BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:IEM Seminar Series in Microfluidics and biology on chip: Reconfigu
 rable Microscale Flow Patterns: From Electroosmotic Flow Dipoles to Bio-Mo
 lecular Separation
DTSTART:20240327T100000
DTEND:20240327T110000
DTSTAMP:20260427T221251Z
UID:4be4b6047f3acc9433973964f61edc531696b0d8b5feabbaee07bfc3
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Federico Paratore\,\nLaboratory for Soft Materials and Int
 erfaces\, Department of Materials\, ETH Zürich\, Switzerland\nAbstract\nT
 he ability to manipulate fluids at the microscale is at the core of many s
 cientific and technological advancements in the fields of labs-on-a-chip a
 nd organs-on-a-chip. Despite its importance\, microscale flow control rema
 ins limited due to the use of physical microchannels and mechanical actuat
 ors\, in which geometries and functionalities are intimately related to on
 e another\, i.e.\, changing the flow field requires changing the channel g
 eometry\, the pumping configuration\, or both at the mechanical level.\nIn
  this seminar I will present a novel method for microscale flow control th
 at leverages non-uniform electroosmosis to create dynamic flow patterns\, 
 allowing fluid manipulation without the use of physical walls. I will cove
 r the fundamentals of electroosmotic flows and discuss its spatiotemporal 
 control by modulating the surface zeta potential distribution using a set 
 of gate electrodes patterned on the floor of a microfluidic chamber (PNAS\
 , 2019). This method generates complex flow patterns that are not achievab
 le using standard fluid actuation mechanisms\, including flow dipoles (PRL
 \, 2019) and bidirectional flows (Ang. Chem.\, 2020). I will then present 
 the use of this approach for the separation of biomolecules\, including DN
 A and antibodies (Anal. Chem.\, 2022)\, and for microscale hydrodynamic cl
 oaking (PRL\, 2021). Finally\, I will discuss our latest results on the co
 ntrol of an array of gate electrodes using photoconductive switches (Micro
 systems & Nanoengineering\, 2023) and share my vision regarding the use of
  reconfigurable microfluidic systems for lab- and organ-on-chip applicatio
 ns.\n\nShort bio\nDr. Federico Paratore holds a B.Sc. in chemical engineer
 ing and a M.Sc. cum laude in nanotechnology engineering\, both from Sapien
 za University of Rome. He completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at
  Technion & IBM Research in 2019\, focusing on electrokinetic phenomena fo
 r lab-on-a-chip applications. After a research stay at the University of T
 exas at Austin\, he held a postdoctoral position at IBM Research from 2019
  to 2021\, during which he developed novel separation methods for biomolec
 ular analysis. In 2021\, he joined ETH Zurich\, where he currently serves 
 as a Senior Scientist. His research activities bridge the gap between fund
 amental and applied research\, covering topics from engineering microscale
  mass transport to dynamic control of active materials and liquid interfac
 es. Dr. Paratore is a recipient of the Ambizione fellowship (2023)\, the I
 BM Invention Achievement Award (2021)\, the Bridge Proof-Of-Concept fellow
 ship (2020)\, and the Arthur Shavit Award for the best Ph.D. thesis (2019)
 . In addition to his academic pursuits\, he has worked in various industri
 es\, including automotive (FIAT group) and healthcare electronics (Philips
 )\, and he recently co-founded Unbound Potential\, a startup in the field 
 of energy storage.\n\n 
LOCATION:BM 5202 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==BM%205202 https://epfl.zoom.u
 s/j/69526998307
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR