Ion Selective Gates Active Device Component for 3D Microfluidic Architecture

This thesis describes the feasibility of utilizing an electric field for separation of charged species through a membrane. This forms the central theme in all chapters. The membranes can be regarded as an interconnect between two separate liquids. By applying an external electric field over the interconnect it is possible to transport charged species from one liquid to the other. In this chapter a general overview will be given on membranes in general and their use, as well as a short overview of the main physical and chemical factors influencing fluid flow in nanosized channels (pores). The aim is to shortly point out those factors that become especially relevant when the spatial dimensions drop below length scales of ~100 nm. The overview is followed by a review of recent studies on fluid flow and separation effects in ensembles of one-dimensional nanosized channels. The outline of the rest of this thesis is described in the final section of this chapter.