S. Grecchi, G. Salinas, R. Cirilli, T. Benincori, S. Ghirardi, A. Kuhn, S. Arnaboldi
Chirality plays a crucial role in different research fields, ranging from fundamental physico-chemistry to applied aspects in materials science and medicine. In this context, enantioselective loading and pumping of chiral analytes for analysis, separation and cargo delivery applications is an interesting scientific challenge. Herein we introduce artificial chiral soft electromechanical pumps based on a bi-layer film, built up by electrodepositing polypyrrole and an inherently chiral conducting oligomer at its internal surface. The enantioselective device can be driven by bipolar electrochemistry to act as a pump, allowing the selective loading and separation of different chiral analytes injected as pure enantiomers and in their racemic form (i.e., doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug, limonene, carvone and a chiral ferrocene). The synergy between the wireless electromechanical actuation and the inherent enantiodiscrimination features makes these soft actuators excellent candidates for the controlled handling of chiral molecules in the frame of potential applications ranging from analysis to drug delivery.
