Bioinspired inner microstructured tube controlled capillary rise

Significance Liquid manipulation in tubes or pipes is greatly important for microfluidic chips, artificial blood vessels, dental suction, medical injection, oil–water separators, and biochemical analysis. Spontaneous and directional liquid transport has attracted great interest in recent years. However, existing spontaneous liquid transport systems still perform at low speeds and focus on precursor film spreading or drop motion. In this study, we propose an inner peristome-mimetic structured tube with controlled capillary rise and siphon diode behaviors. Our method makes it possible to actuate a larger amount of bulk liquid to transfer spontaneously and continuously in an antigravity direction, develops a generation of microfluidic devices, and is able to function without complex accessories, such as pumps or valves.