Particles adsorbed at various non-aqueous liquid-liquid interfaces.

Particles adsorbed at liquid interfaces are commonly used to stabilise water-oil Pickering emulsions and water-air foams. The fundamental understanding of the physics of particles adsorbed at water-air and water-oil interfaces is improving significantly due to novel techniques that enable the measurement of the contact angle of individual particles at a given interface. The case of non-aqueous interfaces and emulsions is less studied in the literature.

Interfacial Activity of Gold Nanoparticles Coated with a Polymeric Patchy Shell and the Role of Spreading Agents.

Gold patchy nanoparticles (PPs) were prepared under surfactant-free conditions by functionalization with a binary ligand mixture of polystyrene and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as hydrophobic and hydrophilic ligands, respectively. The interfacial activity of PPs was compared to that of homogeneous hydrophilic nanoparticles (HPs), fully functionalized with PEG, by means of pendant drop tensiometry at water/air and water/decane interfaces. We compared interfacial activities in three different spreading agents: water, water/chloroform, and pure chloroform.

Testing the mean magnetization approximation, dimensionless and scaling numbers in magnetorheology.

The mean magnetization (MM) approximation is undoubtedly the most widely used approximation in magnetorheology both from theoretical and simulation perspectives. According to this, spherical magnetizable particles under field can be replaced by effective dipole moments m placed at their center with strength m = V(p)⟨M(p)⟩. Here V(p) and ⟨M(p)⟩ are the volume and mean (average) magnetization of the particles, respectively.

A simple strategy to improve the interfacial activity of true Janus gold nanoparticles: a shorter hydrophilic capping ligand.

Janus gold nanoparticles (JPs) of ∼4 nm-diameter half functionalized with 1-hexanethiol as a hydrophobic capping ligand exhibit significantly higher interfacial activity, reproducibility and rheological response when the other half is functionalized with 1,2-mercaptopropanediol (JPs-MPD) than with 2-(2-mercaptoethoxy)ethanol (JPs-MEE), both acting as hydrophilic capping ligands. The interfacial pressure measured by pendant drop tensiometry reaches 50 mN m(-1) and 35 mN m(-1) for the JPs-MPD at the water/air and water/decane interface, respectively. At the same area per particle, the JPs-MEE reveal significantly lower interfacial pressure: 15 mN m(-1) and 5 mN m(-1) at the water/air and water/decane interface, respectively.

Interfacial Activity and Contact Angle of Homogeneous, Functionalized, and Janus Nanoparticles at the Water/Decane Interface.

Surface heterogeneity affects the behavior of nanoparticles at liquid interfaces. To gain a deeper understanding on the details of these phenomena, we have measured the interfacial activity and contact angle at water/decane interfaces for three different types of nanoparticles: homogeneous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), silica functionalized with a capping ligand containing a methacrylate terminal group, and Ag-based Janus colloids with two capping ligands of different hydrophobicity. The interfacial activity was analyzed by pendant drop tensiometry, and the contact angle was measured directly by freeze-fracture shadow-casting cryo-scanning electron microscopy.

Surface activity of Janus particles adsorbed at fluid-fluid interfaces: Theoretical and experimental aspects.

Since de Gennes coined in 1992 the term Janus particle (JP), there has been a continued effort to develop this field. The purpose of this review is to present the most relevant theoretical and experimental results obtained so far on the surface activity of amphiphilic JPs at fluid interfaces. The surface activity of JPs at fluid-fluid interfaces can be experimentally determined using two different methods: the classical Langmuir balance or the pendant drop tensiometry.

Specific ion effects on the electrokinetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles: experiments and simulations.

We report experimental and simulation studies on ion specificity in aqueous colloidal suspensions of positively charged, bare magnetite nanoparticles. Magnetite has the largest saturation magnetization among iron oxides and relatively low toxicity, which explain why it has been used in multiple biomedical applications. Bare magnetite is hydrophilic and the sign of the surface charge can be changed by adjusting the pH, its isoelectric point being in the vicinity of pH = 7.

Comparison of the interfacial activity between homogeneous and Janus gold nanoparticles by pendant drop tensiometry.

The interfacial activity of 3.5 nm homogeneous (HPs) and amphiphilic Janus gold nanoparticles (JPs) was characterized by pendant drop tensiometry for water/air and water/decane interfaces. This technique requires a smaller quantity of nanoparticles than the traditional Langmuir balance technique.

Small-amplitude oscillatory shear magnetorheology of inverse ferrofluids.

A comprehensive investigation is performed on highly monodisperse silica-based inverse ferrofluids under small-amplitude oscillatory shear in the presence of external magnetic fields up to 1 T. The effect of particle volume fraction and continuous medium Newtonian viscosity is thoroughly investigated. Experimental results for storage modulus are used to validate existing micromechanical magnetorheological models assuming different particle-level field-induced structures.

Study on the correlation between lateral diffusion effect and effective charge in neutral liposomes.

An experimental investigation is described on the variables that affect the lateral diffusion coefficient (D(lat)) of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, a zwitterionic phospholipid, and the effective charge (Z(ef)) on liposomes. The lateral diffusion coefficient was obtained from the dielectric relaxation time of the zwitterionic phospholipids in the bilayer, and the effective charge on the external monolayer was estimated from microelectrophoretic mobility measurements by means of the Henry and Coulomb equations. The measurements were performed at different pH values and salt (KBr) concentrations as well as in two physical states of the phospholipid: the liquid-crystalline phase and gel phase.

Physical properties of elongated magnetic particles: magnetization and friction coefficient anisotropies.

Anisotropy counts: A brief review of the main physical properties of elongated magnetic particles (EMPs) is presented. The most important characteristic of an EMP is the additional contribution of shape anisotropy to the total anisotropy energy of the particle, when compared to spherical magnetic particles. The electron micrograph shows Ni-ferrite microrods fabricated by the authors.

Evidence of direct crystal growth and presence of hollow microspheres in magnetite particles prepared by oxidation of Fe(OH)2.

We provide new information relevant to the crystallinity and growth mechanism of magnetite particles that were fabricated following the method of Sugimoto and Matijević [J. Colloid Interface Sci. 74 (1980) 227].

Preparation and characterization of extruded magnetoliposomes.

Phospholipid vesicles encapsulating magnetic nanoparticles (here after called magnetoliposomes) have been prepared for targeting a drug to a specific organ using a magnetic force, as well as for local hyperthermia therapy. Magnetoliposomes are also an ideal platform for use as contrast agents. We describe the preparation and characterization of liposomes containing magnetite, a ferrimagnetic material.

Influence of a magnetic field on the formation of magnetite particles via two precipitation methods.

An experimental investigation is described on the effects of the presence of a magnetic field during the fabrication of magnetite particles. We considered two well-known synthesis methods: that of Massart [IEEE Trans. Magn.

Testing one component plasma models on colloidal overcharging phenomena.

In this paper, the mechanisms of overcharging of a colloidal macroion in the presence of multivalent counterions are investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. This computational technique appears as a powerful tool for probing the validity of semianalytical models developed for this issue. In particular, the simulations performed are compared with the predictions of two different models based on the one component plasma (OCP) theory.

Self-assembly in two-dimensions of colloidal particles at liquid mixtures.

The aim of this work is to simulate the formation of colloidal rings, circular clusters, and voids induced by oily lenses at the air-water interface. The presence of two liquids with different surface tension leads to the formation of a nonhomogeneous interface. In this case, the total interaction potential is assumed to be composed of only two terms; the first one is due to the (repulsive) pairwise dipolar force between partly immersed charged microspheres, whereas the second depends on the position of the particle at the interface and is connected to the interfacial stress caused by the difference of surface tension between both liquids.

Two-dimensional colloidal aggregation: concentration effects.

Extensive numerical simulations of diffusion-limited (DLCA) and reaction-limited (RLCA) colloidal aggregation in two dimensions were performed to elucidate the concentration dependence of the cluster fractal dimension and of the different average cluster sizes. Both on-lattice and off-lattice simulations were used to check the independence of our results on the simulational algorithms and on the space structure. The range in concentration studied spanned 2.

On the effect of Ca2+ and La3+ on the colloidal stability of liposomes.

This work deals with the effect of Ca2+ and La3+ on the colloidal stability of phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes in aqueous media. As physical techniques, nephelometry, photon correlation spectroscopy, electrophoretic mobility, and surface tension were used. The theoretical predictions of the colloidal stability of liposomes were followed using the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory.

Electrokinetic parameters of colloidal model systems: analysis and comparison between dilute and concentrated dispersions.

In the last decades, the interest of many scientists has been focused on the atypical electrokinetic behavior of charged colloidal systems since several studies have shown, in most cases; it is not so ideal as expected. Particularly, two interesting phenomena have not been clearly explained yet. First, the zeta potential magnitude does not decrease monotonically with increasing ionic strength, as expected according to the Gouy-Chapmann model predicts.

Overcharging in colloids: beyond the Poisson-Boltzmann approach.

A broad range of manufactured products and biological fluids are colliods. The ability to understand and control the processes (of scientific, technological and industrial interest) in which such colloids are involved relies upon a precise knowledge of the electrical double layer. The traditional approach to describing this ion cloud around colloidal particles has been the Gouy-Chapman model developed on the basis of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation.