This article presents the implementation of on-chip iontronic
circuits
via small-scale integration of multiple ionic logic gates made of
bipolar polyelectrolyte diodes. These ionic circuits are analogous
to solid-state electronic circuits, with ions as the charge carriers
instead of electrons/holes. We experimentally characterize the responses
of a single fluidic diode made of a junction of oppositely charged
polyelectrolytes (i.e., anion and cation exchange membranes), with
a similar underlying mechanism as a solid-state p- and n-type junction.
This served to carry out predesigned logical computations in various
architectures by integrating multiple diode-based logic gates, where
the electrical signal between the integrated gates was transmitted
entirely through ions. The findings shed light on the limitations
affecting the number of logic gates that can be integrated, the degradation
of the electrical signal, their transient response, and the design
rules that can improve the performance of iontronic circuits.
Herein, we demonstrate digital microfluidics-like manipulations of preconcentrated biomolecule plugs within a continuous flow that is different from the commonly known digital microfluidics involving discrete (i.e. droplets) media. This is...
Integration of ionic permselective medium (e.g., nanochannels, membranes) within microfluidic channels has been shown to enable on-chip desalination, sample purification, bioparticle sorting, and biomolecule concentration for enhanced detection sensitivity. However, the ion-permselective mediums are generally of fixed properties and cannot be dynamically tuned. Here we study a microfluidic device consisting of an array of individually addressable elastic membranes connected in series on top of a single microfluidic channel that can be deformed to locally reduce the channel cross-section into a nanochannel. Dynamic tunability of the ion-permselective medium, as well as controllability of its location and ionic permselectivity, introduces a new functionality to microfluidics-based lab-on-a-chip devices, for example, dynamic localization of preconcentrated biomolecule plugs at different sensing regions for multiplex detection. Moreover, the ability to simultaneously form a series of preconcentrated plugs at desired locations increases parallelization of the system and the trapping efficiency of target analytes.
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