Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2025
08:09
A Technique to Functionalize and Self-assemble Macroscopic Nanoparticle-ligand Monolayer Films onto Template-free Substrates
Published on: May 9, 2014
11.0K
Orbiting Self-Organization of Filament-Tethered Surface-Active Droplets
Mitch Winkens1, Alexandru Vilcan1, Pieter J de Visser1
1Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525 AJ, The Netherlands.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|February 17, 2023
Summary
Synthetic chemistry systems exhibit life-like self-organization and movement. Researchers demonstrated orbiting behavior in droplets driven by chemical gradients, paving the way for dynamic synthetic matter.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Dissipative chemical systems offer pathways to engineer synthetic matter with life-like properties.
- Self-organization, motility, and dynamic state switching are key emergent behaviors in these systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate out-of-equilibrium self-organization in a synthetic chemical system.
- To investigate the mechanisms driving dynamic droplet behavior at an air-water interface.
Main Methods:
- Utilized interconnected source and drain droplets at an air-water interface.
- Leveraged a hydrolysis reaction to create a chemical concentration gradient.
- Observed the interaction between amphiphile filaments and the chemical gradient.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated dynamic behavior and self-organization of droplets.
- Observed a unique orbiting motion of drain droplets sustained by a chemical gradient.
- Proposed a mechanism involving selective filament adhesion and destabilization.
Conclusions:
- Chemical gradients can drive complex dynamic behaviors in synthetic systems.
- This work showcases a model for life-like self-organization and motility.
- Potential applications include chemical signal transfer and positioning in synthetic networks.
Related Concept Videos
02:57Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
28.3K
Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
28.3K
01:22Surface Tension of Fluid
391
Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
Surface tension varies...
Surface tension varies...
391
01:39Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
2.4K
Filopodia are thin, actin-rich cellular protrusions that play an important role in many fundamental cellular functions. They vary in their occurrence, length, and positioning in different cell types, suggesting their diverse roles.
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
2.4K
01:07Cohesion
54.6K
Cohesion is the attraction between molecules of the same type, such as water molecules. Water molecules have an overall neutral charge but are polar molecule. An oxygen atom in one water molecule has a partial negative charge that can bind to a hydrogen atom with a partial positive charge in a second water molecule, forming a hydrogen bond. Each water molecule can form up to four hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. Hydrogen bonds are responsible for water's cohesive nature.
On a...
On a...
54.6K
03:22Colloids
17.7K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...
17.7K
01:16Surface Tension and Surface Energy
1.5K
When a paint brush is immersed in water, the bristles wave freely inside the water. When it is taken out, the bristles stick together. The reason behind this effect is surface tension.
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
1.5K