Stochastic Jetting and Dripping in Confined Soft Granular Flows

A double-step emulsification device for direct generation of double emulsions

“…However, we have recently provided a detailed analysis of such distributions for a related system generating DE droplets via flow-focusing. 50 We note that the previous studies on tandem step emulsification predominantly considered either low-f regimes 45 or different step geometries which did not support the stabilization of the neck by the cores. 46 The main novelty of our work is providing the rationale behind the generation of DE drops in the high-f regime 51 allowing for the controlled generation of structures with large numbers of close-packed cores (N 4 10), i.e., for the formation of soft-granular aggregates.…”

“…However, we have recently provided a detailed analysis of such distributions for a related system generating DE droplets via flow-focusing. 50…”

The crucial role of adhesion in the transmigration of active droplets through interstitial orifices

“…Yet, our model remains distant from a living cell in many aspects, such as the lack of the nucleus and of the complex underlying biochemical network governing, for example, the mechanics of the focal adhesions [53]. Such drawback could be partially overcome by considering a slightly more realistic description of a cell, modeled as a double emulsion [60,61] in which the inner droplet provides a highly simplified representation of a nucleus and the contractile material is confined within the layer, mimicking the tiny cortex of eukaryotic cells containing the actin cytoskeleton. In spite of these limitations, our results may support the view that some aspects of droplet migration through constrained environments would strongly rely upon mesoscopic physical ingredients, such as speed, elasticity and adhesion forces rather than on the microscopic details of the physics involved.…”

DropTrack -- automatic droplet tracking using deep learning for microfluidic applications

“…35 for experimental details. This microfluidic system has been recently studied in the context of new dynamical modes in confined soft granular flows, such as stochastic jetting and dripping 35 . An example of a cluster formed in such a system is shown in Fig.…”

“…Here, we extend the approach to the real images from microfluidic experiments significantly different from noise-free simulation images. The machine learning pipeline is tested on a microfluidic system producing clusters of densely packed, confluent droplets produced in a microfluidic setup reported in Bogdan et al 2022 35 .…”