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Abstract
Adaptive and bioinspired droplet-based materials are built using the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) technique, assembling networks of lipid membranes through adhered microdroplets. The properties of these lipid membranes are linked to the properties of the droplets forming the interface. Consequently, rearranging the relative positions of the droplets within the network will also alter the properties of the lipid membranes formed between them, modifying the transmembrane exchanges between neighboring compartments. In this work, we achieved this through the use of magnetic fluids or ferrofluids selectively dispersed within the droplet-phase of DIB structures. First, the ferrofluid DIB properties are optimized for reconfiguration using a coupled experimental-computational approach, exploring the ideal parameters for droplet manipulation through magnetic fields. Next, these findings are applied towards larger, magnetically-heterogeneous collections of DIBs to investigate magnetically-driven reconfiguration events. Activating electromagnets bordering the DIB networks generates rearrangement events by separating and reforming the interfacial membranes bordering the dispersed magnetic compartments. These findings enable the production of dynamic droplet networks capable of modifying their underlying membranous architecture through magnetic forces.
Highlights
Adaptive and bioinspired droplet-based materials are built using the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) technique, assembling networks of lipid membranes through adhered microdroplets
These cases permit for the study of membrane biophysics or the mechanics of interfaces and self-assembly, yet the capacity of the DIB networks for adaptation in response to external stimuli is limited
In this research we propose the use of magnetic fields coupled with distributed ferrofluid droplets to generate localized forces in the DIB structures, driving droplet decoupling and rearrangement
Summary
Adaptive and bioinspired droplet-based materials are built using the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) technique, assembling networks of lipid membranes through adhered microdroplets. Inspired by how cellular tissues structurally adapt, we will explore how magnetically driven shape shifting capabilities can be implemented in materials constructed using the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) technique, a popular technique for assembling lipid membranes that may be used to recreate cellular phenomena[6]. These cases permit for the study of membrane biophysics or the mechanics of interfaces and self-assembly, yet the capacity of the DIB networks for adaptation in response to external stimuli is limited To rectify this limitation, recent efforts have proposed that DIB-based materials can be functionalized to adapt to external triggers by either (a) changing their internal chemical composition or (b) shape-shifting[6]. Latter case, investigating shape-shifting capabilities within DIB-structures that follow mechanisms inspired by natural tissues using magnetic forces as a trigger
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