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I'm writing a scientific article abstract. My first sentence reads:

Knowing the detachment energy of single particles from liquid-liquid interfaces is important in the design of soft materials: emulsions stabilised by colloidal particles, colloidosomes designed for targeted drug delivery, or bio-sensors composed of magnetic particles at liquid-liquid interfaces.

I'm not sure it sounds quite right, should I do something like this instead?

Knowing the detachment energy of single particles from liquid-liquid interfaces is important in the design of soft materials: e.g. emulsions stabilised by colloidal particles, colloidosomes designed for targeted drug delivery, or bio-sensors composed of magnetic particles at liquid-liquid interfaces.

or

Knowing the detachment energy of single particles from liquid-liquid interfaces is important in the design of soft materials, such as: emulsions stabilised by colloidal particles, colloidosomes designed for targeted drug delivery, or bio-sensors composed of magnetic particles at liquid-liquid interfaces.

mplungjan
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user58792
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  • Not knowing the context, would you help us understand the relationship between the list and the soft materials? Are the soft materials (A) comprised only of emulsions, colloidosomes, or biosensors, or (B) comprised by quite a few classes, examples of which are emulsions, colloidosomes, and biosensors? If the three comprise an exhaustive list (A), I'd go with the colon. If the three are examples (B), then the "e.g.," or "such as:" are appropriate. – rajah9 Dec 03 '13 at 19:50

1 Answers1

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Using "e.g." followed by a comma would be appropriate.

Knowing the detachment energy of single particles from liquid-liquid interfaces is important in the design of soft materials, e.g., emulsions stabilised by colloidal particles, colloidosomes designed for targeted drug delivery, or bio-sensors composed of magnetic particles at liquid-liquid interfaces.

See this answer for reference.

Community
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yurrriq
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  • In this example, I personally would put a comma before e.g. but not after it, and I would take the same approach if I had written for example instead. – Henry Feb 04 '16 at 22:25