Cells regulate ion flow across their membranes through ion channels, which control transport processes and maintain cellular volume. The transduction mechanism in biological ion channels has inspired researchers to fabricate biomimetic synthetic nanopore arrays for ion pumps, nano-gating, energy conversion, ion sorting and separations, and biosensing. We investigate ion transport and rectification phenomena in nanopores to develop next-generation nanofluidic diodes and iontronic circuits. Our work explores thermally driven rectification as a geometry- and surface-independent mechanism, enabling versatile, high-sensitivity, and multiplexed detection for advanced lab-on-chip and point-of-care applications.

We aim to convert low-grade waste heat (LGWH, <100 °C) from sources such as battery packs into usable electrical energy. Our work leverages thermodiffusion, thermogalvanic, and confinement-induced electrokinetic effects to achieve efficient thermal-to-electrical energy conversion in liquid-based systems. This research seeks to develop scalable, flexible, and cost-effective fluidic harvesters and thermo-capacitors for sustainable energy recovery and thermal management applications.

At the nanoscale, fluid behavior deviates significantly from classical continuum predictions. Our research employs Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to unravel these microscopic mechanisms governing ion transport and electrokinetic phenomena inside nanopores. Using atomistic-level modeling, we explore how electric double layers (EDLs), concentration polarization (CP) zones, and surface charge heterogeneity influence the flow of ions and solvent molecules through confined geometries.

The capabilities of micro- and nanoscale science are extensively leveraged in a wide range of microfluidic applications, including clinical diagnostics, immunoassays, micro-reactions, and sensing. The application of precise external stimuli plays a crucial role in enabling and controlling diverse microscale functionalities. Our research focuses on exploring electrohydrodynamic (EHD) instabilities in miscible fluids through experiments and stability analyses to evaluate their potential for microscale mixing, pumping, heat exchange, mass transfer, and reaction engineering.

Extracellular vesicles originating from the tumor microenvironment (TME) circulate throughout the body and play a crucial role in cancer metastasis by facilitating pre-metastatic niche formation, modulating tumor–microenvironment interactions, and directing organ-specific metastatic progression. We investigate the combined effects of optical forces and thermophoresis to isolate and sort extracellular vesicles (EVs) based on their size and surface properties from single cell-capture units.