Toward droplets displaying life-like interaction behaviors

BERLI, CLAUDIO L. A.; BELLINO, MARTÍN G.

BIOMICROFLUIDICS

AMER INST PHYSICS

Año: 2023 vol. 17

1932-1058

Developments in synthetic biology usually bring the conception of individual artificial cells. A key feature of living systems is, however, the interaction between individuals, in which living units can interact autonomously and display a role differentiation such as the case of entities chasing each other. On the other hand, droplets have become a very useful and exciting medium for modern icroengineering and biomedical technologies. In this Perspective, we show a brief discussion-outlook of different approaches to recreate predator–prey interactions in both swimmer and crawling droplet systems toward a new generation of synthetic life with impact in both fundamental insights and relevant applications.