Interactions between polystyrene particles with diameters of several tens to hundreds of micrometers at the oil–water interface

Ha Eun Lee, Kyu Hwan Choi, Xia Ming, Dong Woo Kang, Bum Jun Park

The charged spherical colloidal particles at the fluid–fluid interface experience considerably strong and long-ranged electrostatic and capillary interactions. The contribution of capillary force becomes more significant as the particle size increases beyond a certain limit. The relative strengths of the two competing interactions between the spherical polystyrene particles at the oil–water interface are quantified depending on their size. The studied particles, obtained using the microfluidic method, have diameters of tens to hundreds of micrometers. The scaling behaviors of the commercially available colloidal particles with diameters of ∼3 μm are also compared. An optical laser tweezer apparatus is used to directly or indirectly measure the interparticle force. Subsequently, the capillary force that can be attributed to the gravity-induced interface deformation and contact line undulation is calculated and compared with the measured interaction force. Regardless of the particle diameter (∼3–330 μm), the measured force is observed to decay as r−4, where r denotes the center-to-center separation, demonstrating that the dipolar electrostatic interaction is important and that the gravity-induced capillary interaction is negligible. Furthermore, numerical calculations with respect to the undulated meniscus confirm that the magnitude of capillary interaction is significantly smaller than that of the measured electrostatic interaction.

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Bacterial-nanostructure interactions: The role of cell elasticity and adhesion forces

Aaron Elbourne, James Chapman, Amy Gelmi, Daniel Cozzolino, Russell J.Crawford, Vi Khanh Truong

The attachment of single-celled organisms, namely bacteria and fungi, to abiotic surfaces is of great interest to both the scientific and medical communities. This is because the interaction of such cells has important implications in a range of areas, including biofilm formation, biofouling, antimicrobial surface technologies, and bio-nanotechnologies, as well as infection development, control, and mitigation. While central to many biological phenomena, the factors which govern microbial surface attachment are still not fully understood. This lack of understanding is a direct consequence of the complex nature of cell-surface interactions, which can involve both specific and non-specific interactions. For applications involving micro- and nano-structured surfaces, developing an understanding of such phenomenon is further complicated by the diverse nature of surface architectures, surface chemistry, variation in cellular physiology, and the intended technological output. These factors are extremely important to understand in the emerging field of antibacterial nanostructured surfaces. The aim of this perspective is to re-frame the discussion surrounding the mechanism of nanostructured-microbial surface interactions. Broadly, the article reviews our current understanding of these phenomena, while highlighting the knowledge gaps surrounding the adhesive forces which govern bacterial-nanostructure interactions and the role of cell membrane rigidity in modulating surface activity. The roles of surface charge, cell rigidity, and cell-surface adhesion force in bacterial-surface adsorption are discussed in detail. Presently, most studies have overlooked these areas, which has left many questions unanswered. Further, this perspective article highlights the numerous experimental issues and misinterpretations which surround current studies of antibacterial nanostructured surfaces.

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Interactions between micro-scale oil droplets in aqueous surfactant solution determined using optical tweezers

An Chen, Shao-Wei Li, Fu-Ning Sang, Hong-Bo Zeng, Jian-Hong Xu

The stability of the emulsions is crucial, which relies on a well-developed understanding of dynamic interaction forces between single dispersed droplets. In the previous studies, many interests focus on the oil droplets of size range of 20–200 µm. However, emulsion droplets with diameter below 10 µm are rarely mentioned, which is the size scale of real emulsion droplets in various applications, such as toners, spacers for liquid crystal displays, and materials in biomedical and biochemical analysis. The micro-scale droplets have many differences on the deformation, internal pressure and hydrodynamic effects. It is necessary to understand the interaction mechanisms between two real size scales of oil droplets for guiding practical production and application.

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Advances in colloidal manipulation and transport via hydrodynamic interactions

F. Martínez-Pedrero, P. Tierno

In this review article, we highlight many recent advances in the field of micromanipulation of colloidal particles using hydrodynamic interactions (HIs), namely solvent mediated long-range interactions. At the micrsocale, the hydrodynamic laws are time reversible and the flow becomes laminar, features that allow precise manipulation and control of colloidal matter. We focus on different strategies where externally operated microstructures generate local flow fields that induce the advection and motion of the surrounding components. In addition, we review cases where the induced flow gives rise to hydrodynamic bound states that may synchronize during the process, a phenomenon essential in different systems such as those that exhibit self-assembly and swarming.

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Electric field induced charging of colloidal particles in a nonpolar liquid

Caspar Schreuer, Stijn Vandewiele, Filip Strubbe, Kristiaan Neyts, Filip Beunis

Colloidal particles in a pure nonpolar solvent are expected to be in a state of dynamic equilibrium where a particle’s charge fluctuates around a stable mean value. However, we find that PHSA-coated PMMA microparticles in dodecane gain positive charge over time. We hypothesize that this phenomenon is prompted by the high electric field (∼1 V/µm) that is applied in these measurements. Hence, we expect the reaction rate at which charge builds up on the particle to change when modifying the measurement parameters.
Single elementary charging and discharging events can be resolved by measuring the charge of PHSA-coated PMMA particles with optical trapping electrophoresis. With this technique, the influence of the electric field amplitude and frequency, particle size, electrode material and acquired charge can be investigated.
The rate of the charging phenomenon is proportional to the amplitude of the applied electric field and the charging stops when the voltage is switched off. We propose a reaction mechanism where the particle sheds negatively charged ions. This mechanism can account for all the experimental observations of the electric field induced charging phenomenon.

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Use of topological defects as templates to direct assembly of colloidal particles at nematic interfaces

Mohamed Amine Gharbi, Maurizio Nobili, Christophe Blanc

In this work, we experimentally investigate the ability of topological defects to guide interfacial assembly of spherical particles with homeotropic anchoring confined to nematic interfaces. We propose two different systems: In the first one, particles are trapped at an air/nematic interface where they spontaneously form various 2D patterns. We demonstrate that the phase transition between these patterns can be controlled by defects formed in the nematic bulk. In the second system, we explore the behavior of particles at the surface of bipolar nematic drops. We found that particles assemble into linear chains and interact with surface defects at the North and South poles of the drop, giving rise to the formation of star structures in a self-assembly process. We detail the mechanism that guides the behavior of particles and discuss the role of defects in the formation of the observed patterns.

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Single colloid electrophoresis

I. Semenov, O. Otto, G. Stober, P. Papadopoulos, U.F. Keyser and F. Kremer

Optical tweezers enable one to trap a single particle without any mechanical contact and to measure its position and the forces acting on it with high resolution (±4 nm, ±160 fN). Taking advantage of a specially designed microfluidic cell the electrophoretic response of the colloid under study and the electroosmotic effect on the surrounding medium are determined using the identical colloid. The former is found to be by more than one order of magnitude larger than the electroosmotic effect. It is shifted in phase with respect to the external field, hence giving rise to a complex electrophoretic mobility which can be theoretically described by a strongly damped driven harmonic oscillator model. By exchanging the medium surrounding the colloid it is possible to deduce the (KCl) concentration dependence of the single colloid electrophoretic response. The results are compared with conventional Zetasizer measurements.

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