In the beginning was the phase separation

Was a simple mechanism decisive for the origin of life?

25-May-2018 - The question of the origin of life remains one of the oldest unanswered scientific questions. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now shown for the first time that phase separation is an extremely efficient way of controlling the selection of chemical building blocks and ...

Flowing cells in a wavy microchannel for effective size-based cell sorting

17-May-2018 - Nearly half a century ago scientists have noticed an interesting phenomenon that small particles flowing through a long tube can stay at a specific position along the cross-section of a tube. This is known as inertial focusing. Later, along with the development of microfluidic technology in ...

Researchers develop groundbreaking process for creating ultra-selective separation membranes

17-Mar-2017 - A team of researchers, led by the University of Minnesota, has developed a groundbreaking one-step, crystal growth process for making ultra-thin layers of material with molecular-sized pores. Researchers demonstrated the use of the material, called zeolite nanosheets, by making ultra-selective ...

New approach to sorting cells

Microfluidic device distinguishes cells based on how they respond to acoustic vibrations

18-May-2016 - Microfluidic devices hold potential to rapidly analyze cells for applications in medicine and basic research. Researchers have devised systems that can distinguish cells based on their size, deformability, and electrical properties, among other characteristics. A team of MIT researchers has now ...

Mobile material analysis by NIR spectrometer in sugar cube format

18-Jan-2013 - The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS will be presenting an extremely miniaturized near-infrared spectrometerThis device enables analysis of gaseous, liquid and solid materials immediately on site instead of taking samples for lab analysis. The optical bench is smaller than a ...