Diffusion-Dominated Pinch-Off of Ultralow Surface Tension Fluids

Lo, Jack Hau Yung; Liu, Yuan; Mak, Sze Yi; Wang, Chao; Chao, Youchuang; Li, Kaye Jiale; Shum, Ho Cheung; Xu, Lei

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.123.134501

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…29). For very small surface tensions, the pinch-off of the interface between two liquids can be dominated by diffusion in the bulk [312] before thermal fluctuations come into play [313,314]. Rubio-Rubio et al [315] have recently modeled the pinch-off dynamics in the presence of particulate suspensions.…”

Section: The Interface Pinch-offmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dripping, jetting and tip streaming

2020

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Dripping, jetting and tip streaming have been studied up to a certain point separately by both fluid mechanics and microfluidics communities, the former focusing on fundamental aspects while the latter on applications. Here, we intend to review this field from a global perspective by considering and linking the two sides of the problem. In the first part, we present the theoretical model used to study interfacial flows arising in droplet-based microfluidics, paying attention to three elements commonly present in applications: viscoelasticity, electric fields and surfactants. We review both classical and current results about the stability of jets affected by these elements. Mechanisms leading to the breakup of jets to produce drops are reviewed as well, including some recent advances in this field. We also consider the relatively scarce theoretical studies on the emergence and stability of tip streaming in open systems. In the second part of this review, we focus on axisymmetric microfluidic configurations which can operate on the dripping and jetting modes either in a direct (standard) way or via tip streaming. We present the dimensionless parameters characterizing these configurations, the scaling laws which allow predicting the size of the resulting droplets and bubbles, as well as those delimiting the parameter windows where tip streaming can be found. Special attention is paid to electrospray and flow focusing, two of the techniques more frequently used in continuous drop production microfluidics. We aim to connect experimental observations described in this section of topics with fundamental and general aspects described in the first part of the review. This work closes with some prospects at both fundamental and practical levels.

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Section: The Interface Pinch-offmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dripping, jetting and tip streaming

2020

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“…A single-phase mixture of PEG and dextran, which has been extensively studied in our previous work, [38][39][40][41] is prepared and used as the stock solution for non-associative phase separation. To achieve the NES required for LLPS, a droplet extracted from the stock solution is pipetted onto a glass slide and starts to evaporate.…”

Section: Non-associative Phase Separation Inside the Evaporating Sessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-associative phase separation in an evaporating droplet as a model for prebiotic compartmentalization

Guo

Kinghorn

Zhang

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a mechanism by which membraneless organelles form inside cells, and has been hypothesized as a mechanism for prebiotic compartmentalization. Here we present a prebiotically plausible pathway for non-associative phase separation, which could drive biopolymer self-organization and compartmentalization to form the earliest membraneless compartments, within an evaporating all-aqueous sessile droplet. Through a quantitative understanding of the kinetic pathway of phase separation, we find that non-uniform evaporation rates across the droplet surface induce compositional gradients and surface tension differences, triggering LLPS and polymer self-organization inside the sessile droplet. With the ability to undergo LLPS, the drying droplets provide a robust mechanism for formation of prebiotic membraneless compartments. These self-organized membraneless compartments, with volumes comparable to subcellular structures, could represent a mechanism for the enrichment of information-carrying molecules and formation of RNA-containing organelles. We demonstrated compartmentalized localization and storage of nucleic acids, in vitro transcription, as well as a three-fold enhancement of ribozyme activity. This model system demonstrates a cell-like, aqueous, macromolecular crowded and thermodynamically non-equilibrium microenvironment. Such a mechanism for compartmentalization is feasible on wet organophilic silica-rich surfaces during early molecular evolution.

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“…D∇ 2 φ for φ close to ±φ 0 far away from the diffuse interface. Physically, D can be expressed using the Einstein relation D = k B T 6πηsa , where η s is the viscosity of the solvent, and a measures the size of the solute particle, e.g., the radius of gyration of a polymer chain [24]. An estimation of D will be given in Sec.…”

Section: B a Characteristic Length Scale Determined By The Competitio...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Theoretically, it is of great interest to investigate the effects of this length scale on the existence of self-similarity solutions. It has been experimentally observed that when the interfacial tension is lower than normal liquids by two to three orders, the pinch-off dynamics is dominated by bulk diffusion, showing a scaling behavior that is distinct from that dominated by advection in the Stokes regime [1,8,23,24,43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffuse-interface approach to competition between viscous flow and diffusion in pinch-off dynamics

Huang¹,

Bao²,

Qian³

2022

Preprint

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The pinch-off dynamics of a liquid thread has been studied through numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. Occurring at small length scales, the pinch-off dynamics admits similarity solutions that can be classified into the Stokes regime and the diffusion-dominated regime, with the latter being recently experimentally observed in aqueous two-phase systems [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 134501 (2019)]. Derived by applying Onsager's variational principle, the Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes model is employed as a minimal model capable of describing the interfacial motion driven by not only advection but also diffusion. By analyzing the free energy dissipation mechanisms in

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Diffusion-Dominated Pinch-Off of Ultralow Surface Tension Fluids

Cited by 28 publications

References 43 publications

Dripping, jetting and tip streaming

Dripping, jetting and tip streaming

Non-associative phase separation in an evaporating droplet as a model for prebiotic compartmentalization

Diffuse-interface approach to competition between viscous flow and diffusion in pinch-off dynamics

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