Durotaxis and antidurotaxis droplet motion onto gradient gel-substrates

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how droplets can spontaneously move along gradient gel substrates, either towards or away from stiffer regions, depending on their affinity, with distinct mechanisms revealed through molecular dynamics simulations.

Contribution

The paper introduces a gel substrate with a stiffness gradient that induces droplet durotaxis and antidurotaxis, elucidating their mechanisms and efficiency differences via simulations.

Findings

Durotaxis occurs over a wider affinity range and is more efficient.

Distinct mechanisms govern durotaxis and antidurotaxis, involving interfacial energy minimization.

Similar mechanisms are observed as in brush substrates with stiffness gradients.

Abstract

The self-sustained motion of fluids on gradient substrates is a spectacular phenomenon, which can be employed and controlled in applications by carefully engineering the substrate properties. Here, we report on a design of a gel substrate with stiffness gradient, which can cause the spontaneous motion of a droplet along (durotaxis) or to the opposite (antidurotaxis) direction of the gradient, depending on the droplet affinity to the substrate. By using extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained model, we find that the mechanisms of the durotaxis and antidurotaxis droplet motion are distinct, require the minimization of the interfacial energy between the droplet and the substrate, and share similarities with those mechanisms previously observed for brush substrates with stiffness gradient. Moreover, durotaxis motion takes place over a wider range of affinities and is generally more efficient (faster motion) than antidurotaxis. Thus, our study points to further possibilities and guidelines for realizing both antidurotaxis and durotaxis motion on the same gradient substrate for applications in microfluidics, energy conservation, and biology.