Remotely controllable liquid marbles.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zhang L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3546392 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Remotely controllable liquid marbles.
Zhang Lianbin L Cha Dongkyu D Wang Peng P
Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) 20120726 35
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Project description:Liquid marbles are droplets encapsulated by a layer of hydrophobic nanoparticles and have been extensively employed in digital microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip systems in recent years. In this study, magnetic liquid marbles were used to manipulate nonmagnetic liquid marbles. To achieve this purpose, a ferrofluid liquid marble (FLM) was employed and attracted toward an electromagnet, resulting in an impulse to a water liquid marble (WLM) on its way to the electromagnet. It was observed that the manipulation of the WLM by the FLM was similar to the collision of billiard balls except that the liquid marbles exhibited an inelastic collision. Taking the FLM as the projectile ball and the WLM as the other target balls, one can adjust the displacement and direction of the WLM precisely, similar to an expert billiard player. Firstly, the WLM displacement can be adjusted by altering the liquid marble volumes, the initial distances from the electromagnet, and the coil current. Secondly, the WLM direction can be adjusted by changing the position of the WLM relative to the connecting line between the FLM center and the electromagnet. Results show that when the FLM or WLM volume increases by five times, the WLM shooting distance approximately increases by 200% and decreases by 75%, respectively.
| S-EPMC9865651 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This work reported the green and facile fabrication of a versatile lignin-AuNP composite, which was readily and remotely encapsulated to form novel liquid marbles. The marbles can stay suspended in water, and show excellent photothermal conversion properties, as well as visual detection and adsorption towards Pb2+. More importantly, the marbles can simultaneously remotely detect and adsorb Pb2+ via co-precipitation by simply controlling the near infrared (NIR) irradiation. It is believed that the remotely-controllable NIR-responsive lignin-AuNPs liquid marble can be used in Pb2+-related reactions. The liquid marble can be placed in the system at the very beginning of the reaction and stably stays on the surface until the reaction has ended. After reacting, upon remote NIR irradiation, the liquid marble bursts to adsorb Pb2+, and the residual Pb2+ can be collected. This facile manipulation strategy does not use complicated nanostructures or sophisticated equipment, so it has potential applications for channel-free microfluidics, smart microreactors, microengines, and so on.
| S-EPMC5133569 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Liquid marbles have potential to serve as mini-reactors for fabricating new materials, but this has been exploited little and mostly for conventional chemical reactions. Here, we uncover the unparalleled capability of liquid marbles to act as platforms for controlling the self-assembly of a bio-derived polymer, hydroxypropyl cellulose, into a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase showing structural coloration by Bragg reflection. By adjusting the cholesteric pitch via quantitative water extraction, we achieve liquid marbles that we can tailor for structural color anywhere in the visible range. Liquid marbles respond with color change that can be detected by eye, to changes in temperature, exposure to toxic chemicals and mechanical deformation. Our concept demonstrates the advantages of using liquid marbles as a miniature platform for controlling the liquid crystal self-assembly of bio-derived polymers, and their exploitation to fabricate sustainable, responsive soft photonic objects.
| S-EPMC7589305 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Liquid marbles are widely known for their potential biomedical applications, especially due to their versatility and ease of preparation. In the present work, we prepared liquid marbles with various cores composed of water, agar-based hydrogels, magnetic fluids, or non-aqueous substances. As a coating material, we used biocompatible particles of plant origin, such as turmeric grains and Lycopodium pollen. Additionally, we provided marbles with magnetic properties by incorporating either magnetosomes or iron oxide nanoparticles as a powder or by injecting another magnetic fluid. Structures obtained in this way were stable and susceptible to manipulation by an external magnetic field. The properties of the magnetic components of our marbles were verified using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Our approach to encapsulation of active substances such as antibiotics within a protective hydrogel core opens up new perspectives for the delivery of hydrophobic payloads to the inherently hydrophilic biological environment. Additionally, hydrogel marbles enriched with magnetic materials showed promise as biocompatible heating agents under alternating magnetic fields. A significant innovation of our research was also the fabrication of composite structures in which the gel-like core was surrounded without mixing by a magnetic fluid covered on the outside by the particle shell. Our liquid marbles, especially those with a hydrogel core and magnetic content, due to the ease of preparation and favorable properties, have great potential for biomedical use. The fact that we were able to simultaneously produce, functionalize (by filling with predefined cargo), and manipulate (by means of an external magnetic field) several marbles also seems to be important from an application point of view.
| S-EPMC10779466 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Polyhedral liquid marbles were fabricated using hydrophobic polymer plates in the shape of a circle, a heart and a star as a stabilizer and water as an inner liquid phase. Boxes could be fabricated by the evaporation of the inner water from the liquid marbles. The fabrication efficiency and stability of these boxes as a function of the plate shape were investigated. Functional materials such as polymers and colloidal particles were successfully introduced into the boxes.
| S-EPMC8290327 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Neuromorphic computing devices attempt to emulate features of biological nervous systems through mimicking the properties of synapses toward implementing the emergent properties of their counterparts, such as learning. Inspired by recent advances in the utilization of liquid marbles (LMs, microliter quantities of fluid coated in hydrophobic powder) for the creation of unconventional computing devices, we describe the development of LMs with neuromorphic properties through the use of copper coatings and 1.0 mg mL-1 carbon nanotube (CNT)-containing fluid cores. Experimentation was performed through sandwiching the LMs between two cup-style electrodes and stimulating them with repeated dc pulses at 3.0 V. Our results demonstrate that "entrainment" of CNT-filled copper LMs via periodic pulses can cause their electrical resistance to rapidly switch between high to low resistance profiles upon inverting the polarity of stimulation: the reduction in resistance between high and low profiles was approximately 88% after two rounds of entrainment. This effect was found to be reversible through reversion to the original stimulus polarity and was strengthened by repeated experimentation, as evidenced by a mean reduction in time to switching onset of 43%. These effects were not replicated in nanotube solutions not bound inside LMs. Our electrical characterization also reveals that nanotube-filled LMs exhibit pinched loop hysteresis IV profiles consistent with the description of memristors. We conclude by discussing the applications of this technology to the development of unconventional computing devices and the study of emergent characteristics in biological neural tissue.
| S-EPMC7007261 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Study of evaporation dynamics of liquid marbles at elevated temperature is essential to determine the feasibility of liquid marbles to be used as micro compartments for digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We have modified an existing theoretical model of evaporation of a liquid droplet and verified its applicability on the evaporation of liquid marbles. The evaporation dynamics of an individual and a group of liquid marbles are analysed. This paper demonstrates that the evaporation dynamics of liquid marbles obeys the theoretical framework for elevated temperatures. The evaporation of a group of liquid marbles are observed as a coupled function of their diameter, their number in a group, the vapour density of the surrounding atmosphere and their spatial distribution.
| S-EPMC9080007 | biostudies-literature
Project description:As an alternative and a straightforward cryopreservation biotechnological tool, liquid marble provides a promising cryopreservation approach. Currently, effective cell preservation mainly based on the addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and fetal bovine serum (FBS). As state-of-the-art cryoprotectant (CPA), DMSO, has intrinsic toxicity, which is the bottleneck of its widespread application. The complex compositions of FBS have the potential risks of pathogenic microorganism contamination. However, efficient cell cryopreservation using liquid marbles, a platform independent of DMSO and FBS, has not been well investigated yet. Herein, we explore the cryoprotection role of liquid marbles based on gelatin solution. Gelatin has a superior biocompatibility, which DMSO is incomparable. During a freeze-thaw cycle, gelatin produces negligible osmotic pressure, and has high ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity to induce the formation of smaller and smooth ice crystals. Moreover, the specific structure of liquid marble also provides favorable supports for cell survival. The cryopreservation efficiency of mouse fibroblasts cells L929 via the gelatin-based liquid marble was as high as 90%, and the recovered cells could maintain their normal functionalities. This work opens a new window of opportunity for non-toxic and efficient cryopreservation of liquid marbles without the need of DMSO and FBS addition.
| S-EPMC9641251 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Liquid marbles (LMs) are millimeter-sized liquid droplets in a gaseous phase coated with solid particles. The LM technology allows liquid droplets to be treated as solid particles. As an LM stabilizer, edible particles are of particular interest, especially for applications in the food industry. However and surprisingly, there are limited numbers of reports describing LMs stabilized with edible particles. In this study, we utilize silver dragees, which are millimeter-sized spherical sugar beads coated by silver overlayers used for decorating cakes and cookies, as edible particles to stabilize LMs. The silver dragees surface was modified using stearic acid to work as an effective LM stabilizer by adsorbing at the gas-liquid interface. LMs with millimeter and centimeter sizes can be fabricated. Due to high adsorption energy and jamming effect of the modified dragees at gas-liquid interface, LMs with non-equilibrium shapes including intricate ones with varying curvatures can be prepared. Developing LMs with customizable shapes is crucial for expanding their potential applications and versatility as functional systems for food applications. We therefore show how these customizable-shaped LMs can be utilized as an edible decoration material for food applications.
| S-EPMC11607657 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The magnetic actuation of deposited drops has mainly relied on volume forces exerted on the liquid to be transported, which is poorly efficient with conventional diamagnetic liquids such as water and oil, unless magnetosensitive particles are added. Herein, we describe a new and additive-free way to magnetically control the motion of discrete liquid entities. Our strategy consists of using a paramagnetic liquid as a deformable substrate to direct, using a magnet, the motion of various floating liquid entities, ranging from naked drops to liquid marbles. A broad variety of liquids, including diamagnetic (water, oil) and nonmagnetic ones, can be efficiently transported using the moderate magnetic field (ca. 50 mT) produced by a small permanent magnet. Complex trajectories can be achieved in a reliable manner and multiplexing potential is demonstrated through on-demand drop fusion. Our paramagnetofluidic method advantageously works without any complex equipment or electric power, in phase with the necessary development of robust and low-cost analytical and diagnostic fluidic devices.
| S-EPMC5836889 | biostudies-literature