Temperature dependence of diffusiophoresis <i>via</i> a novel microfluidic approach

Shah, Parth R; Tan, Huanshu; Taylor, David P.; Tang, Xiaoyu; Shi, Nan; Mashat, Afnan; Abdel‐Fattah, Amr I.; Squires, Todd M.

doi:10.1039/d1lc00916h

“…A thin hydrogel membrane (polyethylene glycol diacrylate, PEGDA) is patterned at the right end of the horizontal channel to suppress undesired advective flows in the horizontal channel while allowing the diffusive transport of the molecular solutes. 32,33 This ensures that only salt gradients are established while keeping the buffer conditions identical throughout the channel. The PEGDA membrane also suppresses [dT]40 and [RGRGG]5 from permeating through the gel.…”

Section: Phase Separation Is Promoted In the Presence Of Salt Gradientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusiophoresis promotes phase separation and transport of biomolecular condensates

Shin

¹

,

Doan

²

,

Alshareedah

³

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

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The internal microenvironment of a living cell is heterogeneous and comprises a multitude of organelles with distinct biochemistry. Amongst them are biomolecular condensates, which are membrane-less, phase-separated compartments enriched in system-specific proteins and nucleic acids. The heterogeneity of the cell engenders the presence of multiple spatiotemporal gradients in chemistry, charge, concentration, temperature, and pressure. Such thermodynamic gradients can lead to non-equilibrium driving forces for the formation and transport of biomolecular condensates. Here, we report how ion gradients impact the transport processes of biomolecular condensates on the mesoscale and biomolecules on the microscale. Utilizing a microfluidic platform, we demonstrate that the presence of ion concentration gradients can accelerate the transport of biomolecules, including nucleic acids and proteins, via diffusiophoresis. This hydrodynamic transport process allows localized enrichment of biomolecules, thereby promoting the location-specific formation of biomolecular condensates via phase separation. The ion gradients further impart active motility of condensates, allowing them to exhibit enhanced diffusion along the gradient. Coupled with reentrant phase behavior, the gradient-induced active motility leads to a dynamical redistribution of condensates that ultimately extends their lifetime. Together, our results demonstrate diffusiophoresis as a non-equilibrium thermodynamic force that governs the formation and active transport of biomolecular condensates.

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“…A thin hydrogel membrane (polyethylene glycol diacrylate, PEGDA) is patterned at the right end of the horizontal channel to suppress undesired advective flows in the horizontal channel while allowing the diffusive transport of the molecular solutes. 34,35 This ensures that only salt gradients are established while keeping the buffer conditions identical throughout the channel. The PEGDA membrane also suppresses [dT] 40 and [RGRGG] 5 from permeating through the gel.…”

Section: Phase Separation Is Promoted In the Presence Of Salt Gradientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusiophoresis promotes phase separation and transport of biomolecular condensates

Doan

¹

,

Alshareedah

²

,

Singh

³

et al. 2023

Preprint

3

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The internal microenvironment of a living cell is heterogeneous and comprises a multitude of organelles with distinct biochemistry. Amongst them are biomolecular condensates, which are membrane-less, phase-separated compartments enriched in system-specific proteins and nucleic acids. The heterogeneity of the cell engenders the presence of multiple spatiotemporal gradients in chemistry, charge, concentration, temperature, and pressure. Such thermodynamic gradients can lead to non-equilibrium driving forces for the formation and transport of biomolecular condensates. Here, we report how ion gradients impact the transport processes of biomolecular condensates on the mesoscale and biomolecules on the microscale. Utilizing a microfluidic platform, we demonstrate that the presence of ion concentration gradients can accelerate the transport of biomolecules, including nucleic acids and proteins, via diffusiophoresis. This hydrodynamic transport process allows localized enrichment of biomolecules, thereby promoting the location-specific formation of biomolecular condensates via phase separation. The ion gradients further impart active motility of condensates, allowing them to exhibit enhanced diffusion along the gradient. Coupled with reentrant phase behavior, the gradient-induced active motility leads to a dynamical redistribution of condensates that ultimately extends their lifetime. Together, our results demonstrate diffusiophoresis as a non-equilibrium thermodynamic force that governs the formation and active transport of biomolecular condensates.

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“…With advancements in microfluidic devices, several researchers have started using different porous hydrogel or hydrogel-like polymers for establishing gradients. , Todd Squires and team have designed microfluidic devices with Norland Optical Adhesive-81 (NOA-81) polymer and created a polyethylene glycol-diacrylate (PEG-DA)-based hydrogel walls on either sides of the central channel across which a gradient is established . Shah et al, Gu et al, and Cheng et al have also made different designs of microfluidic channels having hydrogels and established gradients for studying migration of micro/nanoscale particles. Many research groups have also been using hydrogel media for studying bacterial growth and chemotaxis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cautionary Perspective on Hydrogel-Induced Concentration Gradient Generation for Studying Chemotaxis

Sapre,

Bhattacharyya,

Sen

2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

0

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The achievement of consistent and static chemical gradients is critically important in the study of diffusion and chemotaxis at the microand nanoscales. In this context, a number of groups have reported on hydrogel-based systems for generating concentration gradients. Here, we analyze the behavior of agarose and gelatin-based hydrogels in hybridization chambers of different heights. Our focus is on the issues that are caused by the presence of robust bulk fluid flows in such systems due to the solutes present in the hydrogel and/or the surrounding fluid. We describe the key insights derived from these experiments, offering practical guidelines for establishing gradients using hydrogel-based systems and make the community aware of different variables that can make the experiments nonreproducible and prone to misinterpretations.

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Temperature dependence of diffusiophoresis via a novel microfluidic approach

Abstract: The temperature dependence of the diffusiophoretic mobility (DDP) is investigated experimentally and compared with theoretical predictions. These systematic measurements were made possible by a new microfluidic approach that enables truly...

Cited by 7 publications

References 65 publications

Diffusiophoresis promotes phase separation and transport of biomolecular condensates

Diffusiophoresis promotes phase separation and transport of biomolecular condensates

Diffusiophoresis promotes phase separation and transport of biomolecular condensates

A Cautionary Perspective on Hydrogel-Induced Concentration Gradient Generation for Studying Chemotaxis

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