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Hagemans F, Camerin F, Hazra N, Lammertz J, Dux F, Del Monte G, Laukkanen OV, Crassous JJ, Zaccarelli E, Richtering W. Buckling and Interfacial Deformation of Fluorescent Poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) Microgel Capsules. ACS Nano 2023; 17:7257-7271. [PMID: 37053566 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c10164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Hollow microgels are fascinating model systems at the crossover between polymer vesicles, emulsions, and colloids as they deform, interpenetrate, and eventually shrink at higher volume fraction or when subjected to an external stress. Here, we introduce a system consisting of microgels with a micrometer-sized cavity enabling a straightforward characterization in situ using fluorescence microscopy techniques. Similarly to elastic capsules, these systems are found to reversibly buckle above a critical osmotic pressure, conversely to smaller hollow microgels, which were previously reported to deswell at high volume fraction. Simulations performed on monomer-resolved in silico hollow microgels confirm the buckling transition and show that the presented microgels can be described with a thin shell model theory. When brought to an interface, these microgels, that we define as microgel capsules, strongly deform and we thus propose to utilize them to locally probe interfacial properties within a theoretical framework adapted from the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory. Besides their capability to sense their environment and to address fundamental questions on the elasticity and permeability of microgel systems, microgel capsules can be further envisioned as model systems mimicking anisotropic responsive biological systems such as red blood and epithelial cells thanks to the possibility offered by microgels to be synthesized with custom-designed properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Hagemans
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Fabrizio Camerin
- CNR-ISC, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Nabanita Hazra
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Janik Lammertz
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Frédéric Dux
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Giovanni Del Monte
- CNR-ISC, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Olli-Ville Laukkanen
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Koivurannantie 1, 40400 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jérôme J Crassous
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Emanuela Zaccarelli
- CNR-ISC, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, p.le A. Moro 2 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Walter Richtering
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, DE-52074 Aachen, Germany
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Ginot G, Hamann M, Jacomine L, Walzel F, Egele A, Favier D, Schosseler F, Legros M, Carvalho A, Fouss C, Drenckhan W. PEG-in-PDMS drops stabilised by soft silicone skins as a model system for elastocapillary emulsions with explicit morphology control. J Colloid Interface Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Barés J, Cárdenas-Barrantes M, Cantor D, Renouf M, Azéma É. Softer than soft: Diving into squishy granular matter. Pap Phys 2022. [DOI: 10.4279/pip.140009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Softer than soft, squishy granular matter is composed of grains capable of significantly changing their shape (typically a deformation larger than 10%) without tearing or breaking. Because of the difficulty to test these materials experimentally and numerically, such a family of discrete systems remains largely ignored in the granular matter physics field despite being commonly found in nature and industry. Either from a numerical, experimental, or analytical point of view, the study of highly deformable granular matter involves several challenges covering, for instance: (i) the need to include a large diversity of grain rheology, (ii) the need to consider large material deformations, and (iii) analysis of the effects of large body distortion on the global scale. In this article, we propose a thorough definition of these squishy granular systems and we summarize the upcoming challenges in their study.
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Karg M, Pich A, Hellweg T, Hoare T, Lyon LA, Crassous JJ, Suzuki D, Gumerov RA, Schneider S, Potemkin II, Richtering W. Nanogels and Microgels: From Model Colloids to Applications, Recent Developments, and Future Trends. Langmuir 2019; 35:6231-6255. [PMID: 30998365 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b04304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 293] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Nanogels and microgels are soft, deformable, and penetrable objects with an internal gel-like structure that is swollen by the dispersing solvent. Their softness and the potential to respond to external stimuli like temperature, pressure, pH, ionic strength, and different analytes make them interesting as soft model systems in fundamental research as well as for a broad range of applications, in particular in the field of biological applications. Recent tremendous developments in their synthesis open access to systems with complex architectures and compositions allowing for tailoring microgels with specific properties. At the same time state-of-the-art theoretical and simulation approaches offer deeper understanding of the behavior and structure of nano- and microgels under external influences and confinement at interfaces or at high volume fractions. Developments in the experimental analysis of nano- and microgels have become particularly important for structural investigations covering a broad range of length scales relevant to the internal structure, the overall size and shape, and interparticle interactions in concentrated samples. Here we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art, recent developments as well as emerging trends in the field of nano- and microgels. The following aspects build the focus of our discussion: tailoring (multi)functionality through synthesis; the role in biological and biomedical applications; the structure and properties as a model system, e.g., for densely packed arrangements in bulk and at interfaces; as well as the theory and computer simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Karg
- Physical Chemistry I , Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf , 40204 Duesseldorf , Germany
| | - Andrij Pich
- DWI-Leibnitz-Institute for Interactive Materials e.V. , 52056 Aachen , Germany
- Functional and Interactive Polymers, Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry , RWTH Aachen University , 52056 Aachen , Germany
| | - Thomas Hellweg
- Physical and Biophysical Chemistry , Bielefeld University , 33615 Bielefeld , Germany
| | - Todd Hoare
- Department of Chemical Engineering , McMaster University , Hamilton , Ontario L8S 4L8 , Canada
| | - L Andrew Lyon
- Schmid College of Science and Technology , Chapman University , Orange , California 92866 , United States
| | - J J Crassous
- Institute of Physical Chemistry , RWTH Aachen University , 52056 Aachen , Germany
| | | | - Rustam A Gumerov
- DWI-Leibnitz-Institute for Interactive Materials e.V. , 52056 Aachen , Germany
- Physics Department , Lomonosov Moscow State University , Moscow 119991 , Russian Federation
| | - Stefanie Schneider
- Institute of Physical Chemistry , RWTH Aachen University , 52056 Aachen , Germany
| | - Igor I Potemkin
- DWI-Leibnitz-Institute for Interactive Materials e.V. , 52056 Aachen , Germany
- Physics Department , Lomonosov Moscow State University , Moscow 119991 , Russian Federation
- National Research South Ural State University , Chelyabinsk 454080 , Russian Federation
| | - Walter Richtering
- Institute of Physical Chemistry , RWTH Aachen University , 52056 Aachen , Germany
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Abstract
Fluid transport in porous materials is commonly studied in geological samples (soil, sediments, etc.) or idealized systems, but the fluid flow through compacted granular materials, consisting of substantially strained granules, remains relatively unexplored. As a step toward filling this gap, we study a model of liquid transport in packings of deformable elastic shells using finite-element and lattice-Boltzmann methods. We find that the fluid flow abruptly vanishes as the porosity of the material falls below a critical value, and the flow obstruction exhibits features of a percolation transition. We further show that the fluid flow can be captured by a simplified permeability model in which the complex porous material is replaced by a collection of disordered capillaries, which are distributed and shaped by the percolation transition. To that end, we numerically explore the divergence of hydraulic tortuosity τ_{H} and the decrease of a hydraulic radius R_{h} as the percolation threshold is approached. We interpret our results in terms of scaling predictions derived from the percolation theory applied to random packings of spheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Gniewek
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, USA
| | - Oskar Hallatschek
- Departments of Physics and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, USA
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Abstract
In a jammed solid of granular particles, the applied stress is in-homogeneously distributed within the packing. A full experimental characterization requires measurement of all the interparticle forces, but so far such measurements are limited to a few systems in two and even fewer in three dimensions. Particles with the topology of (elastic) shells are good local force sensors as relatively large deformations of the shells result from relatively small forces. We recently introduced such fluorescent shells as a model granular system in which force distributions can be determined in three dimensions using confocal microscopy and quantitative image analysis. An interesting aspect about these shells that differentiates them from other soft deformable particles is their buckling behavior at higher compression. This leads to deformations that do not conserve the inner volume of the particle. Here we use this system to accurately measure the contact forces in a three-dimensional packing of shells subjected to a static anisotropic compression and to shear. At small deformations forces are linear, however, for a buckled contact, the restoring force is related to the amount of deformation by a square root law, as follows from the theory of elasticity of shells. Near the unjamming-jamming transition (point J), we found the probability distribution of the interparticle forces P(f) to decay nearly exponentially at large forces, with little evidence of long-range force chains in the packings. As the packing density is increased, the tail of the distribution was found to crossover to a Gaussian, in line with other experimental and simulation studies. Under a small shear strain, up to 0.216, applied at an extremely low shear rate, we observed a shear-induced anisotropy in both the pair correlation function and contact force network; however, no appreciable change was seen in the number of contacts per particle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jissy Jose
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for NanoMaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 1, 3584 CC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Alfons van Blaaderen
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for NanoMaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 1, 3584 CC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Arnout Imhof
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for NanoMaterials Science, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 1, 3584 CC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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