Multifunctional liquid marbles to stabilize and transport reactive fluids

Abstract

The self-organized transport and delivery of reactive liquids without spillage or loss of activity have been among the most daunting challenges for a long time. In this direction, we employ the concept of forming “liquid marbles” (LMs) to encapsulate and transport reactive hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) coated with functional microparticles. For example, peroxide marbles coated with a toner ink display remote-controlled magnetotactic movement inside a fluidic medium, thus overcoming the weaknesses associated with use of the bare droplets. Interestingly, in such a scenario, the coating of the marbles could also be removed or reformed by bringing the magnet towards or away from the marble. In this way, this process could ensure an on-demand remotely guided coating on the peroxide droplet or its removal. The liquid marbles carrying peroxide solutions are found to preserve the activity of the peroxide and exhibit a low evaporation rate compared with the uncoated peroxide fuel. Interestingly, oil droplets floating on the water could be recovered by introducing the armoured LMs into water under magnetic guidance. Further, the functionalized marbles could be employed as suicide bags for the on-demand delivery of reactive materials in targeted locations. Preliminary research on the antibacterial activity of such liquid marbles has proven to be effective in bacterial killing, which may create new avenues for emerging antibacterial and antibiofilm applications. Finally, such functionalized LMs have been employed to investigate the effects of surface charge on attachment of recombinant Escherichia coli bacteria expressing green fluorescent protein and monitoring the real-time imaging of bacterial death attached to the marble surface.