Berlin 2012 – scientific programme
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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 39: Wetting, Micro and nanofluidics II
CPP 39.6: Talk
Friday, March 30, 2012, 11:00–11:15, C 243
Sorting of chiral particles in microfluidic devices with helical flows — •Maria Zvyagolskaya1, Ralf Eichhorn2, and Clemens Bechinger1 — 1Universität Stuttgart, 2. Physikalisches Institut, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart — 2NORDITA, Roslagstullsbacken 23, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Different enantiomers of chiral compounds often show huge differences in their biochemical activity. Therefore, the separation of such molecules which are typically produced in equal amounts during synthesis, is important for many processes e.g. in pharmaceutical or food industry. Current separation techniques are frequently based on differences in the migration behaviour in chiral host media. However, such materials are expensive and have to be optimized for different chiral compounds. Here, we demonstrate with experiments and simulations a novel method which is based on hydrodynamic coupling of chiral compounds in a helical fluid flow. Three-dimensional chiral particles on the micron-scale are created by a photolithography and are labeled with different fluorescent dyes to distinguish their chirality. In the presence of a helical flow, we observe marked differences in the behavior of particles with opposite chirality regarding their spatial distribution perpendicular to the flow which leads to an effective separation mechanism.