DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1307122110. Patterning droplets with durotaxis

10.1073/pnas.1307122110

Crossref journal-article

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (341)

Abstract

Numerous cell types have shown a remarkable ability to detect and move along gradients in stiffness of an underlying substrate—a process known as durotaxis. The mechanisms underlying durotaxis are still unresolved, but generally believed to involve active sensing and locomotion. Here, we show that simple liquid droplets also undergo durotaxis. By modulating substrate stiffness, we obtain fine control of droplet position on soft, flat substrates. Unlike other control mechanisms, droplet durotaxis works without imposing chemical, thermal, electrical, or topographical gradients. We show that droplet durotaxis can be used to create large-scale droplet patterns and is potentially useful for many applications, such as microfluidics, thermal control, and microfabrication.

Bibliography

Style, R. W., Che, Y., Park, S. J., Weon, B. M., Je, J. H., Hyland, C., German, G. K., Power, M. P., Wilen, L. A., Wettlaufer, J. S., & Dufresne, E. R. (2013). Patterning droplets with durotaxis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(31), 12541â12544.

Authors 11

Robert W. Style (first)
Yonglu Che (additional)
Su Ji Park (additional)
Byung Mook Weon (additional)
Jung Ho Je (additional)
Callen Hyland (additional)
Guy K. German (additional)
Michael P. Power (additional)
Larry A. Wilen (additional)
John S. Wettlaufer (additional)
Eric R. Dufresne (additional)

References 40 Referenced 196

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Dates

Type	When
Created	12 years, 1 month ago (June 25, 2013, 12:20 a.m.)
Deposited	3 years, 4 months ago (April 15, 2022, 10:04 p.m.)
Indexed	2 weeks ago (Aug. 7, 2025, 4:45 p.m.)
Issued	12 years, 1 month ago (June 24, 2013)
Published	12 years, 1 month ago (June 24, 2013)
Published Online	12 years, 1 month ago (June 24, 2013)
Published Print	12 years ago (July 30, 2013)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Style_2013, title={Patterning droplets with durotaxis}, volume={110}, ISSN={1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1307122110}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.1307122110}, number={31}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Style, Robert W. and Che, Yonglu and Park, Su Ji and Weon, Byung Mook and Je, Jung Ho and Hyland, Callen and German, Guy K. and Power, Michael P. and Wilen, Larry A. and Wettlaufer, John S. and Dufresne, Eric R.}, year={2013}, month=jun, pages={12541–12544} }

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