Issue 1, 2017

Advancements in microfluidics for nanoparticle separation

Abstract

Nanoparticles have been widely implemented for healthcare and nanoscience industrial applications. Thus, efficient and effective nanoparticle separation methods are essential for advancement in these fields. However, current technologies for separation, such as ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, filtration, chromatography, and selective precipitation, are not continuous and require multiple preparation steps and a minimum sample volume. Microfluidics has offered a relatively simple, low-cost, and continuous particle separation approach, and has been well-established for micron-sized particle sorting. Here, we review the recent advances in nanoparticle separation using microfluidic devices, focusing on its techniques, its advantages over conventional methods, and its potential applications, as well as foreseeable challenges in the separation of synthetic nanoparticles and biological molecules, especially DNA, proteins, viruses, and exosomes.

Graphical abstract: Advancements in microfluidics for nanoparticle separation

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
19 Aug 2016
Accepted
26 Oct 2016
First published
26 Oct 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Lab Chip, 2017,17, 11-33

Advancements in microfluidics for nanoparticle separation

T. Salafi, K. K. Zeming and Y. Zhang, Lab Chip, 2017, 17, 11 DOI: 10.1039/C6LC01045H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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