Microfluidic electrical impedance flow cytometry is now a well-known and established method for single-cell analysis. Given the richness of the information provided by impedance measurements, this non-invasive and label-free approach...
We show that vibrating protrusions inside a microchannel are capable of steering fluid away from their relative orientation. This phenomenon is brought forth by symmetry-broken design of these protrusions. Vibration of these asymmetric protrusions is reciprocated in the streaming effect at the boundary layers of the channel thus inducing a net fluid flow. Additionally, we show that the flow direction is sensitive to switching acoustic frequencies. This acoustically-induced flow has the potential for transportation of nanoparticles as well as complex micro-structures. We hereby demonstrate this utility for contactless actuation of flagellar micro-agents as a foreground towards targeted drug release.
In this review article, we discuss the latest advances and future perspectives of microfluidics for micro/ nanoscale catalyst particle synthesis and analysis. In the first section, we present an overview of the different methods to synthesize catalysts making use of microfluidics and in the second section, we critically review catalyst particle characterization using microfluidics. The strengths and challenges of these approaches are highlighted with various showcases selected from the recent literature. In the third section, we give our opinion on the future perspectives of the combination of catalytic nanostructures and microfluidics. We anticipate that in the synthesis and analysis of individual catalyst particles, generation of higher throughput and better understanding of transport inside individual porous catalyst particles are some of the most important benefits of microfluidics for catalyst research.
SynthesisThis section focuses on the most recent approaches within the last 8 years. For a more extensive overview of the synthesis of nanostructures focused on the processes taking place inside the microfluidic systems, 5 the final application 4 or the microfluidic technology used 6,7 we refer the reader to other review articles.
Metal nanoparticlesMetal nanoparticles exhibit very interesting catalytic, optical, chemical, electromagnetic and magnetic properties, all of them depending to a large degree on their size and composition. Regarding catalysis, a decrease of the NP size leads to a surface-area increase per mass, providing more active sites. Also, the surface structure is of vital importance for the NP selectivity: the presence of steps, edges or terraces in the atomic surface can influence the reaction pathways to Lab Chip, 2019, 19, 3575-3601 | 3575 This journal is
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.