Molecular Combing of λ-DNA using Self-Propelled Water Droplets on Wettability Gradient Surfaces

Evolution Characteristics and Mechanism of Three-Phase Contact Line of a DNA Microdroplet Impacting and Spreading on a Hydrophilic Horizontal Solid Surface

The phenomena and characteristics of droplets impacting and spreading on a horizontal solid surface are key scientific issues in microfluidic technology and surface physics. The movement regularity and mechanism of the three-phase contact line (TCL) of DNA microdroplets spreading on a hydrophilic PMMA smooth surface without splashing or rebounding are investigated by high-speed camera technology. Some significant results are achieved, for example: based on the changes in droplet morphology, the changes of DNA droplet TCL are divided into eight stages, i.e., expanding, pinning, retracting, repinning, microexpanding, micro-oscillating, stabilizing, and retraction drying, which are helpful to understand the deposition of DNA molecules on the substrate surface. Among them, the TCL moves intensely in the stages of expanding and retracting, respectively, following the cubic function and quadratic function; then, TCL remains virtually unchanged since entering the repinning stage until the stabilizing stage, and DNA molecules are deposited on the surface of PMMA, accumulating to form crystals. Furthermore, the relationship between three correlated damped-like oscillations, i.e., droplet top height (htop), TCL position, and dynamic contact angle (DCA) size, is systematically investigated; the htop oscillates first, then the TCL and DCA oscillate after a delay of 5 ms, and the oscillation period increases sequentially, which is 7.55, 7.90, and 8.40 ms, respectively. Finally, the effects of dynamic characteristics and crystallization of DNA molecules on TCL movement and DCA size are expounded. This research provides detailed experimental data and proposes a theoretical model for understanding the dynamic mechanism of DNA droplet spreading on solid surfaces and has been helpful for designing DNA chips and developing micro-/nano-fluidic sensors.

Anisotropic Wetting and Diffusion Behavior of Water Droplets on Biphenylene Compared to Graphene

We comparatively studied the wetting behavior of water droplets on graphene and biphenylene using molecular dynamics simulations. The research showed that pristine biphenylene (BPN), unlike graphene, exhibits greater hydrophobicity and anisotropic wettability. This specific anisotropy can be tuned by the layer number and vacancy concentration. Particularly, there was a decrease in the water contact angle with increasing BPN layer number, highlighting the importance of water-BPN interactions. As the concentration of vacancies increases, the contact angle increases both along the zigzag direction and the armchair direction, while the anisotropy decreases. In planar defective biphenylene heterojunctions, water droplets spontaneously move from the defective area to the pristine area, where the zigzag direction exhibits a larger energy gradient compared to the armchair direction, leading to a faster movement of water droplets in the zigzag direction. The energy factor plays an important role in the directional movement of the water droplets. Our study explores new 2D materials with strong hydrophobicity and highlights the direction-dependent wetting behavior of biphenylene.

Continuous stationary phase gradient preparation on planar chromatographic media using vapor phase deposition of silane

A new, versatile, and straightforward vapor phase deposition (VPD) approach was used to prepare continuous stationary phase gradients (cSPGs) on silica thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates using phenyldimethylchlorosilane (PDCS) as a precursor. A mixture of paraffin oil and PDCS was placed at the bottom of an open-ended rectangular chamber, allowing the reactive silanes to evaporate and freely diffuse under a controlled atmosphere. As the volatile silane diffused across the length of the TLC plate, it reacted with the surface silanol groups thus functionalizing the surface in a gradient fashion. Characterization of the gradient TLC plates was done through UV visualization and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Visualizing the fluorescent gradient plates under UV radiation shows the clear presence of a gradient with the side closest to the vapor source undergoing the most modification. More quantitative characterization of the shape of the gradient was provided by DRS. The DRS showed that the degree of modification and shape of the gradient was dependent on the concentration of silane, VPD time, and relative humidity. To evaluate the chromatographic performance, a mixture of three aromatic compounds (acetaminophen (A), aspirin (As), and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3H)) was spotted on the high (GHP) and low phenyl (GLP) ends of the gradient TLC plates and the results compared to the separations carried out on unmodified and uniformly modified plates. The GHP TLC plates showed retention factors (Rf) of 0.060 ± 0.006, 0.391 ± 0.006, and 0.544 ± 0.006, whereas the unmodified plate displayed Rf values of 0.059 ± 0.006, 0.092 ± 0.003, and 0.037 ± 0.002 for the analytes A, As, and 3H, respectively. From the Rf values, it was observed that each modified plate exhibited different selectivity for the analytes. The GHP TLC plates exhibited better separation performance, and improved resolution compared to the GLP, unmodified, and uniformly modified plates. Overall, VPD is a new, cost-effective method for creating a gradient on the stationary phase which has the potential to advance chromatographic separation capabilities.

Droplet motion on a wrinkled PDMS surface with a gradient structural length scale shorter than the droplet diameter

Droplet transportation using a wettability gradient surface has attracted much attention owing to applications such as in microfluidic devices. A surface with a spatial structural gradient was prepared through a simple and cost-effective process even though understanding of droplet behavior on the structure was still limited. Here, we report impinging droplet motion on a gradient wrinkled surface. Surfaces were prepared through hard film deposition on soft pre-strained polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a mask installed with a slit to control the amount of deposition, which is related to the wavelength of the wrinkles. Droplets were impinged with varying position with respect to the structure, and the droplet motion was observed in the direction away from the region under the slit. We found an asymmetric contact angle and alternate motion on both sides of the three-phase contact line during the motion according to the gradient of the wrinkle wavelength. These results may help not only to understand the behavior of droplet impingement on a gradient structural surface but also to further develop applications using directional droplet transfer.

Accelerating Cell Migration along Radially Aligned Nanofibers through the Addition of Electrosprayed Nanoparticles in a Radial Density Gradient

Scaffolds capable of promoting cell migration from the periphery towards the center along the radial direction hold promises for tissue regeneration. Here we report a simple and general method based on masked electrospray for the fabrication of such scaffolds by depositing collagen nanoparticles on radially-aligned nanofibers in a radial density gradient. Placed between the metallic needle and the collector, an aperture with tunable opening sizes serves as the mask. By increasing the size of the opening at a fixed speed, the electrosprayed particles take a radial density gradient that decreases from the center to the periphery. When deposited on a glass slide, the radial density gradient of collagen nanoparticles promotes the migration of fibroblasts from the periphery towards the center. By replacing the glass slide with a scaffold comprised of radially-aligned nanofibers, a synergetic effect arises to further accelerate cell migration along the radial direction. The synergistic effect can be attributed to a unique combination of the topographic cue arising from the aligned nanofibers and the haptotactic cue enabled by the graded nanoparticles. This work demonstrates a method to maximize cell migration from the periphery towards the center through a combination of topographic and haptotactic cues.

Survey of Micro/Nanofabricated Chemical, Topographical, and Compound Passive Wetting Gradient Surfaces

Surface wetting gradients are desirable due to their ability to passively transport liquid droplets without the aid of gravity. Such surfaces can be prepared through topographical or chemical methods or a compound approach involving both methods. By altering the surface free energy across a surface, a droplet that contacts such a surface will experience an actuation force toward the hydrophilic region. Such transport properties make these surfaces attractive for a range of applications from thermal management to microfluidics to the investigation of biomolecular interactions. This paper reviews passive wetting gradients that have been demonstrated over the last three decades, focusing on the types of surfaces that have been developed to date along with the materials that have been used. The corresponding wetting ranges and physical lengths over which droplet mobility has been achieved on these various types of gradient surfaces are compared to guide future developments.

Molecular Combing of Various Poly(n-Alkyl Acrylate) Chains on Mica by the Dipping Method

If polymer chains could be deposited on a substrate as a fully extended chain, a procedure known as "molecular combing," the chain structure could be characterized by atomic force microscopy in more detail than has been possible with the measurements available today. We show here, for the first time, that flexible polymers can be molecularly combed to fully extended chains by the dipping method. We studied the molecular combing of a series of poly(n-alkyl acrylate)s on mica from a chloroform solution by the dipping method and found that poly(n-alkyl acrylate)s with an alkyl group longer than n-octyl can be molecularly combed into straight chains under optimized conditions. With increasing alkyl lengths, the number of chains deposited decreases by four orders of magnitude, and chains become molecularly combed under a wider range of conditions. The length of the molecularly combed chains is ∼80% for poly(n-octyl acrylate) but ∼100% of the all-trans conformation for poly(n-alkyl acrylate)s with an alkyl length longer than n-nonyl.

DNA Manipulation and Single-Molecule Imaging

DNA replication, repair, and recombination in the cell play a significant role in the regulation of the inheritance, maintenance, and transfer of genetic information. To elucidate the biomolecular mechanism in the cell, some molecular models of DNA replication, repair, and recombination have been proposed. These biological studies have been conducted using bulk assays, such as gel electrophoresis. Because in bulk assays, several millions of biomolecules are subjected to analysis, the results of the biological analysis only reveal the average behavior of a large number of biomolecules. Therefore, revealing the elementary biological processes of a protein acting on DNA (e.g., the binding of protein to DNA, DNA synthesis, the pause of DNA synthesis, and the release of protein from DNA) is difficult. Single-molecule imaging allows the analysis of the dynamic behaviors of individual biomolecules that are hidden during bulk experiments. Thus, the methods for single-molecule imaging have provided new insights into almost all of the aspects of the elementary processes of DNA replication, repair, and recombination. However, in an aqueous solution, DNA molecules are in a randomly coiled state. Thus, the manipulation of the physical form of the single DNA molecules is important. In this review, we provide an overview of the unique studies on DNA manipulation and single-molecule imaging to analyze the dynamic interaction between DNA and protein.

Bioinspired surfaces with wettability: biomolecule adhesion behaviors

Surface wettability plays an important role in regulating biomolecule adhesion behaviors. The biomolecule adhesion behaviors of superwettable surfaces have become an important topic as an important part of the interactions between materials and organisms. In addition to general research on the moderate wettability of surfaces, the studies of biomolecule adhesion behaviors extend to extreme wettability ranges such as superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic and slippery surfaces and attract both fundamental and practical interest. In this review, we summarize the recent studies on biomolecule adhesion behaviors on superwettable surfaces, especially superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic and slippery surfaces. The first part will focus on the influence of extreme wettability on cell adhesion behaviors. The second part will concentrate on the adhesion behaviors of biomacromolecules on superwettable surfaces including proteins and nucleic acids. Finally, the influences of wettability on small molecule adhesion behaviors on material surfaces have also been investigated. The mechanism of superwettable surfaces and their influences on biomolecule adhesion behaviors have been studied and highlighted.

Variations of the Static Contact Angle of Ferrofluid Droplets on Solid Horizontal Surfaces in External Uniform Magnetic Fields

The application of external uniform magnetic fields to ferrofluid droplets affects their magnetic order at the nanoscale as well as their shape at the macroscale, thus changing their contact angle with the surface. In this work, the effects of external uniform magnetic fields on the contact angles between different oil-based ferrofluid droplets and a handful of horizontal surfaces of varying wettability were studied. The contact angle is no longer constant around the ferrofluid droplet; rather, it varies in a rich yet predictable way. Droplets dispensed in the presence of the magnetic field on oleophobic surfaces adjust such that the contact angle increases at the front and back ends and decreases at the two perpendicular positions. The opposite behavior is reported for ferrofluid droplets on oleophilic surfaces. These direction-dependent changes in the contact angle can have a significant impact on the behavior of ferrofluid droplets on gradient surfaces where they can either diminish or enhance the surface tension gradient. Our work is fundamentally relevant to potential applications involving the controlled movement of ferrofluid droplets on surfaces like the lab-on-a-chip under the combined effects of a magnetic field and either a surface tension gradient or an electric field (i.e., electrowetting). It is important to understand how the two effects interact for the optimal utilization of these effects in future applications.

Advances towards programmable droplet transport on solid surfaces and its applications

We review progress towards the programmable transport of droplets on surfaces together with its applications in chemistry and materials science.

Vapor-Phase Plotting of Organosilane Chemical Gradients

Vapor-phase plotting of organosilane-based self-assembled monolayer (SAM) gradients is demonstrated for the first time. Patterned SAMs are formed by delivering gas-phase organotrichlorosilane precursors to a reactive silica surface using a heated glass capillary. The capillary is attached via a short flexible tube to a reservoir containing the precursor dissolved in toluene. The proximal end of the capillary is positioned at an experimentally optimized distance of 30 μm above the substrate during film deposition. The capillary is mounted to a stepper-motor-driven X, Y plotter for raster scanning above the surface. Two different organotrichlorosilane precursors are employed in this initial demonstration: n-octyltrichlorosilane and 3-cyanopropyltrichlorosilane. The dependence of SAM deposition on ambient relative humidity, capillary-substrate separation, raster-scanning speed, and solvent viscosity and volatility is explored and optimum deposition conditions are identified. The optimized procedures are used to plot uniformly modified square "pads" and gradients of the silanes. Film formation is verified and the gradient profiles are obtained by sessile drop water contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements of film thickness, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy mapping. The resolution of the plotting process is currently in the millimeter range and depends on capillary diameter and distance from the substrate surface. Vapor-phase plotting affords a unique direct-write method for producing patterned and chemically graded SAMS that may find applications in microfluidic devices, planar chromatography, and optical and electronic devices.

Wetting of flat gradient surfaces

Gradient, chemically modified, flat surfaces enable directed transport of droplets. Calculation of apparent contact angles inherent for gradient surfaces is challenging even for atomically flat ones. Wetting of gradient, flat solid surfaces is treated within the variational approach, under which the contact line is free to move along the substrate. Transversality conditions of the variational problem give rise to the generalized Young equation valid for gradient solid surfaces. The apparent (equilibrium) contact angle of a droplet, placed on a gradient surface depends on the radius of the contact line and the values of derivatives of interfacial tensions. The linear approximation of the problem is considered. It is demonstrated that the contact angle hysteresis is inevitable on gradient surfaces. Electrowetting of gradient surfaces is discussed.

Design and Fabrication of Wettability Gradients with Tunable Profiles through Degrafting Organosilane Layers from Silica Surfaces by Tetrabutylammonium Fluoride

Surface-bound wettability gradients allow for a high-throughput approach to evaluate surface interactions for many biological and chemical processes. Here we describe the fabrication of surface wettability gradients on flat surfaces by a simple, two-step procedure that permits precise tuning of the gradient profile. This process involves the deposition of homogeneous silane SAMs followed by the formation of a surface coverage gradient through the selective removal of silanes from the substrate. Removal of silanes from the surface is achieved by using tetrabutylammonium fluoride which selectively cleaves the Si-O bonds at the headgroup of the silane. The kinetics of degrafting has been modeled by using a series of first order rate equations, based on the number of attachment points broken to remove a silane from the surface. Degrafting of monofunctional silanes exhibits a single exponential decay in surface coverage; however, there is a delay in degrafting of trifunctional silanes due to the presence of multiple attachment points. The effects of degrafting temperature and time are examined in detail and demonstrate the ability to reliably and precisely control the gradient profile on the surface. We observe a relatively homogeneous coverage of silane (i.e., without the presence of islands or holes) throughout the degrafting process, providing a much more uniform surface when compared to additive approaches of gradient formation. Linear gradients were formed on the substrates to demonstrate the reproducibility and tuneability of this subtractive approach.

Organosilane Chemical Gradients: Progress, Properties, and Promise

Chemical gradients play an important role in nature, driving many different phenomena critical to life, including the transport of chemical species across membranes and the transport, attachment, and assembly of cells. Taking a cue from these natural processes, scientists and engineers are now working to develop synthetic chemical gradients for use in a broad range of applications, such as in high-throughput investigations of surface properties, as means to guide the motions and/or assembly of liquid droplets, vesicles, nanoparticles, and cells and as new media for stationary-phase-gradient chemical separations. Our groups have been working to develop new methods for preparing chemical gradients from organoalkoxysilane and organochlorosilane precursors and to obtain a better understanding of their properties on macroscopic to microscopic length scales. This review highlights our recent work on the development of controlled-rate infusion and infusion-withdrawal dip-coating methods for the preparation of gradients on planar glass and silicon substrates, on thin-layer chromatography plates, and in capillaries and monoliths for liquid chromatography. We also cover the new knowledge gained from the characterization of our gradients using sessile drop and Wilhelmy plate dynamic water contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy mapping, and single-molecule tracking and spectroscopy. Our studies reveal important evidence of phase separation and cooperative interactions occurring along multicomponent gradients. Emerging concepts and new directions in the preparation and characterization of organosilane-based chemical gradients are also discussed.

Chip-scale alignment of long DNA nanofibers on a patterned self-assembled monolayer

Controlled alignment of long DNA nanofibers is challenging. This communication reports a method to align human genomic DNA with nearly unlimited length using lithographically produced micro-patterns of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with positively charged terminal groups. The micro-patterns act as local DNA reservoirs to supply DNAs for nanofiber formation, and can also stretch and align DNA nanofibers to form an ordered array by controlling the dewetting profile. By reducing the size and inter-patch distance of a micro-patch, a nearly uniform array of long DNA nanofibers can be patterned over a large area. A controlled motion of a DNA containing droplet allows for free patterning of DNA nanofibers and production of complex structures without a transfer process. Bending of DNA nanofibers due to local distortion of the contact line bridges more adjacent micro-patches and increases the chance of producing continuous nanofibers. The interplay between surface tension and electrostatic attraction of positively charged micro-patterns allows the production of long DNA nanofibers in a simple yet powerful way.

Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces

The directional and long-range droplet transportation is of great importance in microfluidic systems. However, it usually requires external energy input. Here we designed a wettability gradient surface that can drive droplet motion by structural topography. The surface has a wettability gradient range of over 150° from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic, which was achieved by etching silicon nanopillars and adjusting the area of hydrophilic silicon dioxide plane. We conducted force analysis to further reveal the mechanism for droplet self-propulsion, and found that the nanostructures are critical to providing a large driving force and small resistance force. Theoretical calculation has been used to analyze the maximal self-propulsion displacement on different gradient surfaces with different volumes of droplets. On this basis, we designed several surfaces with arbitrary paths, which achieved directional and long-range transportation of droplet. These results clarify a driving mechanism for droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces, and open up new opportunities for long-range and directional droplet transportation in microfluidic system.