Chiral separation of molecules enabled by enantioselective optical forces in integrated nanophotonic circuits (CHIRALFORCE)

Separating enantiomers is crucial to produce bio-active molecules, e.g., in early-phase drug discovery. CHIRALFORCE aims at a radically new strategy to separate enantiometers on chip, using chiral optical forces at silicon-based integrated waveguides. The present solution of chiral chromatography for this multi-billion market is slow and cumbersome since it requires tailored chemistry for each chiral compound, and relies on large and expensive separation columns. Instead, CHIRALFORCE envisions cm-length optical circuits integrated with microfluidics for extremely quick, tuneable, and cheap enantiomeric separation. The underlying mechanism relies on optical forces that are enantio-selective, due to interaction of spin-properties of the optical field with the chiral optical polarizability of matter. At Unimi, we will calculate via TD-DFT (time dependent density functional theory) the chiral force of selected molecules and we will create a database.