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Abstract Liquid–liquid phase separation in a biotic cell system organizes complicated biochemical reactions and functions by forming membraneless compartments that allow a substrate to move across the phase boundary. On the other hand, liquid–liquid phase separation in an abiotic system gives rise to an emulsion and/or multiple droplets that hardly undergo chemical reactions. We have developed a method for the formation of phase‐separated multiple droplet in a ternary mixture with a 3D‐printed microchannel and demonstrated the occurrence of the iron(III) thiocyanate ligand exchange reaction in the multiple droplet. The reaction proceeded differently in the outer‐ and the inner‐droplet phases, giving a different iron(III) complex that was identified on the basis of its color change. Surprisingly, the color change was dynamic, enabling visualization of the interphase mass transfer. At the same time, the color change dynamics synchronized with the multiple‐droplet movement.

Dehydration often causes severe aggregation of biomacromolecules, leading to the loss of their physicochemical and biological properties. Given that cellulose is a useful biomass, we examined how the dehydration and rehydration processes of a cellulose nanofiber (CNF) suspension in the presence of trehalose affects the functionality of CNFs. Trehalose dihydrate was added to a CNF suspension, which was then subjected to either hot air- or freeze-drying. Upon re-hydration, the distribution of particle size, biophysical behavior, morphology, and chemical structure of the CNF fibrous network was completely reconstituted using the freeze-dried samples in the presence of 3 wt% trehalose. However, the CNF fibrous network was not fully recovered for the air-dried samples, even in the presence of a higher concentration of trehalose. The results suggest that freeze-drying in the presence of trehalose is a promising method for facilitating the dehydration and redispersal of CNFs in water to maintain a fine CNF network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]