Generation and characterization of air micro‐bubbles in highly hydrophobic capillaries

Abstract

The generation of air microbubbles in microfluidic systems or in capillaries could be of great interest for transportation (single cell analysis, organite transportation) or for liquid compartmentation. The physicochemical characterization of air bubbles and a better understanding of the process leading to bubble generation during electrophoresis is also interesting in a theoretical point of view. In this work, the generation of microbubbles on hydrophobic Glaco™ coated capillaries has been studied in water‐based electrolyte. Air bubbles were generated at the detection window and the required experimental parameters for microbubbles generation have been identified. Generated bubbles migrated against the electroosmotic flow, as would do strongly negatively charged solutes, under constant electric field. They have been characterized in terms of dimensions, electrophoretic mobility, and apparent charge.

Multiple-Droplet Selective Manipulation Enabled by Laser-Textured Hydrophobic Magnetism-Responsive Slanted Micropillar Arrays with an Ultrafast Reconfiguration Rate

“…Subsequently, the effect of the surface chemical composition on the wettability of MSMA was also investigated. As a commercial superhydrophobic spray, Glaco is widely used in surface treatment, which is made of an alkyl-modified silica nanoparticle (particle size: 30–50 nm) suspension in isopropyl alcohol. − After Glaco modification, a superhydrophobic film with alkyl functional groups can be formed on the surface of the MSMA. As shown in Figure c,f, the WSA on the surface of the Glaco-modified MSMA, both in the anterograde and retrograde states, is reduced compared to the previous one (except for an S of 500 μm).…”