Researchers Review Magnetic Fields for Fluid Motion

In science, sometimes smaller is better. Smaller sample sizes mean less waste and streamlined analysis, and researchers hope to be able to one day have portable, hand-held devices for analyses in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. But tiny samples remain a challenge in the miniaturization of analysis, because at a certain point, fluids evaporate quickly, mix less readily and hardly flow at all.

Ingrid Fritsch, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Arkansas, together with graduate students Melissa C. Watson and Matthew D. Gerner, recently examined the use of magnetic fields in fluid motion in the journal Analytical Chemistry. Fritsch also spoke about the field on a podcast that was aired on the journal's website.

Because this new application involves magnetic forces, it could be used for stirring and changing flow direction and pumping fluids. The researchers review the different ways that magnetic fields can be used to perform chemical analyses.

Fritsch's lab works on the development of multifunctional miniaturized analytical devices and sensors with components on a single platform, novel electrochemical strategies for detecting small molecules, and microfluidics.