Superhydrophobic surface and knife to cut water droplets
The article: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0045893
Antonio Garcia from Arizona State University is researching how to separate a droplet of water without the use of satellite droplets. Using a superhydrophobic surface and knife, the drop of water can be physically cut into two separate smaller drops. This development could help make separation of components (such as proteins) in a small sample (such as a drop of water) easier and faster, without the use of specific labels or arrays of instruments with accompanying preparation steps.
Polyethylene was used to make the knife superhydrophobic. The Teflon slides that the water droplet were placed on were also superhydrophobic, and had contact angles about 135 degrees.
Previous publications have described how isoelectric focusing can be conducted on an aqueous drop resting on a superhydrophobic surface. Isoelectric focusing utilizes the isoelectric point of proteins placed in a liquid with an induced pH gradient and an electric field to separate the proteins within the solution. With this possible in droplets of water, proteins and other components with isoelectric points could be separated from each other within the drop. If they are separated within the droplet, and the droplet can be cut by this superhydrophobic knife, proteins can be extracted easily from small samples. This could make biomedical research more efficient, and the separation of proteins for clinical testing quicker.
Antonio Garcia from Arizona State University is researching how to separate a droplet of water without the use of satellite droplets. Using a superhydrophobic surface and knife, the drop of water can be physically cut into two separate smaller drops. This development could help make separation of components (such as proteins) in a small sample (such as a drop of water) easier and faster, without the use of specific labels or arrays of instruments with accompanying preparation steps.
Polyethylene was used to make the knife superhydrophobic. The Teflon slides that the water droplet were placed on were also superhydrophobic, and had contact angles about 135 degrees.
Previous publications have described how isoelectric focusing can be conducted on an aqueous drop resting on a superhydrophobic surface. Isoelectric focusing utilizes the isoelectric point of proteins placed in a liquid with an induced pH gradient and an electric field to separate the proteins within the solution. With this possible in droplets of water, proteins and other components with isoelectric points could be separated from each other within the drop. If they are separated within the droplet, and the droplet can be cut by this superhydrophobic knife, proteins can be extracted easily from small samples. This could make biomedical research more efficient, and the separation of proteins for clinical testing quicker.
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