System and method for optically driven separations using fluid filled core optical fibers

An optical chromatography device comprising:

• a fiber waveguiding structure having a length;
• a hollow core;
• and a lattice cladding structure surrounding the hollow core to confine an incident optical beam in the hollow core;
• a fluidic module coupled to an inlet terminal of the fiber waveguiding structure to supply a fluid sample containing targets to be separated into the hollow core of said fiber waveguiding structure, wherein the fluid sample has a refractive index greater than an effective refractive index of the lattice cladding structure surrounding the hollow core to confine light within the fluid sample along the hollow core to produce a high optical intensity field inside the fluid sample;
• a light source which generates an optical beam;
• means for moving said targets in said sample along the length of said core by coupling said optical beam into said core via an inlet terminal of the fiber waveguiding structure and directing said optical beam along the length of said core, thereby applying optical pressure on targets in said fluid sample in a direction along the length of the hollow core which causes said targets to move to different positions along the length of said hollow core to exit the fiber waveguiding structure via an exit terminal of the fiber waveguiding structure based on optical pressure responsive properties of said targets, thereby separating said targets into different target bands at different spatial locations from one target band to another target band along the length of said core;
• and
• a detector located at the exit terminal of the fiber waveguiding structure and operable to detect targets in the different target bands at different spatial locations exiting the exit terminal of the fiber waveguiding structure.