Passage of surfactant-laden and particle-laden drops through a contraction

Abstract

The flow of either particle-laden or surfactant-laden drops through a contraction under an imposed pressure has been investigated in a microfluidic setup. The drop deformation generates surface concentration gradients in adsorbed species, which results in surface tension gradients. Crossing of the contraction is driven by the coupling between the drop flow and surface tension gradients and can result in larger passage times for surfactant-laden drops.