fungi. These measurements result from the collective work of several labs in the form of a competition named the “Fungus Olympics.” The competing fungi included five ascomycete species (ten strains total), two basidiomycete…

Development of a membrane-less microfluidic thermally regenerative ammonia battery

2021

Thermally regenerative ammonia battery is a promising approach to make use of waste heat and generate electrical energy. However, according to literature, the price of the energy obtained by this device is much higher than alternative renewable technologies (such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc.). To make the process more viable for applicative purposes, it would be necessary to reduce dramatically the cost of the membrane or to avoid it. Hence, the aim of the present work is to increase the economic figures of thermally regenerative ammonia battery avoiding the use of membranes. It was concluded that this result can be obtained by developing the process in a microfluidic flow cell with lam…