Thermophoresis: microfluidics characterization and separation

Abstract

We show that thermophoresis, i.e., mass flow driven by thermal gradients, can be used to drive particle motion in microfluidic devices exploiting suitable temperature control strategies. Due to its high sensitivity to particle/solvent interfacial properties, this method presents several advantages in terms of selectivity compared to standard particle manipulation techniques. Moreover, we show that selective driving of particles to the cold or to the hot side can be achieved by adding specific electrolytes and exploiting the additional thermoelectric effect stemming from their differential thermal responsiveness.