Enabling Marangoni flow at air-liquid interfaces through deposition of aerosolized lipid dispersions.

ABSTRACT: It has long been known that deposited drops of surfactant solution induce Marangoni flows at air-liquid interfaces. These surfactant drops create a surface tension gradient, which causes an outward flow at the fluid interface. We show that aqueous phospholipid dispersions may be used for this same purpose. In aqueous dispersions, phospholipids aggregate into vesicles that are not surface-active; therefore, drops of these dispersions do not initiate Marangoni flow. However, aerosolization of these dispersions disrupts the vesicles, allowing access to the surface-active monomers within. These lipid monomers do have the ability to induce Marangoni flow. We hypothesize that monomers released from broken vesicles adsorb on the surfaces of individual aerosol droplets and then create localized su

SUBMITTER: Stetten AZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5075242 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature