(319a) Self-Organization of Fluids in Autonomous Enzymatic Pump Systems

Microscale flow chemistry focuses on harnessing flowing fluids to optimize chemical reactions in microchambers. With enzymes anchored to the surfaces of microchambers, the catalytic reactions can propel the fluid through the containers. The flows not only affect the catalytic reactions, but these reactions also affect the flows. Understanding this dynamic interplay is vital to enhancing the accuracy and utility of flow technology. We will describe a system of multiple enzyme pumps, immobilized separately on the surface of a microchamber. The system exploits a reaction cascade that controls the spatiotemporal interaction between the pumps. The spatio-temporal interaction becomes highly coordinated and produces well-defined fluid streams, which can transport chemicals and particles, and form a fluidic “circuit”. These studies provide a new route for forming self-organizing and bifurcating fluids that can yield fundamental insight into non-equilibrium, dynamical systems.