Anomalous preasymptotic colloid transport by hydrodynamic dispersion in microfluidic capillary flow.

The anomalous preasymptotic transport of colloids in a microfluidic capillary flow due to hydrodynamic dispersion is measured by noninvasive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The data indicate a reduced scaling of mean squared displacement with time from the 〈z(t)(2)〉(c) ∼ t(3) behavior for the interaction of a normal diffusion process with a simple shear flow. This nonequilibrium steady-state system is shown to be modeled by a continuous time random walk (CTRW) on a moving fluid.