Speaker
Description
Coacervation is a liquid-liquid phase separation that can occur when macromolecules with opposite charges are mixed in solution. Beyond its fundamental aspects in physical-chemistry [1] and biology [2, 3], coacervation is also of industrial interest for the encapsulation and controlled release of active substances [4] as well as in the formulation of modern shampoos, making it possible to balance cleansing and conditioning in a single product when using antagonistic active ingredients [5]. The minimum description of coacervation requires a phase diagram, showing the state of the solution as a function of thermodynamic variables. However, as coacervation is highly multifactorial (it depends on the nature of the active ingredients, pH, salinity, temperature, etc.), acquiring such phase diagrams can be particularly tedious.
In this context, we developed a self-driven lab [6] that can build coacervation phase diagrams in full autonomy. The system is based on digital microfluidics [7, 8, 9] where coacervation takes place in nanoliter drops, in which the composition can be controlled through automated delivery of actives, and where AI-assisted image analysis permits us to assess some aspects of the kinetics of liquid-liquid phase separation. Conducted in a near-real time manner, the analysis may allow the choice of the next experiment to be performed based on previous results. Specifically, we will present the benefits (in terms of experimental budget, time and consumables) of different exploration methods which we have developed: usual grid and random versus AI-assisted curiosity and boundary search.
[1] C. E. Sing, S. L. Perry, Soft Matter. 16, 2885-2914 (2020).
[2] R. V. Pappu, S. R. Cohen, F. Dar, M. Farag, M. Kar Chem. Rev. 123, 14, 8945–8987 (2023)
[3] Z. Lin, T. Beneyton, J.-C. Baret, N. Martin, Small Methods. 7, 2300496 (2023)
[4] N. Eghbal, R. Choudhary, LWT. 90, 254-264 (2018)
[5] L. Piculell Langmuir 29, 33, 10313–10329 (2013)
[6] M. Abolhasani, E. Kumacheva, Nat Synth. 2, 483–492 (2023)
[7] A. Villois, U. Capasso Palmiero, P. Mathur, G. Perone, T. Schneider, L. Li, M. Salvalaglio, A. deMello, S. Stavrakis, P. Arosio, Small. 18, 2202606 (2022)
[8] T. Beneyton, C. Love, M. Girault, T.-Y. D. Tang, J.-C. Baret, ChemSystemsChem. 2, e2000022 (2020)
[9] Arter, W.E., Qi, R., Erkamp, N.A. et al. Nat Commun. 13, 7845 (2022).