The micro/nanofluidic facility at ISTO offers high-resolution imaging and metrology techniques for geomimetic experiments, focused on multiphasic systems, defining the rules of positioning/moving for the critical interfaces and chemical fields, and getting deep insights into the behaviour of suspended particles. The experimental platform is equipped with several microscopes, high-resolution cameras, flow controllers as well as temperature controllers (-100°C - 600°C). A Raman micro-spectrometer coupled with a top-quality optical microscope makes possible to measure the Raman spectra of dissolved, solid or colloidal substances, in situ and in real-time, down to the micrometer scale. Raman mapping is possible along a channel and over a pore/reservoir. Besides, the platform allows for high-resolution measurements of velocity fields, with a resolution of 1 μm vector grid, using micro-Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and tracking velocimetry techniques. In parallel, computational microfluidics also known as pore-scale modelling is developed.

Micro-nanofluidic devices, also called micromodels or Geological lab-on-a-chip, are a two-dimensional representation of a porous medium that allows for direct visualization of flows, reactions, and transport mechanisms at the pore-scale. The platform may provide some supports under request about chip holder adjustments, but the samples themselves have to be fabricated by the applicant.