Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Microfluidic Picoliter Bioreactor for Microbial Single-cell Analysis: Fabrication, System Setup, and Operation
Published on: December 6, 2013
Isolating Reactions at the Picoliter Scale: Parallel Control of Reaction Kinetics at the Liquid-Liquid Interface
Gia Chuong Phan-Quang1, Hiang Kwee Lee1,2, Xing Yi Ling3
1Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 637371, Singapore.
Abstract:
Miniaturized liquid-liquid interfacial reactors offer enhanced surface area and rapid confinement of compounds of opposite solubility, yet they are unable to provide in situ reaction monitoring at a molecular level at the interface. A picoreactor operative at the liquid-liquid interface is described, comprising plasmonic colloidosomes containing Ag octahedra strategically assembled at the water-in-decane emulsion interface. The plasmonic colloidosomes isolate ultrasmall amounts of solutions (<200 pL), allowing parallel monitoring of multiple reactions simultaneously. Using the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique, in situ monitoring of the interfacial protonation of dimethyl yellow (p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (DY)) is performed, revealing an apparent rate constant of 0.09 min(-1) for the first-order reaction. The presence of isomeric products with similar physical properties is resolved, which would otherwise be indiscernible by other analytical methods.
Related Concept Videos
Two Components: Liquid–Liquid Systems
Measuring Reaction Rates
Controlled-Current Coulometry: Overview
Reaction Mechanisms: Rate-limiting Step Approximation
Bioreactor Controls-II
Scale-Up Processes

