文章基本信息

标题：Hanging droplets from liquid surfaces
本地全文：下载
作者：Ganhua Xie ; Joe Forth ; Shipei Zhu 等
期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2020
卷号：117
期号：15
页码：8360-8365
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1922045117
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Natural and man-made robotic systems use the interfacial tension between two fluids to support dense objects on liquid surfaces. Here, we show that coacervate-encased droplets of an aqueous polymer solution can be hung from the surface of a less dense aqueous polymer solution using surface tension. The forces acting on and the shapes of the hanging droplets can be controlled. Sacs with homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces are hung from the surface and, by capillary forces, form well-ordered arrays. Locomotion and rotation can be achieved by embedding magnetic microparticles within the assemblies. Direct contact of the droplet with air enables in situ manipulation and compartmentalized cascading chemical reactions with selective transport. Applications including functional microreactors, motors, and biomimetic robots are evident.
关键词：compartmentalization ; hanging droplets ; biomimetic ; aqueous two-phase system ; droplet transport