Separation of Nanoparticles in Aqueous Multiphase Systems through Centrifugation

Akbulut, Ozge; Mace, Charles R.; Martinez, Ramses V.; Kumar, Ashok A.; Nie, Zhihong; Patton, Matthew R.; Whitesides, George M.

Type

Article

Authors

Akbulut, Ozge
Mace, Charles R.
Martinez, Ramses V.
Kumar, Ashok A.
Nie, Zhihong

Patton, Matthew R.
Whitesides, George M.

Date

2012-07-06

Online Publication Date

2012-07-06

Print Publication Date

2012-08-08

Permanent link to this record

http://hdl.handle.net/10754/599598

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Abstract

This paper demonstrates the use of aqueous multiphase systems (MuPSs) as media for rate-zonal centrifugation to separate nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes. The properties of MuPSs do not change with time or during centrifugation; this stability facilitates sample collection after separation. A three-phase system demonstrates the separation of the reaction products (nanorods, nanospheres, and large particles) of a synthesis of gold nanorods, and enriches the nanorods from 48 to 99% in less than ten minutes using a benchtop centrifuge. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Citation

Akbulut O, Mace CR, Martinez RV, Kumar AA, Nie Z, et al. (2012) Separation of Nanoparticles in Aqueous Multiphase Systems through Centrifugation. Nano Lett 12: 4060–4064. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl301452x.

Sponsors

This work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (award number OPP1016360) and by a subcontract from a Department of Energy award to Northwestern University (DE-SC0000989).This work was performed in part using the facilities of the Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS), a member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), which is supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF (award number ECS-0335765). CNS is part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. O.A. thanks Professor Osman Bakr of KAUST for fruitful discussions. R.V.M. acknowledges funding by the FP7 People program under the project Marie Curie IOF-275148. A.A.K. acknowledges financial support from the Office of Naval Research through the NDSEG fellowship program. The authors thank Professor David Weitz and the Weitz group for the use of their rheometry facilities, and Ms. Felice Frankel for her valuable advice on photography.