Synthetic Membraneless Droplets for Synaptic-Like Clustering of Lipid Vesicles

In eukaryotic cells, the membraneless organelles (MLOs) formed via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) are found to interact intimately with membranous organelles (MOs). One major mode is the clustering of MOs by MLOs, such as the formation of clusters of synaptic vesicles at nerve terminals mediated by the synapsin-rich MLOs. Aqueous droplets, including complex coacervates and aqueous two-phase systems, have been plausible MLO-mimics to emulate or elucidate biological processes. However, neither of them can cluster lipid vesicles (LVs) like MLOs. In this work, we develop a synthetic droplet assembled from a combination of two different interactions underlying the formation of these two droplets, namely, associative and segregative interactions, which we call segregative-associative (SA) droplets. The SA droplets cluster and disperse LVs recapitulating the key functional features of synapsin condensates, which can be attributed to the weak electrostatic interaction environment provided by SA droplets. This work suggests LLPS with combined segregative and associative interactions as a possible route for synaptic clustering of lipid vesicles and highlights SA droplets as plausible MLO-mimics and models for studying and mimicking related cellular dynamics.     

Flow-focusing generation of monodisperse water droplets wrapped by ionic liquid on microfluidic chips: from plug to sphere

Generating droplets via microfluidic chips is a promising technology in microanalysis and microsynthesis. To realize room-temperature ionic liquid (IL)-water two-phase studies in microscale, a water-immiscible IL was employed as the continuous phase for the first time to wrap water droplets (either plugs or spheres) on flow-focusing microfluidic chips. The IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]), could wet both hydrophilic and hydrophobic channel surfaces because of its dual role of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and extremely high viscosity, thus offering the possibility of wrapping water droplets in totally hydrophilic (THI), moderately hydrophilic (MHI), and hydrophobic (HO) channels. The droplet shape could be tuned from plug to sphere, with the volume from 6.3 nL to 65 pL, by adding an orifice in the focusing region, rendering the hydrophilic channel surface hydrophobic, and suppressing the Uw/UIL ratio below 1.0. Three different breakup processes were defined and clarified, in which the sub-steady breakup and steady breakup were essential for the formation of plugs and spheric droplets, respectively. The influences of channel hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity on droplet formation were carefully studied by evaluating the wetting abilities of water and IL on different surfaces. The superiority of IL over water in wetting hydrophobic surface led to the tendency of forming small, spheric aqueous droplets in the hydrophobic channel. This IL-favored droplet-based system represented a high efficiency in water/IL extraction, in which rhodamine 6G was extracted from aqueous droplets to [BMIM][PF6] in the hydrophobic orifice-included (HO-OI) channel in 0.51 s.     

丙烯酰胺在聚乙二醇水溶液中聚合初期的液滴形成与成长过程

用动态激光光散射(DLS)在线观测了丙烯酰胺(AM)在聚乙二醇(PEG)水溶液中聚合初期液滴的出现、生长及聚并过程,考察了PEG分子量和浓度对聚合初期液滴尺寸的影响;用透射电镜(TEM)对聚合初期液滴形态的演变进行了观察,发现与DLS结果能很好吻合.用分光光度计对聚合体系分相点进行确定,采用溴化法测定了聚合体系临界分相时的转化率.随PEG分子量或浓度的升高,临界分相转化率逐渐减小;随温度的升高,临界分相转化率先减小后增大,在50℃左右出现最小值.用凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)对聚合体系临界分相时聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)的分子量进行了研究,变化趋势与临界分相转化率的变化一致.在上述基础上,提出了AM在PEG水溶液中聚合初期的液滴形成、成长机理.     

Acoustic field assisted demixing of aqueous two-phase systems

Acoustic field assisted demixing was employed to decrease the demixing time in aqueous two-phase systems (polyethylene glycol-maltodextrin and polyethylene glycol-potassium phosphate). Application of acoustic field has decreased the demixing time in polyethylene glycol-maltodextrin by around twofold and up to about 3.2-fold in polyethylene glycol-potassium phosphate systems. Ultrasonication has induced mild circulation currents in the phase dispersion, which has enhanced the rate of droplet coalescence, eventually resulting in decreased demixing time. In the polyethylene glycol-maltodextrin system, phase demixing was found to depend greatly on which of the phases iscontinuous and viscosity of the continuous phase was observed to have a strong influence on the movement of the droplets and hence controlling the phase demixing rate. In case of the polyethylene glycol-potassium phosphate system, droplet coalescence was found to play a critical role in phase demixing. Addition of NaCl increased the demixing time and presence of Escherichia coli cells did not seem to have any influence on phase demixing.     

Fusion and sorting of two parallel trains of droplets using a railroad-like channel network and guiding tracks

We propose a robust droplet fusion and sorting method for two parallel trains of droplets that is relatively insensitive to frequency and phase mismatch. Conventional methods of droplet fusion require an extremely precise control of aqueous/oil flows for perfect frequency matching between two trains of droplets. In this work, by combining our previous two methods (i.e., droplet synchronization using railroad-like channels and manipulation of shape-dependent droplets using guiding tracks), we realized an error-free droplet fusion/sorting device for the two parallel trains of droplets. If droplet pairs are synchronized through a railroad-like channel, they are electrically fused and the fused droplets transit to a middle guiding track to flow in a middle channel; otherwise non-synchronized non-fused droplets will be discarded into the side waste channels by flowing through their own guiding tracks. The simple droplet synchronization, fusion, and sorting technology will have widespread application in droplet-based chemical or biological experiments, where two trains of the chemically or biologically treated or pre-formed droplets yield a train of 100% one-to-one fused droplets at the desired outlet channel by sorting all the non-synchronized non-fused droplets into waste outlets.     

丙烯酰胺在聚乙二醇水溶液中聚合产品的微观形态

采用偶氮类水溶性引发剂2,2′-偶氮二异丙基咪唑啉二盐酸盐(VA044)引发丙烯酰胺(AM)在聚乙二醇(PEG)水溶液中的双水相聚合;研究了引发剂、单体、聚乙二醇浓度及温度对最终产品中聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)液滴形态、尺寸的影响.随着引发剂浓度的增加,液滴由球状变为细长条状;随着温度的上升,球状液滴逐渐趋于条状,然后又重新趋于球状;在初始单体浓度较低时,PAM液滴滴径分布较窄,当其浓度增加后,滴径呈多峰分布;随着PEG浓度的增加,聚合物液滴趋于球状。     

Interfacial organic synthesis in a simple droplet-based microfluidic system

A spherical liquid-liquid interface can be obtained by dispersing one liquid phase into another to form droplets, which will facilitate the two-phase reactions between the immiscible participating fluids. The phase transfer catalysts assembled at the droplet "wall" catalyze the reactions between the aqueous and organic phases. The study illustrates an interfacial synthetic approach which is ideal for the biphasic reaction by taking advantage of the droplet-based microdevice. The improved reaction efficiency can be attributed to the high surface-to-volume ratio and internal flow circulation in the droplets.     

液滴数字聚合酶链式反应芯片及其在致病菌检测中的应用

设计与制作了一种基于聚二甲基硅氧烷-玻璃(PDMS-Glass)的多功能集成式液滴数字聚合酶链式反应(ddPCR)芯片,该芯片由产生液滴的PDMS模块和收集液滴的玻璃腔体模块组成。PDMS模块采用双通道的T形结构设计,液滴产生速度快且通量高,在30 min内可生成2×10~6个直径约为20μm的微液滴。玻璃腔体模块中存储的液滴在整个实验过程中无需转移,可直接在原位PCR仪上进行扩增,每个液滴均是一个微反应器,经过多次热循环后,液滴仍能保持良好的稳定性。选用副溶血性弧菌(VP)作为食源性致病菌的研究模型,考察了ddPCR芯片对其基因组DNA的绝对定量能力,结果表明,该ddPCR芯片对VP基因组DNA绝对定量的线性范围宽,可跨越5个数量级(10~1~10~6 copies/μL),定量结果与DNA理论参考浓度间有很好的相关性。     

Monodisperse hydrogel microspheres by forced droplet formation in aqueous two-phase systems

This paper presents a method to form micron-sized droplets in an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) and to subsequently polymerize the droplets to produce hydrogel beads. Owing to the low interfacial tension in ATPS, droplets do not easily form spontaneously. We enforce the formation of drops by perturbing an otherwise stable jet that forms at the junction where the two aqueous streams meet. This is done by actuating a piezo-electric bending disc integrated in our device. The influence of forcing amplitude and frequency on jet breakup is described and related to the size of monodisperse droplets with a diameter in the range between 30 and 60 μm. Rapid on-chip polymerization of derivatized dextran inside the droplets created monodisperse hydrogel particles. This work shows how droplet-based microfluidics can be used in all-aqueous, surfactant-free, organic-solvent-free biocompatible two-phase environment.     

Chembio extraction on a chip by nanoliter droplet ejection

This paper describes a novel liquid separation technique for chembio extraction by an ultrasonic nanoliter-liquid-droplet ejector built on a PZT sheet. This technique extracts material from an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) in a precise amount through digital control of the number of nanoliter droplets, without any mixing between the two liquids in the ATPS. The ultrasonic droplet ejector uses an acoustic streaming effect produced by an acoustic beam focused on the liquid surface, and ejects liquid droplets only from the liquid surface without disturbing most of the liquid below the surface. This unique characteristic of the focused acoustic beam is perfect (1) for separating a top-layer liquid (from the bulk of liquid) that contains particles of interest or (2) for recovering a top-layer liquid that has different phase from a bottom-layer liquid. Three kinds of liquid extraction are demonstrated with the ultrasonic droplet ejector: (1) 16 microl of top layer in Dextran-polyethylene glycol-water ATPS (aqueous two-phase system) is recovered within 20 s; (2) micron sized particles that float on water surface are ejected out with water droplets; and (3) oil layer on top of water is separated out.     

Droplet-based microextraction in the aqueous two-phase system

This report is about microfluidic extraction systems based on droplets of aqueous two-phase system. Mass transfer between continuous phase and dispersed droplet is demonstrated by microextraction of ruthenium red in a microfluidic device. Droplets are generated with electrohydrodynamic method in the same device. By comparing brightness in the digital image of a solution with known concentrations of ruthenium red and those of a droplet in the microextraction, ruthenium red concentration was measured along the microextraction channel, resulting in good agreement with a simple diffusion model. The maximum partition coefficient was 9.58 in the experiment with the 70-mm-long-channel microextractor. The method is usable for terminating microextraction by electrohydrodynamic manipulation of droplet movement direction. Droplets of different ruthenium red concentration, 0.12 and 0.24% (w/w) in this experiment, can be moved to desired place of microfluidic system for further reaction through respectively branched outlets. In this study droplet-based microextraction is demonstrated and the mass transport is numerically analyzed by solving the diffusion–dissolution model.     

Laser photophoretic migration with periodic expansion-contraction motion of photo-absorbing microemulsion droplets in water

When the water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion droplets including the Co(III)-pyridylazo complex as the photo-absorber were irradiated with a continuous-wave Ar(+) ion laser (514.5 nm), we have observed unexpected phenomenon that photo-absorbing microemulsion droplets in water repeated the expansion and the sudden contraction during the laser photophoretic migration. The period of the expansion-contraction cycle was inversely proportional to both the concentration of the complex and the irradiated laser power and was independent of the initial size of the droplet. The mechanism of the periodic motion of the droplet was investigated by local temperature measurement and Raman microscope spectroscopy. It was suggested that the first step was the phase separation of the bicontinuous microemulsion droplet into the normal w/o microemulsion outer phase and the aqueous inner phase in the droplet, which was caused by the laser-induced temperature gradient inside the droplet. Subsequently, an expansion of the inner aqueous phase was induced by the percolation of the external water by thermo-osmosis, which was caused by the laser-induced temperature gradient between the inside and the outside of the microemulsion liquid membrane of the droplet. When the liquid membrane became thinner to a critical thickness, the inner aqueous phase was released and the droplet shrank into the original size. The proposed mechanism can give an account of the unique cyclical motion.     

New charged microheterogeneous system — A microemulsion with droplets of variable electrostatic potential

A method has been proposed for varying the electrostatic potential of droplets in emulsions of the oil/water type by introducing nonsurface-active hydrophilic—hydrophobic electrolytes into the aqueous phase. Consideration has been given to the simplest two-phase model using standard Galvani potentials for interphase transfer of the individual ions to describe the properties of the electrolyte. From calculations based on this model relationships have been obtained between the electrostatic potential of the microphase and the electrolyte properties: concentration, droplet dimensions of the dispersed phase, and its mole fraction. Limiting conditions have been discovered in terms of the droplet dimensions and mole fraction of the dispersed phase. Calculations have demonstrated the possibility of controlling the electrostatic potential of the emulsion droplets in the range ± 300 mV.N. N. Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117977 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2245–2252, October, 1992.     

Coated gas bubbles for the continuous synthesis of hollow inorganic particles

We present a microfluidic approach for the controlled encapsulation of individual gas bubbles in micrometer-diameter aqueous droplets with high gas volume fractions and demonstrate this approach to making a liquid shell, which serves as a template for the synthesis of hollow inorganic particles. In particular, we find that an increase in the viscosity of the aqueous phase facilitates the encapsulation of individual gas bubbles in an aqueous droplet and allows control of the thickness of a thin aqueous shell. Furthermore, because such droplets contain a finite amount of water, uncontrolled hydrolysis reactions between reactive inorganic precursors and bulk water can be avoided. We demonstrate this approach by introducing reactive inorganic precursors, such as silane and titanium butoxide, for sol-gel reactions downstream from the formation of the bubble in a droplet and consequently fabricate hollow particles of silica or titania in one continuous flow process. These approaches provide a route to controlling double-emulsion-type gas-liquid microstructures and offer a new fabrication method for thin-shell-covered microbubbles and hollow microparticles.     

Oil-continuous microemulsions mixed with an amphiphilic graft copolymer or with the parent homopolymer Polymer–droplet interactions as revealed by phase behavior and light scattering

Polymer–droplet interactions have been studied in AOT/water/isooctane oil-continuous microemulsions mixed with an amphiphilic graft copolymer, or with the parent homopolymer (AOT = sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate). The graft copolymer has an oil-soluble poly(dodecyl methacrylate) backbone and water-soluble poly(ethylene glycol) side chains. Pseudo-ternary polymer/droplet/isooctane phase diagrams have been established for both the parent homopolymer and the graft copolymer, and the two types of mixture display entirely different phase behavior. The homopolymer–droplet interaction is repulsive, and a segregative phase separation occurs at high droplet concentrations. By contrast, the graft copolymer–droplet interaction is attractive: the polymer is insoluble in the pure oil, but dissolves in the microemulsion. A comparatively high concentration of droplets is required to solubilize even small amounts of polymer. Static and dynamic light scattering has been performed in order to obtain information on structure and dynamics in the two types of mixture. For optically matched microemulsions, with a vanishing excess polarizability of the droplets, the polymer dominates the intensity of scattered light. The absolute intensity of scattered light increases as phase separation is approached owing to large-scale concentration fluctuations. Dynamic light scattering shows two populations of diffusion coefficients; one population originates from “free” microemulsion droplets and the other from the polymer (for homopolymer mixtures) or from polymer–droplet aggregates (for mixtures with the graft copolymer). The graft copolymer forms large polymer–droplet aggregates with a broad size distribution, which coexist with a significant fraction of free droplets.     

Highly productive droplet formation by anisotropic elongation of a thread flow in a microchannel

We developed a microfluidic device to form monodisperse droplets with high productivity by anisotropic elongation of a thread flow, defined as a threadlike flow of a dispersed liquid phase in a flow of an immiscible, continuous liquid phase. The thread flow was anisotropically elongated in the depth direction in a straight microchannel with a step, where the microchannel depth changed. Consequently, the elongated thread flow was given capillary instability (Rayleigh-Plateau instability) and was continuously transformed into monodisperse droplets at the downstream area of the step in the microchannel. We examined the effects of the flow rates of the dispersed phase and the continuous phase on the droplet formation behavior, including the droplet diameter and droplet formation frequency. The droplet diameter increased as the fraction of the dispersed-phase flow rate relative to the total flow rate increased and was independent of the total flow rate. The droplet formation frequency proportionally increased with the total flow rate at a constant dispersed-phase flow rate fraction. These results are explained in terms of a mechanism similar to that of droplet formation from a cylindrical liquid thread flow by Rayleigh-Plateau instability. The microfluidic device described was capable of forming monodisperse droplets with a 160-microm average diameter and 3-microm standard deviation at a droplet formation frequency of 350 droplets per second from a single thread flow. The highest total flow rate achieved was 6 mL/h using the present device composed of a straight microchannel with a step. We also demonstrated parallel droplet formation by anisotropic elongation of multiple thread flows; the process was applied to form W/O and O/W droplets. The highly productive droplet formation process presented in this study is expected to be useful for future industrial applications.     

Fatty acid chemistry at the oil-water interface: self-propelled oil droplets

Fatty acids have been investigated as boundary structures to construct artificial cells due to their dynamic properties and phase transitions. Here we have explored the possibility that fatty acid systems also demonstrate movement. An oil phase was loaded with a fatty acid anhydride precursor and introduced to an aqueous fatty acid micelle solution. The oil droplets showed autonomous, sustained movement through the aqueous media. Internal convection created a positive feedback loop, and the movement of the oil droplet was sustained as convection drove fresh precursor to the surface to become hydrolyzed. As the system progressed, more surfactant was produced and some of the oil droplets transformed into supramolecular aggregates resembling multilamellar vesicles. The oil droplets also moved directionally within chemical gradients and exhibited a type of chemotaxis.     

正离子型疏水改性聚氧乙烯单成相组分双水相系统的相行为

对正离子型疏水改性聚氧乙烯(HM-EO)单成相组分双水相系统的相行为进行了考察,并分析其电荷特性.HM-EO在水溶液中呈现两亲性,可以形成胶束,进而形成带电的胶束簇集体.通过改变溶液的pH值、盐浓度及添加带相反电荷的表面活性剂SDS,可改变胶束簇集体的带电状态,从而影响系统的相行为.增大pH值,有利于系统的分相.盐的添加也可以增大双水相两相区域,正离子影响次序为K+>Na+,负离子次序为SO42->F->Cl->Br->I-.进一步考察了HM-EO和SDS之间的相互作用,结果表明SDS能与HM-EO形成混合胶束簇集体,改变HM-EO双水相系统的带电特性.     

A single-cell encapsulation method based on a microfluidic multi-step droplet splitting system

Single cell analysis is of great significance to understand the physiological activity of organisms.Microfluidic droplet is an ideal analytical platform for single-cell analysis. We developed a microfluidic droplet splitting system integrated with a flow-focusing structure and multi-step splitting structures to form 8-line droplets and encapsulate single cells in the droplets. Droplet generation frequency reached1021 Hz with the aqueous phase flow rate of 1 m L/min and the oil phase flow rate of 15 mL /min. Relative standard deviation of the droplet size was less than 5% in a single channel, while less than 6% in all the8 channels. The system was used for encapsulating human whole blood cells. A single-cell encapsulation efficiency of 31% was obtained with the blood cell concentration of 2.5× 10~4cells/mL, and the multicellular droplet percentage was only 1.3%. The multi-step droplet splitting system for single cell encapsulation featured simple structure and high throughput.