Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method to create air-stable water droplet networks that are valuable for applications in biological sensing and membrane research. Image credit: Kyle Kuykendall.
We could make a bio-battery or a signaling network by stringing some of these droplets together
A simple new technique to form interlocking beads of water in ambient conditions could prove valuable for applications in biological sensing, membrane research and harvesting water from fog.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method to create air-stable water droplet networks known as droplet interface bilayers. These interconnected water droplets have many roles in biological research because their interfaces simulate cell membranes. Cumbersome fabrication methods, however, have limited their use.
“The way they’ve been made since their inception is that two water droplets are formed in an oil bath then brought together while they’re submerged in oil,” said ORNL’s Pat Collier, who led the team’s studypublished in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Otherwise they would just pop like soap bubbles.”
Instead of injecting water droplets into an oil bath, the ORNL research team experimented with placing the droplets on a superhydrophobic surface infused with a coating of oil. The droplets aligned side by side without merging.
To the researchers’ surprise, they were also able to form non-coalescing water droplet networks without including lipids in the water solution. Scientists typically incorporate phospholipids into the water mixture, which leads to the formation of an interlocking lipid bilayer between the water droplets.
“When you have those lipids at the interfaces of the water drops, it’s well known that they won’t coalesce because the interfaces join together and form a stable bilayer,” ORNL coauthor Jonathan Boreyko said. “So our surprise was that even without lipids in the system, the pure water droplets on an oil-infused surface in air still don’t coalesce together.”
The team’s research revealed how the unexpected effect is caused by a thin oil film that is squeezed between the pure water droplets as they come together, preventing the droplets from merging into one. Watch a video of the process on ORNL’s YouTube channel.
With or without the addition of lipids, the team’s technique offers new insight for a host of applications. Controlling the behavior of pure water droplets on oil-infused surfaces is key to developing dew- or fog-harvesting technology as well as more efficient condensers, for instance.
“Our finding of this non-coalescence phenomenon will shed light on these droplet-droplet interactions that can occur on oil-infused systems,” Boreyko said.
The ability to create membrane-like water droplet networks by adding lipids leads to a different set of functional applications, Collier noted.
“These bilayers can be used in anything from synthetic biology to creating circuits to bio-sensing applications,” he said. “For example, we could make a bio-battery or a signaling network by stringing some of these droplets together. Or, we could use it to sense the presence of airborne molecules.”
The team’s study also demonstrated ways to control the performance and lifetime of the water droplets by manipulating oil viscosity and temperature and humidity levels.
The Latest on: Water droplet networks
via Google News
The Latest on: Water droplet networks
- Apple's $29 AirTag is a coin-sized tracker that helps you find lost things — here's how it workson April 22, 2021 at 6:00 am
CNBC's Todd Haselton tries out Apple's AirTag, a metal tracker you can attach to your items to keep track of them.
- NYC’s Giant Water Tunnel Begins Work On Final Shafts, Following 50 Years Of Constructionon April 22, 2021 at 5:46 am
The completion of City Tunnel. No. 3 would help alleviate strain from droughts and the coming climate emergency, but it has cost decades of human toil.
- In Peru, Pre-Columbian Canals Offer Hope Against Droughton April 21, 2021 at 7:29 pm
In the mountains of western Peru, a farming community is restoring a network of stone canals built more than a millennium ago, hoping the pre-Columbian technology holds the solution to its water ...
- Numerous private water well screenings set for early Mayon April 21, 2021 at 3:42 pm
The Texas Well Owner Network is hosting several water well screenings in early May for residents ... in those counties. Each screening drop-off event will be from 8:30-10 a.m. The cost for each sample ...
- Major water leak hits businesses and properties across Wolverhamptonon April 21, 2021 at 11:48 am
A major burst pipe has caused homes and businesses across Wolverhampton to be left without water. Postcodes in WV1, WV2, WV3 and WV6 are being affected. Wolverhampton's Sainsbury's superstore and the ...
- Despite Hash Rate Drop, Surge In Transaction Fees, Bitcoin Is Resilienton April 20, 2021 at 12:59 pm
A recent plummet in hash rate and spike in transaction fees has raised some questions about Bitcoin’s resilience. But they shouldn’t. Over the weekend, the Bitcoin hash rate dropped off a cliff, ...
- Tidal water could be harnessed to boost rice production, aquacultureon April 15, 2021 at 11:52 pm
Proper distribution and storage of non-saline tidal water through a network of canals and ponds could increase winter rice production by almost nine times in coastal farmlands, according to new ...
- New TikTok trend of deep frying water is dangerous, experts warnon April 12, 2021 at 9:53 pm
Who wouldn't be curious or tempted to try deep frying water? It's unheard of and seeing that others were able to do it can definitely ignite that “challenge accepted” attitude. But experts warn that ...
- More than a drop in the bucket? New filtration system at Housatonic plant proposed to end water troubleson April 3, 2021 at 4:08 pm
GREAT BARRINGTON — Housatonic Water Works Co. is proposing a new filtration system that consultants say will rid the network of discolored-water episodes that, for years, have plagued its customers.
- Underwater neutrino traps take shapeon April 1, 2021 at 11:16 am
This month, researchers will begin to drop sensor strings into the Mediterranean Sea off ... “We're really looking forward to having a worldwide network,” says Olga Botner, an astroparticle physicist ...
via Bing News