Recently, Assistant Professor Conghui Liu from the College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, in collaboration with Associate Professor Tailin Xu from the Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, and Professor Xueji Zhang from the Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, published a review article entitled“Micro/Nanoliter Sample Separation: From Lab Bench to Marketplace” in Chemical Reviews, a prestigious journal in the field of chemistry (Impact Factor: 64.2; JCR Q1, Top). The review systematically summarizes the recent advances, fundamental principles, technological classifications, and applications of micro/nanoliter sample separation, while providing perspectives on technology commercialization and the integration of artificial intelligence.

With the growing demand for precise microsample processing in life sciences, chemical analysis, environmental science, and related fields, conventional sample separation methods face challenges in sample consumption, processing efficiency, and system integration. Microfluidic technology, with its precise fluid manipulation at the micro- and nanoscale, provides new solutions for the efficient separation and purification of complex microsamples. This review first provides a systematic overview of the development and fabrication of microfluidic separation platforms, followed by a comprehensive classification and in-depth analysis of micro/nanoliter sample separation technologies according to their separation mechanisms and external driving forces. The research team highlights the mechanisms of various external forces, including electric, magnetic, acoustic, and hydrodynamic fields, in microscale separation processes, as well as the characteristics and applicable scenarios of different separation strategies for complex microsample processing.

The review further focuses on applications of micro/nanoliter sample separation technologies in biomedicine, chemical analysis, environmental detection, and related fields. It systematically introduces several microfluidic separation platforms that have already been commercialized and analyzes the key challenges associated with translating these technologies from laboratory research to industrial applications, including large-scale device manufacturing, system stability, cost control, standardization, and adaptation to practical application scenarios. Notably, the review also discusses the development of micro/nanoliter sample separation technologies from the perspective of commercialization. The research team points out that, as microfluidic separation technologies continue to mature, their applications are gradually expanding beyond laboratory proof-of-concept studies toward portability, integration, and commercialization, providing valuable guidance for startups and end-user companies seeking to enter the microsample separation technology market. In addition, the review offers perspectives on the integration of artificial intelligence with micro/nanoliter sample separation. In the future, artificial intelligence is expected to contribute to separation parameter optimization, complex sample identification, system control, and data analysis, thereby advancing microfluidic separation platforms from “physical separation” toward “intelligent separation” and providing new technological pathways for next-generation intelligent miniaturized analytical systems.

Overall, this work provides a systematic overview of the field of micro/nanoliter sample separation, covering fundamental principles, technological classifications, application scenarios, and commercialization. It not only provides researchers with a comprehensive framework for understanding the field, but also offers new perspectives for the engineering translation and commercial application of microfluidic separation technologies.

Original article: https://pubs.acs.org/chreay/article/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5c01119/5395408

In the field of bioinspired wearable respiratory monitoring, the research team recently published a research article entitled “Bioinspired Wettability Engineering Enables Efficient Exhaled Breath Condensate Harvesting for Wearable Respiratory Monitoring” in ACS Sensors (Impact Factor: 10.9; JCR Q1, Top). Inspired by the hydrophilic–hydrophobic patterns on the back of the Namib Desert beetle and the hierarchical transport networks of leaf veins, the study develops an efficient exhaled breath condensate (EBC) harvesting system through bioinspired wettability engineering. The system is further integrated with a flexible electrochemical sensor array to enable efficient EBC collection and multiplexed real-time wearable monitoring. Assistant Professor Conghui Liu from the College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, is the corresponding author, and Shenzhen University is the sole corresponding institution.

EBC contains various biomarkers associated with human physiological conditions and represents a promising noninvasive biological sample. However, the limited amount of condensate generated during respiration often results in low sampling efficiency and insufficient sample yield with conventional EBC collection methods, thereby compromising the sensitivity and reliability of subsequent biomarker analysis.

To address this challenge, the research team drew inspiration from highly efficient water-harvesting structures in nature and developed a smart wearable mask featuring a hybrid wettability pattern. Inspired by the hydrophilic–hydrophobic architecture of the Namib Desert beetle and the hierarchical transport network of plant leaf veins, a bioinspired wettability structure consisting of hydrophilic star-shaped domains and vein-like microchannels was constructed on a superhydrophobic substrate. This bioinspired structure facilitates the coordinated nucleation, coalescence, directional transport, and centralized collection of water droplets generated during exhalation, thereby substantially enhancing EBC harvesting efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate that the wearable mask achieves an EBC collection rate of up to **139.8 μL min⁻¹**, providing a more sufficient and stable sample source for subsequent biomarker analysis.

Building on this efficient EBC harvesting platform, the research team further integrated the system with a flexible electrochemical sensor array to enable simultaneous analysis of multiple representative biomarkers in EBC. The integrated wearable platform combines sample collection and biochemical analysis, enabling continuous and dynamic monitoring of human physiological signals without complex sample pretreatment.

This work not only establishes a bioinspired structural strategy for efficiently regulating interfacial condensation and droplet transport, but also provides a new solution for the wearable collection and analysis of microscale biological samples such as EBC. It offers important potential for the development of wearable respiratory analysis devices toward personalized health monitoring and management.

Article link:

https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.6c02449