Related papers: Self-propelling Microdroplets Generated and Sustai…
Liquid-liquid phase separation has emerged as a fundamental mechanism underlying intracellular organization, with evidence for it being reported in numerous different systems. However, there is a growing concern regarding the lack of…
Microcapsules allow for the controlled containment, transport, and release of cargoes ranging from pharmaceuticals to fragrances. Given the interest from a variety of industries in microcapsules and other core-shell structures, a multitude…
Significant progress has been made to increase access to droplet microfluidics for labs with limited microfluidics expertise or fabrication equipment. In particular, using off-the-shelf systems has been a valuable approach. However, the…
Water condensation on superhydrophobic surfaces can generate spontaneous droplet jumping, enabling rapid condensate removal and improved thermal and mass transfer. Although this effect has been extensively demonstrated on densely packed…
Acoustic droplet vaporization denotes the phase-change of micron- and sub-micron-sized droplets upon the application of high-amplitude ultrasound. The asymmetric collapse of the incepted vapor bubbles within the droplets can give rise to…
Sabeth Verpoorte is professor at the University of Groningen. In this contribution she describes the development of a microfluidic incubation system for drug metabolism studies using a "top-down" precision-cut tissue slice model. She also…
Biomolecular condensates are liquid- or gel-like droplets of proteins and nucleic acids formed at least in part through liquid-liquid phase separation. Condensates enable diverse functions of cells and the pathogens that infect them,…
The transport and deformation of confined droplets and flexible capsules are central to diverse phenomena and applications, from biological flows in microcapillaries to industrial processes in porous media. Inspired by experiments, we…
We harness the momentum of light resonating inside a micro-droplet cavity, to experimentally generate micro-flows within the envelope of the drop. We 3D map these optically induced flows by using fluorescent nanoparticles; which reveals…
A popular method to induce synthetic propulsion at the microscale is to use the forces created by surface-produced gas bubbles inside the asymmetric body of a catalytic swimmer (referred to in the literature as microrocket). Gas bubbles…
Living and engineered systems rely on the stable coexistence of two interspersed liquid phases. Yet surface tension drives their complete separation. Here we show that stable droplets of uniform and tuneable size can be produced through…
When objects are forced to flow through constrictions their transport can be frustrated temporarily or permanently due to the formation of arches in the region of the bottleneck. While such systems have been intensively studied in the case…
We demonstrate that a dipolar condensate can be prepared into a three-dimensional wavepacket that remains localized when released in free-space. Such self-bound states arise from the interplay of the two-body interactions and quantum…
Directed, long-range and self-propelled transport of droplets on solid surfaces, especially on water repellent surfaces, is crucial for many applications from water harvesting to bio-analytical devices. One appealing strategy to achieve the…
It has been proposed that during the early steps in the origin of life, small droplets could have formed via the segregation of molecules from complex mixtures by phase separation. These droplets could have provided chemical reaction…
We propose a mechanism to control the formation of stable obstructions in two-dimensional micro-channels of variable sections taking advantage of the peculiar clustering property of active systems. Under the activation of the…
Active fluids have applications in micromixing, but little is known about the mixing kinematics of systems with spatiotemporally-varying activity. To investigate, UV-activated caged ATP was used to activate controlled regions of…
Flows of particles through bottlenecks are ubiquitous in nature and industry, involving both dry granular materials and suspensions. However, practical limitations of conventional experimental setups hinder the full understanding of these…
Over the past few years the displacement statistics of self-propelled particles has been intensely studied, revealing their long-time diffusive behavior. Here, we demonstrate that a concerted combination of boundary conditions and switching…
A novel supersolid phase is predicted for an ensemble of Rydberg atoms in the dipole-blockade regime, interacting via a repulsive dipolar potential "softened" at short distances. Using exact numerical techniques, we study the low…