View source for Monodisperse Double Emulsions Generated from a Microcapillary Device

== Context ==
When you mix two immiscible liquids, you get a dispersion of droplets of one liquid inside the other. This is defined as an emulsion. Double emulsions are dispersions of a third liquid inside the droplets of the first emulsion. Thus we have three liquid: the inner, the middle, and the outer. Double emulsions have a high potential for applicability within the commercial field, because the middle liquid shields the inner liquid from the outer and so allows for effective encapsulation and separation. However, controlled creation of double emulsions has been difficult to achieve. This paper reports a new method that controls both the size and the number of double emulsion droplets through a microcapillary technique.

== Device ==
[[Image:Weitz_setup.png]]

The double emulsion device created by the lab works as follows: a cylindrical glass capillary injection tube with a tapered end is nested into one side of a square capillary tube. The inner fluid is flown through this injection tube. The middle fluid is flown into the square tube around the injection tube, going in the same direction as the inner fluid. The outer fluid is flown through the square tube as well, but coming in from the other side of the tube and flowing in the opposite direction as the other two liquids. A collection tube is nested into the square tube, on the side opposite the injection tube. All three fluids meet at the collection tube and flow out. It is in the collection tube that the double emulsion droplets are created.

== Results ==
The group was able to use this method to control the size of the double emulsions by controlling the size of the tubes as well as the rate of flow of the fluids. They distinguished between two different cases of droplet formation: dripping vs. jetting.