Chiral particle separation by a non-chiral micro-lattice

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel micro-lattice-based method for continuous separation of chiral molecules, exploiting differential migration directions in a steady fluid flow without chiral selectors or derivatization.

Contribution

It introduces a model experiment demonstrating chiral separation using a non-chiral micro-lattice, with predictions confirmed by numerical simulations.

Findings

Enantiomers migrate in different directions under steady flow.

Transport directions depend on lattice orientation.

Method enables continuous chiral separation without chiral selectors.

Abstract

We conceived a model experiment for a continuous separation strategy of chiral molecules (enantiomers) without the need of any chiral selector structure or derivatization agents: Micro-particles that only differ by their chirality are shown to migrate along different directions when driven by a steady fluid flow through a square lattice of cylindrical posts. In accordance with our numerical predictions, the transport directions of the enantiomers depend very sensitively on the orientation of the lattice relatively to the fluid flow.