A new NIST project aims to stir up materials research by adapting "lab-on-a-chip" technology to mix and evaluate experimental concoctions at a rapid clip, hastening improvements in products ranging from paints to shampoos to plastics. Initially, researchers at the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center (NCMC) and several of the NCMC's company members plan to rev up the search for new or better emulsions, often complex formulations that are the basis for U.S. product markets totaling more than 50 billion dollars. They will start by deciphering interactions at the interfaces (inter-facial tension) between the various components that make up these viscous mixtures and are key to their performance.
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