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    The creation of raspberry-like droplets and their coalescence dynamics: An ideal model for certain biological processes

    Year: 2022

    Journal: J. Colloid Interface Sci., Volume 615, JUN, page 752–758

    Authors: Chen, Wei; Yu, Binbin; Wei, Zhiyou; Mao, Sheng; Li, Tao

    Organizations: Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [11904390]; Scientific Research Starting Foundation from Wenzhou Institute; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) [WIUCASQD2020003]; BIC-ESAT

    Keywords: Raspberry-like droplets; Phase inversion; Coalescence dynamics; Capillary bridge; Phase field model

    Hypothesis: Although a raspberry-like configuration has been long observed in biological processes (e.g., the intimate association between Cajal bodies and B-snurposomes), studies on this morphology are very limited. Raspberry-like droplets created with multiple immiscible liquids are expected to provides an ideal model for such structures in biological systems, including their possible formation mechanism, phase behaviors, and coalescence dynamics. Experiments & Simulations: Using three liquid phases, one surfactant and some colloidal particles, raspberry-like droplets containing one large central droplet and multiple protrusions embedded on its surface were successfully created. Confocal microscopy studies were carried out to track their formation and coalescence dynamics. A 2D phase-field model was applied to test the influence of the protrusions in the system.Findings: The formation of this raspberry-like morphology involves a partial inversion process, which was predicted by Friberg et al. with numerical simulations but has never been demonstrated experimentally. A two-step coalescence was revealed, where the protrusions merge first and create a capillary bridge, which drives the droplets to coalesce. Increasing the viscosity of the continuous phase can help to prevent the destabilization. These fundamental features of raspberry-like droplets represent an impor-tant step toward producing multi-liquid materials with unique functionality, and can potentially illumi-nate some biological systems and processes.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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