Preface

"Fluidics" originally described pneumatic and hydraulic control systems, where fluids were employed (instead of electric currents) for signal transfer and processing. Fluidics then broadened and now comprises the technique of handling fluid flows from the macroscale down to the nanoscale. Nanofluidics is a multidisciplinary field that involves engineering, physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology, and nanotechnology and was first introduced back in the 1990s. As new as this field may sound, it has gained much attention since its debut as a rising area of interest in nanotechnology. This textbook is written primarily for mature undergraduates in engineering and physics. However, it should be of interest to first-year graduate students and professionals in industry as well.

This book's carefully arranged seven chapters cover fundamental nanofluidics, especially in the area of nanoemulsions, including fundamental knowledge of properties and fabrications to applications in the field. Furthermore, this sevenchapter exposure should provide students with sufficient background for advanced studies in these fascinating and very future-oriented engineering areas, as well as for expanded job opportunities. Pedagogical elements include a 50/50 physics/ mathematics approach when introducing new material, illustrating concepts, showing graphical/tabulated results as well as links to flow visualizations, and, very importantly, providing professional problem solution steps.

The ultimate goal of this book is for readers to be able to solve traditional and modern fluidics problems independently, provide physical insight, and suggest (say, via a course project) system design improvements. This text relies on numerous open-source material as well as contributions provided by research associates from across the globe. The standard of the content is of a very high standard.

For critical comments, constructive suggestions, and tutorial material, please contact the author via k.koh@hw.ac.uk.

**II**

**Section 4**

and Its Slurry

*by Kaustav Bhattacharjee*

Applications **85**

**Chapter 6 87**

**Chapter 7 107**

Synthesis, Properties, and Characterization of Field's Alloy Nanoparticles

*by Chaoming Wang, Xinran Zhang, Wenbing Jia, Wei Wu and Louis Chow*

Importance of Surface Energy in Nanoemulsion

**Kai Seng Koh and Voon Loong Wong** Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia

**1**

Section 1

Introduction

Section 1 Introduction

**3**

to be filled.

**Chapter 1**

**1. Introduction**

in the order of microns (10<sup>−</sup><sup>6</sup>

laboratory footprint [8, 9].

Introductory Chapter: From

*Koh Kai Seng and Wong Voon Loong*

ous active components for different purposes [1–3].

Microemulsions to Nanoemulsions

In the past two decades, there has been much attention within food and beverages, pharmaceutical, biomedical, special chemicals and other industries in using colloidal as main media for process encapsulation, protection and delivery of vari-

This dispersion normally exists as a suspension of small particles within a liquid medium. Conventionally, particles at >1000 nm are studied due to its rising trend of research interest as a result of introduction of microfluidics [4]. Microfluidics is a concept that is defined as a branch of fluid mechanics that focuses on the understanding, design, fabrication and operation systems that convey liquids and gases inside an enclosed channel with two of the three geometry length scales are

effect of some uncommon macroscale liquid properties such as surface tension, capillary effect and material hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. The first ventures in microfluidic started in the early 1950s when dispersion methods of nano- (10<sup>−</sup><sup>9</sup>

and pico- (10<sup>−</sup>12) litre of fluids were developed, which served as the foundation of modern day Inkjet technology [5, 6]. As microfluidics' continuous development advanced for the past 70 years, multiple cross disciplines with intersections of engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, nanotechnology and biotechnology had been developed and commercialised. In 2003, Forbes magazine named microfluidics technology as one of the most important inventions that can affect the future of humanity [7]. Meanwhile, microfluidics hold some of the key advantages that include the low manufacturing costs, economic use and disposal, shorter time of analysis, minimal consumption of reagents and samples, minimal production of potentially harmful by-products, enhancement of separation efficiency, enhancement of portability for point-of-care testing, high surface to volume ratio and small

On the other hand, there are some colloidal applications that desire very much smaller particles (<100 nm) since they have advantages over microscale colloids, such as better stability to particles aggregation and gravitational separation [2], weak light scattering [10–12], and have novel physical properties (i.e., high viscosity and gel-like behaviour) [2, 13]. In conjunction with the new rise of nanotechnology research trend, a decent amount of research has been devoted to fabrication, characterization and application of colloidal dispersion that contains of nanometre-sized particles as delivery systems. As the research duration is merely less than two decades, much knowledge gap in this research field remains

This chapter therefore emphasizes the most commonly used terms in this field of study, namely microemulsions (>1000 nm) and nanoemulsions (<100 nm). Using oil-in-water (O/W) system, which is widely used as delivery systems in a

). The reduction in dimension had magnified the

)
