Directed vesicle transport by diffusio-osmosis

We present a study on surfactant vesicles that spontaneously move towards an oil droplet that is deposited on a glass substrate. Tracer particles in the surfactant solution show that the motion is not self-propelled: the vesicles are entrained by a macroscopic hydrodynamic flow. Measurements of the flow velocity suggest that the flow is of diffusio-osmotic nature. The surfactant is observed to move into the oil phase which creates a gradient in ion concentration in the vicinity of the droplet. As the diffusion coefficients of the surfactant's co- and counter-ions differ, a charge separation takes place and an electric field arises. This electric field then generates a hydrodynamic flow along the charged glass substrate in which the vesicles are entrained.