Artificial Liquid Microstructures

Abstract

The possibility of carrying out chemical synthesis on a microchip is one of the driving forces for the preparation of channel-patterned microsurfaces. It is shown that parallel wettable stripes can be placed onto an otherwise hydrophobic surface without noticeably affecting the surface topography. Water deposited onto the surface then gives stable cylindrical channels up to a certain thickness, after which droplets form (see Figure).