A method for generating a metastable crystal in a microdroplet

This paper explores the selective crystallization of a metastable phase and the possible role played by the internal fluid dynamics characteristic of microdroplets. The density-driven convection is suppressed inside the microdroplets due to its high surface tension. It is suggested that as a consequence, this lowered the solute concentration at the area near the growing crystal. This phenomenon is thought to suppress the second crystallization near the first grown crystal and the transition from a thermodynamically metastable phase to a stable phase.