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Tian Y, Gao M, Xie H, Xu S, Ye M, Liu Z. Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of Temperature and Catalytic Activation within Individual Catalyst Particles. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:4958-4972. [PMID: 38334752 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c14305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Temperature is a critical parameter in chemical conversion, significantly affecting the reaction kinetics and thermodynamics. Measuring temperature inside catalyst particles of industrial interest (∼micrometers to millimeters), which is crucial for understanding the evolution of chemical dynamics at catalytic active sites during reaction and advancing catalyst designs, however, remains a big challenge. Here, we propose an approach combining two-photon confocal microscopy and state-of-the-art upconversion luminescence (UL) imaging to measure the spatiotemporal-resolved temperature within individual catalyst particles in the industrially significant methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction. Specifically, catalyst particles containing zeolites and functional nanothermometers were fabricated using microfluidic chips. Our experimental results directly demonstrate that the zeolite density and particle size can alter the temperature distribution within a single catalyst particle. Importantly, the observed temperature heterogeneity plays a decisive role in the activation of the reaction intermediate and the utilization of active sites. We expect that this work opens a venue for unveiling the reaction mechanism and kinetics within industrial catalyst particles by considering temperature heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Tian
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingbin Gao
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Xie
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuliang Xu
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
| | - Mao Ye
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhongmin Liu
- National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, People's Republic of China
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2
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Werny MJ, Meirer F, Weckhuysen BM. Visualizing the Structure, Composition and Activity of Single Catalyst Particles for Olefin Polymerization and Polyolefin Decomposition. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202306033. [PMID: 37782261 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202306033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The structural and morphological characterization of individual catalyst particles for olefin polymerization, as well as for the reverse process of polyolefin decomposition, can provide an improved understanding for how these catalyst materials operate under relevant reaction conditions. In this review, we discuss an emerging analytical toolbox of 2D and 3D chemical imaging techniques that is suitable for investigating the chemistry and reactivity of related catalyst systems. While synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy still provides unparalleled spatial resolutions in 2D and 3D, a number of laboratory-based techniques, most notably focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy, infrared photoinduced force microscopy and laboratory-based X-ray nano-computed tomography, have helped to significantly expand the arsenal of analytical tools available to scientists in heterogeneous catalysis and polymer science. In terms of future research, the review outlines the role and impact of in situ and operando (spectro-)microscopy experiments, involving sophisticated reactors as well as online reactant and product analysis, to obtain real-time information on the formation, decomposition, and mobility of polymer phases within single catalyst particles. Furthermore, the potential of fluorescence microscopy, X-ray microscopy and optical microscopy is highlighted for the high-throughput characterization of olefin polymerization and polyolefin decomposition catalysts. By combining these chemical imaging techniques with, for example, chemical staining methodologies, selective probe molecules as well as particle sorting approaches, representative structure-activity relationships can be derived at the level of single catalyst particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian J Werny
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), P.O. Box 902, 5600, AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
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3
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Nan X, Zhang J, Wang X, Kang T, Cao X, Hao J, Jia Q, Qin B, Mei S, Xu Z. Design of a Low-Frequency Dielectrophoresis-Based Arc Microfluidic Chip for Multigroup Cell Sorting. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:1561. [PMID: 37630097 PMCID: PMC10456708 DOI: 10.3390/mi14081561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Dielectrophoresis technology is applied to microfluidic chips to achieve microscopic control of cells. Currently, microfluidic chips based on dielectrophoresis have certain limitations in terms of cell sorting species, in order to explore a microfluidic chip with excellent performance and high versatility. In this paper, we designed a microfluidic chip that can be used for continuous cell sorting, with the structural design of a curved channel and curved double side electrodes. CM factors were calculated for eight human healthy blood cells and cancerous cells using the software MyDEP, the simulation of various blood cells sorting and the simulation of the joule heat effect of the microfluidic chip were completed using the software COMSOL Multiphysics. The effect of voltage and inlet flow velocity on the simulation results was discussed using the control variables method. We found feasible parameters from simulation results under different voltages and inlet flow velocities, and the feasibility of the design was verified from multiple perspectives by measuring cell movement trajectories, cell recovery rate and separation purity. This paper provides a universal method for cell, particle and even protein sorting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueli Nan
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Jiale Zhang
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Xin Wang
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Tongtong Kang
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Xinxin Cao
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Jinjin Hao
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Qikun Jia
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Bolin Qin
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Shixuan Mei
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
| | - Zhikuan Xu
- School of Automation and Software Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China; (J.Z.); (X.W.); (T.K.); (X.C.); (J.H.); (Q.J.); (B.Q.); (S.M.); (Z.X.)
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Vollenbroek JC, Nieuwelink AE, Bomer JG, Tiggelaar RM, van den Berg A, Weckhuysen BM, Odijk M. Droplet microreactor for high-throughput fluorescence-based measurements of single catalyst particle acidity. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2023; 9:39. [PMID: 37007606 PMCID: PMC10060574 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00495-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The particles of heterogeneous catalysts differ greatly in size, morphology, and most importantly, in activity. Studying these catalyst particles in batch typically results in ensemble averages, without any information at the level of individual catalyst particles. To date, the study of individual catalyst particles has been rewarding but is still rather slow and often cumbersome1. Furthermore, these valuable in-depth studies at the single particle level lack statistical relevance. Here, we report the development of a droplet microreactor for high-throughput fluorescence-based measurements of the acidities of individual particles in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) equilibrium catalysts (ECAT). This method combines systematic screening of single catalyst particles with statistical relevance. An oligomerization reaction of 4-methoxystyrene, catalyzed by the Brønsted acid sites inside the zeolite domains of the ECAT particles, was performed on-chip at 95 °C. The fluorescence signal generated by the reaction products inside the ECAT particles was detected near the outlet of the microreactor. The high-throughput acidity screening platform was capable of detecting ~1000 catalyst particles at a rate of 1 catalyst particle every 2.4 s. The number of detected catalyst particles was representative of the overall catalyst particle population with a confidence level of 95%. The measured fluorescence intensities showed a clear acidity distribution among the catalyst particles, with the majority (96.1%) showing acidity levels belonging to old, deactivated catalyst particles and a minority (3.9%) exhibiting high acidity levels. The latter are potentially of high interest, as they reveal interesting new physicochemical properties indicating why the particles were still highly acidic and reactive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen C. Vollenbroek
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Anne-Eva Nieuwelink
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Johan G. Bomer
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Roald M. Tiggelaar
- NanoLab Cleanroom, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Albert van den Berg
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M. Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Odijk
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
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Werny MJ, Siebers KB, Friederichs NH, Hendriksen C, Meirer F, Weckhuysen BM. Advancing the Compositional Analysis of Olefin Polymerization Catalysts with High-Throughput Fluorescence Microscopy. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:21287-21294. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c09159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian J. Werny
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), P.O. Box 902, 5600AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Kirsten B. Siebers
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Coen Hendriksen
- SABIC Technology Center, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167RD Geleen, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M. Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Group, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Yang H, Knowles TPJ. Hydrodynamics of Droplet Sorting in Asymmetric Acute Junctions. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:1640. [PMID: 36295993 PMCID: PMC9611150 DOI: 10.3390/mi13101640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Droplet sorting is one of the fundamental manipulations of droplet-based microfluidics. Although many sorting methods have already been proposed, there is still a demand to develop new sorting methods for various applications of droplet-based microfluidics. This work presents numerical investigations on droplet sorting with asymmetric acute junctions. It is found that the asymmetric acute junctions could achieve volume-based sorting and velocity-based sorting. The pressure distributions in the asymmetric junctions are discussed to reveal the physical mechanism behind the droplet sorting. The dependence of the droplet sorting on the droplet volume, velocity, and junction angle is explored. The possibility of the employment of the proposed sorting method in most real experiments is also discussed. This work provides a new, simple, and cost-effective passive strategy to separate droplets in microfluidic channels. Moreover, the proposed acute junctions could be used in combination with other sorting methods, which may boost more opportunities to sort droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- He Yang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, No. 2 Street, Qiantang District, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
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Kwizera EA, Ou W, Lee S, Stewart S, Shamul JG, Xu J, Tait N, Tkaczuk KHR, He X. Greatly Enhanced CTC Culture Enabled by Capturing CTC Heterogeneity Using a PEGylated PDMS-Titanium-Gold Electromicrofluidic Device with Glutathione-Controlled Gentle Cell Release. ACS NANO 2022; 16:11374-11391. [PMID: 35797466 PMCID: PMC9649890 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c05195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The circulating tumor cells (CTCs, the root cause of cancer metastasis and poor cancer prognosis) are very difficult to culture for scale-up in vitro, which has hampered their use in cancer research/prognosis and patient-specific therapeutic development. Herein, we report a robust electromicrofluidic chip for not only efficient capture of heterogeneous (EpCAM+ and CD44+) CTCs with high purity but also glutathione-controlled gentle release of the CTCs with high efficiency and viability. This is enabled by coating the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface in the device with a 10 nm gold layer through a 4 nm titanium coupling layer, for convenient PEGylation and linkage of capture antibodies via the thiol-gold chemistry. Surprisingly, the percentage of EpCAM+ mammary CTCs can be as low as ∼35% (∼70% on average), showing that the commonly used approach of capturing CTCs with EpCAM alone may miss many EpCAM- CTCs. Furthermore, the CD44+ CTCs can be cultured to form 3D spheroids efficiently for scale-up. In contrast, the CTCs captured with EpCAM alone are poor in proliferation in vitro, consistent with the literature. By capture of the CTC heterogeneity, the percentage of stage IV patients whose CTCs can be successfully cultured/scaled up is improved from 12.5% to 68.8%. These findings demonstrate that the common practice of CTC capture with EpCAM alone misses the CTC heterogeneity including the critical CD44+ CTCs. This study may be valuable to the procurement and scale-up of heterogeneous CTCs, to facilitate the understanding of cancer metastasis and the development of cancer metastasis-targeted personalized cancer therapies conveniently via the minimally invasive liquid/blood biopsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyahb A Kwizera
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Wenquan Ou
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Sojeong Lee
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Samantha Stewart
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - James G Shamul
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Jiangsheng Xu
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Nancy Tait
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Katherine H R Tkaczuk
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
| | - Xiaoming He
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
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