Spatio-temporal programming of lyotropic phase transition in nanoporous microfluidic confinements

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how nanoporous microfluidic environments can be used to control lyotropic phase transitions in molecular assemblies, enabling programmable material and biological component organization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to program lyotropic phase transitions using nanoporous microfluidic confinements with tunable surface properties and geometry.

Findings

Nanoporous PDMS surfaces induce phase transitions via water permeation.

Surface wettability and channel geometry control transition rates and locations.

Phase transitions can be harnessed for particle manipulation and biological assembly.

Abstract

Self-assembly of simple molecules into complex phases can be driven by physical constraints, for instance, due to selective molecular uptake by nanoporous surfaces. Despite the significance of surface-mediated assembly in evolution of life, physical routes to molecular enrichment and assembly have remained overlooked. Here, using a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal as model biological material, confined within nanoporous microfluidic environments, we study molecular assembly driven by nanoporous substrates. We demonstrate that nanoporous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces, due to selective permeation of water molecules, drive transition of disordered isotropic phase to ordered nematic, and higher order columnar phases under isothermal conditions. Synergistically, by tailoring the wettability, the surface-to-volume ratio, and surface topography of the confinements, we program the lyotropic phase transitions with a high degree of spatial and temporal control. Using a combination of timelapse polarized imaging, quantitative image processing, and a simple mathematical model, we analyze the phase transitions, and construct a master diagram capturing the role of surface wettability and channel geometry on programmable lyotropic phase transitions. Intrinsic PDMS nanoporosity and confinement cross-section, together with the imposed wettability regulate the rate of the N-M phase transition; whereas the microfluidic geometry and embedded topography enable phase transition at targeted locations. We harness the emergent long-range order during N-M transition to actuate elasto-advective transport of embedded micro-cargo, demonstrating particle manipulation concepts governed by tunable phase transitions. Our results present a programmable physical route to material assembly, and offer a new paradigm for assembling genetic components, biological cargo, and minimal synthetic cells.