Spontaneous particle transport through a triple-fluid phase boundary

A single-particle mechanofluorescent sensor

Monitoring mechanical stresses in microchannels is challenging. Herein, we report the development of a mechanofluorescence sensor system featuring a fluorogenic single polydiacetylene (PDA) particle, fabricated using a co-flow microfluidic method. We construct a stenotic vessel-mimicking capillary channel, in which the hydrodynamically captured PDA particle is subjected to controlled fluid flows. Fluorescence responses of the PDA particle are directly monitored in real time using fluorescent microscopy. The PDA particle displays significant nonlinear fluorescence emissions influenced by fluid viscosity and the presence of nanoparticles and biomolecules in the fluid. This nonlinear response is likely attributed to the torsion energy along the PDA's main chain backbone. Computational fluid dynamic simulations indicate that the complete blue-to-red transition necessitates ~307 μJ, aligning with prior research. We believe this study offers a unique advantage for simulating specific problematic regions of the human body in an in vitro environment, potentially paving the way for future exploration of difficult-to-access areas within the body.

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

HYPOTHESIS

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.

EXPERIMENTS

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.

FINDINGS

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.

Electrostatic interactions between particles through heterogeneous fluid phases

We investigated the electrostatic interactions between particles acting through heterogeneous fluid phases. An oil lens system floating on the surface of water was used to trap particles at different fluid-fluid interfaces. The inner particles are located at the centrosymmetrically curved oil-water interface inside the oil lens while satellite particles are located at the curved air-water interface, separated by a particular distance from the triple phase boundary. The satellite particles are likely to be captured in an energy minimum state due to electrostatic repulsions by the inner particles balanced with the gravity-induced potential energy. As the size of the oil lens decreases upon evaporation, the satellite particles escape from the gravitational confinement at a critical moment. The self-potential values of the inner particles and the satellite particles were calculated by employing an energy balance and the experimentally obtained geometric parameter values. It was found that the self-potential values of the inner particles decrease as oil evaporates over time and that the magnitude of the self-potential of the satellite particles is a hundred times larger than that of the inner particles. These results demonstrate significant effects of the thickness and shape of the nonpolar superphase on the electrostatic interactions between the particles trapped at different fluid-fluid interfaces.

Transition Behaviors of Configurations of Colloidal Particles at a Curved Oil-Water Interface

We studied the transition behaviors of colloidal arrangements confined at a centro-symmetrically curved oil-water interface. We found that assemblies composed of several colloidal particles at the curved interface exhibit at least two unique patterns that can be attributed to two factors: heterogeneity of single-colloid self-potential and assembly kinetics. The presence of the two assembly structures indicates that an essential energy barrier between the two structures exists and that one of the structures is kinetically stable. This energy barrier can be overcome via external stimuli (e.g., convection and an optical force), leading to dynamic transitions of the assembly patterns.

Heterogeneity of single-colloid self-potentials at an oil-water interface

Heterogeneity in the interactions between colloidal particles at an oil-water interface is explored on a single particle level. Such a characteristic arises due to heterogeneity in self-potentials that individual particles possess. Energy minimization is numerically performed to determine the self-potentials of single colloids when the interface-trapped particles form uniquely arranged structures. We demonstrate that the obtained self-potentials correspond to the dipole strength of individual particles at the interface that can be attributed to the generation of abnormally strong and long-range repulsive interactions that should also be heterogeneous. The characterization of self-potentials on a single-particle level can potentially provide insight into the origin of heterogeneity of colloidal suspension systems at multiphasic fluid interfaces. Furthermore, the findings obtained here may facilitate an understanding of the hierarchical relationships associated with scale-dependent colloidal particle behaviors that arise due to interaction heterogeneity.

Effect of interaction heterogeneity on colloidal arrangements at a curved oil-water interface

We report the unique arrangement behaviour of colloidal particles at a curved oil-water interface. Particles trapped at a centrosymmetrically curved oil-water interface, formed by placing an oil lens at a neat air-water interface, organize into diverse arrangement structures due to electrostatic repulsion under the gravitational field. To reveal a possible mechanism behind the observed diversity, we investigate the interactions between pairs of particles at the curved oil-water interface. The magnitude of electrostatic repulsive interactions between pairs of particles is determined by minimizing the total potential of the particle pairs. We show that the pair interactions are quite heterogeneous, following a Gamma distribution. Using the experimentally determined pair potential and the heterogeneity in the potential as input parameters for Monte Carlo simulations, we show that such interaction heterogeneity affects the particle arrangements at the curved interface and results in an observed diversity in the particle arrangement structures. We believe that this work prompts further experimental and simulation studies to extensively understand hierarchical relations from small scale measurements (e.g., pair interactions and heterogeneity) to bulk scale properties (e.g., microstructure and interfacial rheology).