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 авг 2016
Accepted
26 окт 2016
First published
26 окт 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

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