Search results for "Nanofluidics"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
A fast solver for nonlocal electrostatic theory in biomolecular science and engineering
2011
Biological molecules perform their functions surrounded by water and mobile ions, which strongly influence molecular structure and behavior. The electrostatic interactions between a molecule and solvent are particularly difficult to model theoretically, due to the forces' long range and the collective response of many thousands of solvent molecules. The dominant modeling approaches represent the two extremes of the trade-off between molecular realism and computational efficiency: all-atom molecular dynamics in explicit solvent, and macroscopic continuum theory (the Poisson or Poisson--Boltzmann equation). We present the first fast-solver implementation of an advanced nonlocal continuum theo…
Asymmetric nanopore rectification for ion pumping, electrical power generation, and information processing applications
2011
Single-track, asymmetric nanopores can currently be functionalised with a spatially inhomogeneous distribution of fixed charges and a variety of pore tip shapes. Optimising the asymmetric nanopore characteristics is crucial for practical applications in nanofluidics. We have addressed here this question for three cases based on different input/output chemical and electrical signals: (i) ion pumping up a concentration gradient by means of a periodic, time-dependent bias potential, (ii) information processing with a single nanopore acting as the nanofluidic diode of a logic gate, and (iii) electrical energy harvesting using a nanopore that separates two solutions of different salt concentrati…
Multipore membranes with nanofluidic diodes allowing multifunctional rectification and logical responses
2016
[EN] We have arranged two multipore membranes with conical nanopores in a three-compartment electrochemical cell. The membranes act as tunable nanofluidic diodes whose functionality is entirely based on the pH-reversed ion current rectification and does not require specific surface functionalizations. This electrochemical arrangement can display different electrical behaviors (quasi-linear ohmic response and inward/outward rectifications) as a function of the electrolyte concentration in the external solutions and the applied voltage at the pore tips. The multifunctional response permits to implement different logical responses including NOR and INHIBIT functions.
Optofluidic taming of a colloidal dimer with a silicon nanocavity
2014
International audience; We report here the optical trapping of a heterogeneous colloidal dimer above a photonic crystal nanocavity used as an on-chip optical tweezer. The trapped dimer consists of a cluster of two dielectric microbeads of different sizes linked by van der Waals forces. The smallest bead, 1 μm in diameter, is observed to be preferentially trapped by the nanotweezer, leaving the second bead untrapped. The rotational nature of the trapped dimer Brownian motion is first evidenced. Then, in the presence of a fluid flow, control of its orientation and rotation is achieved. The whole system is found to show high rotational degrees of freedom, thereby acting as an effective flow-se…