Levitated Drop Microreactors for Biochemical Kinetics

Ultrasonically-levitated drops have been widely studied for materials processing and for sample preparation for chemical analysis. We report on the development of such drops for study of kinetics of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and other chemical processes. We review how to simply and reliably levitate drops, discuss why such drops are desirable for studying biochemical reactions, especially those generating or consuming free radicals, and report progress towards routine kinetics measurements in microliter drops.