Spatiotemporal control of cargo delivery performed by programmable self-propelled Janus droplets
Spatiotemporal control of cargo delivery performed by programmable self-propelled Janus droplets
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DOI：
10.1038/s42005-018-0025-4
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发表时间：
2018-06-07
影响因子：
5.5
通讯作者：
Fleury, Jean-Baptiste
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Li, Menglin;Brinkmann, Martin;Fleury, Jean-Baptiste
能够将货物运输到特定目标位置的自驱动液滴是许多未来应用所需的工具。在这里，我们提出了一类具有可编程传输时间的活性液滴，它们被某些障碍物几何形状吸引或排斥。这些液滴由水/乙醇混合物组成，分散在油/表面活性剂溶液中。由于自推进过程中流体相之间的质量交换，最初均匀的液滴自发地分层并演变成特征性的 Janus 液滴。货物分子，如 DNA，可以被分离成尾随的富含乙醇的液滴，并被“像在背包里一样”运送到目标位置。相分离的延迟开始提供了控制递送时间范围的手柄，同时利用长程流体动力学相互作用和短程润湿力来实现关于障碍物几何形状和表面化学的所需空间特异性。
Self-propelled droplets capable of transporting cargo to specific target locations are desired tools for many future applications. Here we propose a class of active droplets with programmable delivery time that are attracted or repelled by certain obstacle geometries. These droplets consist of a water/ethanol mixture and are dispersed in an oil/surfactant solution. Owing to a mass exchange between fluid phases during self-propulsion, the initially homogeneous droplets spontaneously de-mix and evolve into characteristic Janus droplets. Cargo molecules, like DNA, can be separated into the trailing ethanol-rich droplet and are carried to their target location "like in a backpack". The delayed onset of phase separation provides a handle to control the time frame of delivery, while long-ranged hydrodynamic interactions and short-ranged wetting forces are exploited to achieve the desired spatial specificity with respect to obstacle geometry and surface chemistry.