Fluids articles from across Nature Portfolio

This study develops a liquid-gating topological gradient microfluidics device that generates finely tuned microbubbles in a functional liquid in a high-throughput manner for air purification in different scenarios.

Droplet dynamics on lubricated surfaces differ fundamentally from those on dry surfaces due to the formation of a wetting ridge around the droplet. By combining confocal microscopy and lattice Boltzmann simulations, the authors elucidate how the wetting ridge geometry evolves with speed and create heatmaps to reveal where energy is dissipated during motion.

The authors combine optical surface measurements and simulations to delve into the pH-dependent electrophoretic mobility of hexadecane nanodroplets in water and show the importance of going beyond classical continuum models for an accurate description.

Active turbulence is a dynamic state of active nematics that is in three dimensions realized as a network of reconfiguring and proliferating disclination lines. This work explores the scaling properties of active turbulence with material constants and the chirality-driven transition from a chiral active turbulence to an active blue phase.

Droplet interface bilayers can be used as a model of artificial membranes for synthetic biology and drug delivery applications, however, their accessibility using non-invasive techniques remains challenging. Here, the authors develop an in-situ bilayer manipulation of encapsulated droplet interface bilayers in hydrogel capsules, generated by high-order emulsification in monolithic 3D-printed microfluidic devices.

Engineering synthetic cells faces the challenge of transferring biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, through simple lipid bilayers. Now, a study reveals how energy-dissipating oil droplets can create reconfigurable passageways shuttling biomolecules across liposomal compartments.

An article in Science presents a method for deep-penetration volumetric printing.

Drops sitting on an array of parallel fibres spontaneously move along the fibres when subject to an airflow perpendicular to the array. The drops show long-range aerodynamic interactions with their downstream and upstream neighbours, and these can catalyse drop coalescence and removal of drops from the fibres — relevant for applications such as fog harvesting and filtration.

Liquid metals are promising multifunctional materials, but their single-colour physical appearance limits their applicability. There are several methods to endow liquid metals with colour and fluorescence, and although breakthroughs have been made in controlling their optical and interfacial properties, more work is needed to refine the synthetic strategies, better understand the coloration effects and enable the applications of colourful liquid metals.