Convective and diffusive effects on particle transport in asymmetric periodic capillaries.

We present here results of a theoretical investigation of particle transport in longitudinally asymmetric but axially symmetric capillaries, allowing for the influence of both diffusion and convection. In this study we have focused attention primarily on characterizing the influence of tube geometry and applied hydraulic pressure on the magnitude, direction and rate of transport of particles in axi-symmetric, saw-tooth shaped tubes. Three initial value problems are considered.

Effect of disjoining pressure on terminal velocity of a bubble sliding along an inclined wall.

The influence of salt concentration on the terminal velocities of gravity-driven single bubbles sliding along an inclined glass wall has been investigated, in an effort to establish whether surface forces acting between the wall and the bubble influence the latter's mobility. A simple sliding bubble apparatus was employed to measure the terminal velocities of air bubbles with radii ranging from 0.3 to 1.

van der Waals interaction energy and disjoining pressure at small separation.

The divergence of the van der Waals interaction energy E(132)(L) between plane half-spaces 1 and 2 separated by medium 3 as the separation distance L tends to zero is naively thought of as due to the overlap of the atomic polarization centers. It follows that it may therefore be prevented by properly allowing for the finite size of the atomic species which would prevent the overlap. The distance cutoff model is a simple example of such a modification.

Quasi-equilibrium AFM measurement of disjoining pressure in lubricant nanofilms II: Effect of substrate materials.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the disjoining pressures of perfluoropolyether lubricant films (0.8-4.3 nm of Fomblin Z03) on both silicon wafers and hard drive disks coated with a diamondlike carbon overcoat.

Enhanced mixing in polyacrylamide gels containing embedded silica nanoparticles as internal electroosmotic pumps.

Many biosensors, including those based on sensing agents immobilized inside hydrogels, suffer from slow response dynamics due to mass transfer limitations. Here we present an internal pumping strategy to promote convective mixing inside crosslinked polymer gels. This is envisioned as a potential tool to enhance biosensor response dynamics.

Quasi-equilibrium AFM measurement of disjoining pressure in lubricant nano-films I: Fomblin Z03 on silica.

We have identified conditions in which the atomic force microscope can be used to stretch a meniscus of a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricant pinned between an AFM tip and a nanometer-thick PFPE film to obtain the disjoining pressure of the film. Under quasi-equilibrium conditions, the chemical potential of the film can be equated to that of the stretched meniscus. A theory is presented that provides a complete description of the capillary force of a stretched meniscus.

Electroosmotically enhanced mass transfer through polyacrylamide gels.

We present an internal pumping strategy to enhance solute fluxes in polymer gels. The method is based on electroosmotic flow driven by an electric field applied across a gel that has been doped with charged colloidal inclusions. This work is motivated by the need to enhance the transport in gel-based biosensor devices whose response dynamics are often mass transfer limited.

The role of electrode impedance and electrode geometry in the design of microelectrode systems.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) employing spatially and/or temporally nonuniform electric fields have been extensively employed to control the motion of suspended particles or fluid flow. Design and control of microelectromechanical processes require accurate calculations of the electric field distribution under varying electrolyte conditions. Polarization of electrodes under the application of an oscillating voltage difference produces dynamic electrical double layers.

Calculations of van der Waals forces in 2-dimensionally anisotropic materials and its application to carbon black.

We present calculations of the van der Waals force for carbon black dispersions in both aqueous and nonaqueous media using Lifshitz theory. The microstructure and composition of carbon black are complex, but an initial approximation to the shell-like microstructure of carbon black allows the local interaction of carbon black particles to be approximated as oriented domains of graphite. The dielectric spectra for graphite, which has a 2-dimensional anisotropy due to its the layered microstructure, is required for the Lifshitz theory van der Waals force calculations.

Determination of the dynamic electrophoretic mobility of a spherical colloidal particle through a novel numerical solution of the electrokinetic equations.

The standard equations developed to describe the electrophoretic motion of a charged particle immersed in an electrolyte subjected to an oscillating electric field are solved numerically with a new technique suitable for stiff systems. The focus of this work is to use this solution to determine the dynamic particle mobility, one of several quantities that can be extracted from these equations. This solution is valid from low frequencies to indefinitely high frequencies and has no restriction on zeta potential, double-layer thickness, or electrolyte composition.

Calculation of the dynamic impedance of the double layer on a planar electrode by the theory of electrokinetics.

Applications of microelectromechanical systems in the biotechnological arena (bioMEMS) are a subject of great current interest. Accurate calculation of electric field distribution in these devices is essential to the understanding and design of processes such as dielectrophoresis and AC electroosmosis that drive MEMS-based devices. In this paper, we present the calculation of the electrical double-layer impedance (Z(el)) of an ideally polarizable plane electrode using the standard model of colloidal electrokinetics.

Calculation of the electric polarizability of a charged spherical dielectric particle by the theory of colloidal electrokinetics.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is increasingly being explored as a means to manipulate or separate colloidal particles. The direction and strength of the DEP force depend strongly on the induced dipole strength, K, of a polarized particle, and predictions of DEP forces require carefully computed values for K. In this paper, we present the calculation of the dipole strength using the full electrokinetic theory of Mangelsdorf and White for both static and oscillating electric fields.

Lateral separation of colloids or cells by dielectrophoresis augmented by AC electroosmosis.

Colloidal particles and biological cells are patterned and separated laterally adjacent to a micropatterned electrode array by applying AC electric fields that are principally oriented normally to the electrode array. This is demonstrated for yeast cells, red blood cells, and colloidal polystyrene particles of different sizes and zeta-potentials. The separation mechanism is observed experimentally to depend on the applied field frequency and voltage.

Can contact-angle measurements determine the disjoining pressure in liquid nanofilms on rigid substrates?

The disjoining pressure of lubricant nanofilms used in the magnetic recording industry controls the equilibrium wetting, the dynamics of film restoration, and the evaporation kinetics of the film. It has been claimed that by measuring the contact angle of nonpolar and polar liquids on lubricant films, the disjoining pressure can be extracted using the method of Girafalco and Good, and such analyses have appeared in the literature. The approximations underlying the method have been discussed before in the literature.

Forces between a rigid probe particle and a liquid interface. III. Extraction of the planar half-space interaction energy E(D).

The deformation of a liquid drop (radius R0) under the probe particle (radius a) greatly complicates the interpretation by atomic force microscopy. For rigid interfaces, F(DeltaX) can be directly related to the interaction energy E(D) per unit area between planar half-spaces of probe material and drop material across a thickness D of the liquid medium by the Derjaguin approximation, [formula in text], where D(0) is the intersurface separation distance on the line of the centers of the bodies and DeltaX0 is a constant set by the somewhat arbitrary choice of origin for the separation distance DeltaX between the stage on which the drop rests and the lowest point on the probe particle. The problem of absolute intersurface separation distance is common to all surface force measurement techniques.