Research
1. Soft Matter
We study the interaction of complex fluids with various surfaces of modified wettability, roughness and porosity. We have shown that impact, wetting, spreading, and evaporation of drops on surfaces with dispersed particles can form rearrangement of the particles. For example, spreading of drops forms patterns on soot layer as shown in the image. Our investigations also extend to the realm of biological matter.
2. Bio-microfluidics
We use microfluidic technology to address biological research problems. We can generate microdroplets in microchannels, which act as reservoirs for micro-organisms and cells. It allows addressing individual cells and studying their metabolic activities. Further, it is used to perform Directed Evolution of the species, leading to tune the enzyme activities and for single-cell studies.
We also use microfluidic technology to explore plant biology by growing the plant seeds in microchannels. We can observe the response of the root to chemical environment.