Continuous high throughput nanofluidic separation through tangential-flow vertical nanoslit arrays.

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Microfluidics
• Separation Science

Background:

• Nanofluidic devices offer unique transport properties for molecular separations and sensing.
• Current nanofluidic devices have limited throughput, restricting their use with macroscopic samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To overcome the throughput limitations of nanofluidic devices.
• To enable macroscopic sample processing using nanofluidics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of vertical nanoslits in silicon nitride membranes using templating and chemical mechanical polishing.
• Integration of nanofluidic membranes into a microfluidic tangential-flow system for efficient solute transport.
• Wafer-level fabrication process for scalability.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated continuous flow separation of small molecules with high selectivity (100).
• Achieved constant flux for over 100 hours of operation.
• Developed a scalable, nanolithography-free wafer-level process for nanofluidic device fabrication.

Conclusions:

• The developed system overcomes throughput limitations of traditional nanofluidic devices.
• This technology enables the exploitation of nanofluidic phenomena at a macroscopic scale.
• The device shows promise for advanced molecular separations and sensing applications.