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Towards functional droplet architectures: a Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium for networks

Towards functional droplet architectures: a Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium for networks
Towards functional droplet architectures: a Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium for networks
The confluence of droplet-compartmentalised chemical systems and architectures composed of interacting droplets points towards a novel technology mimicking core features of the cellular architecture that dominates biology. A key challenge to achieve such a droplet technology is long-term stability in conjunction with interdroplet communication. Here, we probed the parameter space of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) medium, an extensively studied model for non-equilibrium chemical reactions, pipetted as 2.5 mm droplets in hexadecane oil. The presence of asolectin lipids enabled the formation of arrays of contacted BZ droplets, of which the wave patterns were characterised over time. We utilised laser-cut acrylic templates with over 40 linear oil-filled slots in which arrays are formed by pipetting droplets of the desired BZ composition, enabling parallel experiments and automated image analysis. Using variations of conventional malonic acid BZ medium, wave propagation over droplet-droplet interfaces was not observed. However, a BZ medium containing both malonic acid and 1,4-cyclohexanedione was found to enable inter-droplet wave propagation. We anticipate that the chemical excitation properties of this mixed-substrate BZ medium, in combination with the droplet stability of the networks demonstrated here for nearly 400 droplets in a template-defined topology, will facilitate the development of scalable functional droplet networks.
2045-2322
Chang, Kai Ming
4a4a15be-862b-4cd2-a229-bc4562f6b47e
de Planque, Maurits R.R.
a1d33d13-f516-44fb-8d2c-c51d18bc21ba
Zauner, Klaus-Peter
c8b22dbd-10e6-43d8-813b-0766f985cc97
Chang, Kai Ming
4a4a15be-862b-4cd2-a229-bc4562f6b47e
de Planque, Maurits R.R.
a1d33d13-f516-44fb-8d2c-c51d18bc21ba
Zauner, Klaus-Peter
c8b22dbd-10e6-43d8-813b-0766f985cc97

Chang, Kai Ming, de Planque, Maurits R.R. and Zauner, Klaus-Peter (2018) Towards functional droplet architectures: a Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium for networks. Scientific Reports, 8, [12656]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-018-30819-6).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The confluence of droplet-compartmentalised chemical systems and architectures composed of interacting droplets points towards a novel technology mimicking core features of the cellular architecture that dominates biology. A key challenge to achieve such a droplet technology is long-term stability in conjunction with interdroplet communication. Here, we probed the parameter space of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) medium, an extensively studied model for non-equilibrium chemical reactions, pipetted as 2.5 mm droplets in hexadecane oil. The presence of asolectin lipids enabled the formation of arrays of contacted BZ droplets, of which the wave patterns were characterised over time. We utilised laser-cut acrylic templates with over 40 linear oil-filled slots in which arrays are formed by pipetting droplets of the desired BZ composition, enabling parallel experiments and automated image analysis. Using variations of conventional malonic acid BZ medium, wave propagation over droplet-droplet interfaces was not observed. However, a BZ medium containing both malonic acid and 1,4-cyclohexanedione was found to enable inter-droplet wave propagation. We anticipate that the chemical excitation properties of this mixed-substrate BZ medium, in combination with the droplet stability of the networks demonstrated here for nearly 400 droplets in a template-defined topology, will facilitate the development of scalable functional droplet networks.

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s41598-018-30819-6 - Version of Record
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Accepted/In Press date: 31 July 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 August 2018
Published date: 23 August 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 424587
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/424587
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: ea53ce6f-f064-498a-9eb4-b4dba07d9cc0
ORCID for Maurits R.R. de Planque: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8787-0513

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Date deposited: 05 Oct 2018 11:38
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 21:22

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Contributors

Author: Kai Ming Chang
Author: Maurits R.R. de Planque ORCID iD
Author: Klaus-Peter Zauner

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