Cutting a drop of water pinned by wire loops using a superhydrophobic surface and knife

A water drop on a superhydrophobic surface that is pinned by wire loops can be reproducibly cut without formation of satellite droplets. Drops placed on low-density polyethylene surfaces and Teflon-coated glass slides were cut with superhydrophobic knives of low-density polyethylene and treated copp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-09, Vol.7 (9), p.e45893-e45893
Main Authors: Yanashima, Ryan, García, Antonio A, Aldridge, James, Weiss, Noah, Hayes, Mark A, Andrews, James H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Copper
Cutlery
Cutting parameters
Drop formation
Droplets
Electrofocusing
Experiments
Fluid mechanics
Fluids
Free energy
Gene expression
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Hydrophobic surfaces
Hydrophobicity
Isoelectric focusing
Knives
Low density polyethylenes
Microelectromechanical systems
Models, Theoretical
Physics
Polyethylene
Polyethylene - chemistry
Polytetrafluoroethylene
Properties
Surface Properties
Thermodynamics
Two dimensional models
Water
Water - chemistry
Water droplets
Wettability
Zinc
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Summary:A water drop on a superhydrophobic surface that is pinned by wire loops can be reproducibly cut without formation of satellite droplets. Drops placed on low-density polyethylene surfaces and Teflon-coated glass slides were cut with superhydrophobic knives of low-density polyethylene and treated copper or zinc sheets, respectively. Distortion of drop shape by the superhydrophobic knife enables a clean break. The driving force for droplet formation arises from the lower surface free energy for two separate drops, and it is modeled as a 2-D system. An estimate of the free energy change serves to guide when droplets will form based on the variation of drop volume, loop spacing and knife depth. Combining the cutting process with an electrofocusing driving force could enable a reproducible biomolecular separation without troubling satellite drop formation.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0045893