Talk by Dr. Thomas Pfohl (University of Freiburg)
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Abstract
Soft materials and their ability to dynamic elastic deformations on the nano-, micro- and mesoscale impacted by fluid flow and capillarity (‘elasto-hydrodynamics’) are of broad interest to a wide variety of exciting new applications, such as in bioanalytics, medical devices, flexible electronics, and soft robotics. In recent experiments, we developed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based geometrical-induced electrostatic (GIE) nano-trapping devices capable of controlling the height of the nanofluidic channels by an elasto-hydrodynamic coupling with an implemented fluid-controllable microchannel. This combined micro- and nanofluidic setup enables fast and flexible tuning of the potential depth and trap stiffness as well as active trapping and release of individual nano-objects during experiments, paving the way toward high-throughput manipulation of nanoparticles and biomolecules.
In our new project within the framework of livMatS, we are going to develop more intricate coupled microfluidic networks into soft materials systems. Owing to the specific architecture of the embedded microfluidic networks and the pressure-dependent local elastic properties, these systems will provide an extraordinarily comprehensive platform for the transport of materials, energy and information as well as for initiating adaptive processes, self-regulation and self-repair.
Brief Bio
Since 2017 Academic Researcher, Experimental Polymer Physics, University of Freiburg
2016 – 2017 Research Associate, Biomaterials Research Center (BMC), University of Basel
2009 – 2016 Assistant Professor, Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Basel
2004 – 2011 Research Project Leader, MPI of Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen
2001 – 2006 Emmy-Noether Research Group Leader
2000 – 2004 Research Project Leader, Applied Physics, University of Ulm
1998 – 2000 Postdoctoral Researcher, MRL, UCSB, Santa Barbara (Cyrus Safinya)
1995 – 1998 PhD Thesis in Physical Chemistry, MPI of Colloids and Interfaces, Berlin/Potsdam,
(Hans Riegler and Helmuth Möhwald)
1989 – 1995 Studies of Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
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