Liquid–liquid phase separation of polymer and protein solutions is central in many areas of biology and material sciences. Here, an experimental and theoretical framework is provided to investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of liquid–liquid phase separation in volumes comparable to cells. The strategy leverages droplet microfluidics to accurately measure the volume of the dense phase generated by liquid–liquid phase separation of solutions confined in micro‐sized compartments. It is shown that the measurement of the volume fraction of the dense phase at different temperatures allows the evaluation of the binodal lines that determine the coexistence region of the two phases in the temperature‐concentration phase diagram. By applying a thermodynamic model of phase separation in finite volumes, it is further shown that the platform can predict and validate kinetic barriers associated with the formation of a dense droplet in a parent dilute phase, therefore connecting thermodynamics and kinetics of liquid–liquid phase separation.
A review-tutorial focusing on applications and theory behind hydrodynamic confinements (HFCs) across flow regimes and geometries – in closed channels, between parallel plates and in open volume. A further focus on chemical reactions enabled by HFCs.
We
present a novel method for the local retrieval of surface bound
species and their rapid in-line separation using an open space microfluidic
device. Separation can be performed in less than 30 s using the difference
in diffusivities within parallel microfluidic flows. As a proof-of-principle,
we report the rapid and efficient filtration of polystyrene beads
from small molecules and surface bound red blood cells from dimethyl
sulfoxide for antigen typing.
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