Surface forces between colloidal particles at high hydrostatic pressure.

It was recently suggested that the electrostatic double-layer force between colloidal particles might weaken at high hydrostatic pressure encountered, for example, in deep seas or during oil recovery. We have addressed this issue by means of a specially designed optical trapping setup that allowed us to explore the interaction of a micrometer-sized glass bead and a solid glass wall in water at hydrostatic pressures of up to 1 kbar. The setup allowed us to measure the distance between bead and wall with a subnanometer resolution.

Motion of Optically Heated Spheres at the Water-Air Interface.

A micrometer-sized spherical particle classically equilibrates at the water-air interface in partial wetting configuration, causing about no deformation to the interface. In condition of thermal equilibrium, the particle just undergoes faint Brownian motion, well visible under a microscope. We report experimental observations when the particle is made of a light-absorbing material and is heated up by a vertical laser beam.

Computational study of radiation torque on arbitrary shaped particles with MLFMA.

The surface integral equation (SIE) method is used for the computational study of radiation torque on arbitrarily shaped homogeneous particles. The Multilevel Fast Multipole Algorithm (MLFMA) is employed to reduce memory requirements and improve the capability of SIE. The resultant matrix equations are solved iteratively to obtain equivalent electric and magnetic currents.

Optically driven oscillations of ellipsoidal particles. Part II: ray-optics calculations.

We report numerical calculations on the mechanical effects of light on micrometer-sized dielectric ellipsoids immersed in water. We used a simple two-dimensional ray-optics model to compute the radiation pressure forces and torques exerted on the object as a function of position and orientation within the laser beam. Integration of the equations of motion, written in the Stokes limit, yields the particle dynamics that we investigated for different aspect ratios k.

Optically driven oscillations of ellipsoidal particles. Part I: experimental observations.

We report experimental observations of the mechanical effects of light on ellipsoidal micrometre-sized dielectric particles, in water as the continuous medium. The particles, made of polystyrene, have shapes varying between near disk-like (aspect ratio k = 0.2) to very elongated needle-like (k = 8).

Does shaking increase the pressure inside a bottle of champagne?

Colas, beers and sparkling wines are all concentrated solutions of carbon dioxide in aqueous solvents. Any such carbonated liquid is ordinarily conditioned inside a closed bottle or a metal can as a liquid-gas 2-phase system. At thermodynamic equilibrium, the partial pressure of carbon-dioxide in the gas phase and its concentration in the liquid are proportional (Henry's law).

Electrochemical detection of single microbeads manipulated by optical tweezers in the vicinity of ultramicroelectrodes.

Latex micrometric beads are manipulated by optical tweezers in the vicinity of an ultramicroelectrode (UME). They are optically trapped in solution and approached the electrode surface. After the electrochemical measurement, they are optically removed from the surface.

How do mosquito eggs self-assemble on the water surface?

This work reports a detailed numerical study of the behavior of ellipsoid-shaped particles adsorbed at fluid interfaces. Former experiments have shown that micrometer-sized prolate ellipsoids aggregate under the action of strong and long-ranged capillary interactions. The latter are due to nonplanar contact lines and to the resulting deformations of the interface in the vicinity of the trapped objects.

Size segregation in a fluid-like or gel-like suspension settling under gravity or in a centrifuge.

We investigate size segregation effects in a bidisperse concentrated suspension when slowly settling under gravity or when submitted to a centrifugal field. Experiments are carried out with PMMA spheres of two different mean diameters (190 and 25 microm) suspended in a hydrophobic index-matched fluid. Spatial repartitions of both small and large spheres and velocity fluctuations of particles are measured using fluorescently labeled PMMA spheres and a particle-image-velocimetry method.

Air ingestion by a buckled viscous jet of silicone oil impacting the free surface of the same liquid.

As frequently observed in common life, a jet of a viscous liquid impacting on a horizontal surface does not remain straight but instead buckles and folds periodically. We report experiments with planar (ribbonlike) jets of silicone oil impacting the free surface of the same liquid and describe the way in which jet folds incorporate air. It is shown that air ingestion proceeds through different modes, each of them acting as a source of monodisperse bubbles and featuring a threshold in jet height.

Optical dynamometry to study phase transitions in lipid membranes.

The fluidity of the lipid matrix of cell membranes is crucial for the mobility of various inclusions like proteins. When the lipid bilayer undergoes phase transition from fluid-to-gel phase, the shear surface viscosity of the membrane diverges, thus hindering the motion of the membrane inclusions. On the other hand, the membrane bending stiffness drops down, and below the main phase transition, drastically increases with lowering the temperature.

Wetting and contact lines of micrometer-sized ellipsoids.

We experimentally and theoretically investigate the shapes of contact lines on the surfaces of micrometer-sized polystyrene ellipsoids at the water-air interface. By combining interferometry and optical trapping, we directly observe quadrupolar symmetry of the interface deformations around such particles. We then develop numerical solutions of the partial wetting problem for ellipsoids, and use these solutions to deduce the shapes of the corresponding contact lines and the values of the contact angles, theta(c)(k), as a function of the ellipsoid aspect ratio k.

Electrically induced flows in the vicinity of a dielectric stripe on a conducting plane.

We report a theoretical and experimental study of the hydrodynamic flow induced by an a.c. electric field in the vicinity of a dielectric stripe deposited on a conducting plate.

Electrically induced interactions between colloidal particles in the vicinity of a conducting plane.

We address the problem of two-dimensional (2D) colloidal aggregation driven by an ac electrical field, by observing an aqueous dispersion of latex microspheres in contact with a conducting surface. Using micron-sized carboxylated polystyrene particles, we have systematically investigated the aggregation process, as a function of particle size and charge, and of the applied electric field amplitude and frequency. A low-density 2D phase is observed at high frequency (typically above 1 kHz), while at low frequency (below a "contact frequency" nu(c)) the collection of particles collapses into disconnected compact aggregates of crystalline (hexagonal) structure.

Double emulsions: how does release occur?

Water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions (W/O/W) consist of dispersed oil globules containing smaller aqueous droplets. These materials offer interesting possibilities for the controlled release of chemical species initially entrapped in the internal droplets. A better understanding of the stability conditions and release properties in double emulsions requires the use of model systems with a well-defined droplet size.

Double emulsions: a tool for probing thin-film metastability.

We study the kinetics of the release of monodisperse water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions in the regime dominated by coalescence of the internal aqueous droplets onto the globule interface. By measuring the rate of release of adsorbed droplets, we directly determine the average lifetime of the thin film that forms between the small internal droplets and the globule surface. Therefore, the activation energy and the natural frequency of the hole nucleation process within the adhesive thin liquid films are unambiguously deduced.

Drag of a Solid Particle Trapped in a Thin Film or at an Interface: Influence of Surface Viscosity and Elasticity.

We propose a theoretical model for the motion of a spherical particle entrapped in a thin liquid film or in a monolayer of insoluble surfactant at the air/water interface. Both surface shear and dilational viscosity, surface diffusion, and elasticity of the film are taken into consideration. The drag force acting on the particle is analytically calculated and asymptotic expressions of the problem are provided.

Pretransitional effects in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine vesicle membranes: optical dynamometry study.

We used micron-sized latex spheres to probe the phase state and the viscoelastic properties of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayers as a function of temperature. One or two particles were manipulated and stuck to a DMPC giant vesicle by means of an optical trap. Above the fluid-gel main transition temperature, T(m) congruent with 23.

Mammalian cochlear outer hair cells density evaluated by means of an optical tweezer.

We report on the first individual measurements of guinea pig's cochlear outer hair cells densities. Cells were isolated in vitro and manipulated with an optical tweezer. They were levitated in an upward laser beam coaxially trapping the cells.