  Considerable effort has been directed towards the characterization of chiral
mesoscale structures, as shown in chiral protein assemblies and carbon
nanotubes. Here, we establish a thermally-driven hydrodynamic description for
the actuation and separation of mesoscale chiral structures in a fluid medium.
Cross flow of a Newtonian liquid with a thermal gradient gives rise to chiral
structure propulsion and separation according to their handedness. In turn, the
chiral suspension alters the liquid flow which thus acquires a transverse
(chiral) velocity component. Since observation of the predicted effects
requires a low degree of sophistication, our work provides an efficient and
inexpensive approach to test and calibrate chiral particle propulsion and
separation strategies.
