Programmable ionic liquid nano-chambers for DNA electrochemical synthesis

The micro compartmentalization of chemical reactions is central to combinatorial synthetic chemistry and biomolecular manufacturing, including DNA synthesis. The use of micro compartments, properly integrated in a common platform, allows parallel synthesis of numerous and diverse chemical entities. Nowadays, compartmentalization typically relies on tangible physical barriers, ranging from rigid wells and microfluidic channels or soft droplets, or diffusive chemical gradients such as pH. This PhD will investigate a fundamentally different approach: the creation of programmable virtual electrochemical reaction chambers based on ionic liquids coupled with bespoke microelectrode architectures.

The research project will explore whether the unique properties of ionic liquids can be employed to manipulate the liquid environment near electrodes at micro- and nanoscale dimensions. The work will identify the key physicochemical constraints for reaction confinement, develop general design rules linking ionic-liquid composition and device architecture to confinement performance, and evaluate compatibility with chemically relevant reactions, including DNA electrochemical synthesis workflows.

Success would establish a new paradigm for programmable reaction compartmentalization, opening a new path for high-throughput synthesis technologies that circumvent the intrinsic limitations of rigid microreactors.