Publication Date
2023
Journal or Book Title
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Abstract
Millifluidics, the manipulation of liquid flow in millimeter-sized channels, has been a revolutionary concept in chemical processing and engineering. The solid channels that contain the liquids, though, are not flexible in their design and modification, and prevent contact with the external environment. All-liquid constructs, on the other hand, while flexible and open, are imbedded in a liquid environment. Here, we provide a route to circumvent these limitations by encasing the liquids in a hydrophobic powder in air that jams on the surface, containing and isolating flowing fluids, offering flexibility and adaptability in design, as manifest in the ability to reconfigure, graft, and segment the constructs. Along with the open nature of these powder-contained channels that allow arbitrary connections/disconnections and substance addition/extraction, numerous applications can be opened in the biological, chemical, and material arenas.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302907120
Volume
120
Issue
28
License
UMass Amherst Open Access Policy
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Li, Xiaoguang; Pang, Xiaoguang; Jiang, Haohao; Duan, Mei; Liu, Heng; Yang, Zhujun; Xi, Yuhang; and Russell, Thomas P., "Open millifluidics based on powder-encased channels" (2023). PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 1167.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302907120