title: Controlling molecular transport in minimal emulsions.
abstract: Emulsions are metastable dispersions in which molecular transport is a major mechanism driving the system towards its state of minimal energy. Determining the underlying mechanisms of molecular transport between droplets is challenging due to the complexity of a typical emulsion system. Here we introduce the concept of 'minimal emulsions', which are controlled emulsions produced using microfluidic tools, simplifying an emulsion down to its minimal set of relevant parameters. We use these minimal emulsions to unravel the fundamentals of transport of small organic molecules in water-in-fluorinated-oil emulsions, a system of great interest for biotechnological applications. Our results are of practical relevance to guarantee a sustainable compartmentalization of compounds in droplet microreactors and to design new strategies for the dynamic control of droplet compositions.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gruner
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.|CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Birte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Riechers
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.|Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Semin
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.|School of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 712-749, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jiseok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Abigail
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Droplets, Membranes and Interfaces, Am Fassberg 17, DE-37077 Goettingen, Germany.|CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, CRPP, UPR 8641, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, 33600 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2048-8317
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Baret