Liquid marbles, floating droplets: preparations, properties, operations and applications
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Aqueous Droplets Used as Enzymatic Microreactors and Their Electromagnetic Actuation
Published on: August 28, 2017
Yukai Sun1, Yelong Zheng1, Chuntian Liu1
1State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University Tianjin China zhengyelongby@tju.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Liquid marbles (LMs) are non-wettable droplets formed with a coating of hydrophobic particles. They can move easily across either solid or liquid surfaces since the hydrophobic particles protect the internal liquid from contacting the substrate. In recent years, mainly due to their simple preparation, abundant materials, non-wetting/non-adhesive properties, elasticities and stabilities, LMs have been applied in many fields such as microfluidics, sensors and biological incubators. In this review, the recent advances in the preparation, physical properties and applications of liquid marbles, especially operations and floating abilities, are summarized. Moreover, the challenges to achieve uniformity, slow volatilization and stronger stability are pointed out. Various applications generated by LMs' structural characteristics are also expected.
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