Biomedical subjects

Antonio Fernández-Barbero

Publications and source records attributed to Antonio Fernández-Barbero.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Liquid-gas separation in colloidal electrolytes.

The liquid-gas transition of an electroneutral mixture of oppositely charged colloids, studied by Monte Carlo simulations, is found in the low-temperature-low-density region. The critical temperature shows a nonmonotonous behavior as a function of the interaction range, kappa(-1), with a maximum at kappasigma approximately 10, implying an island of coexistence in the kappa-rho plane. The system is arranged in such a way that each particle is surrounded by shells of particles with alternating charge. In contrast with the electrolyte primitive model, both neutral and charged clusters are obtained in the vapor phase.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Colloidal aggregation induced by long range attractions.

The structure of colloidal clusters formed by long-range attractive interactions under diluted conditions is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. For a not-too-long attraction range, clusters show self-similar internal structure with lower density than that typical for diffusive aggregation. For long-range interactions, low kappa, nonfractal clusters are formed (dense at short scales but open at long ones). The dependence on the volume fraction shows that more-compact clusters are grown the higher the colloidal density for diffusive aggregation and attraction-driven aggregation in the fractal regime. The whole trend is explained in terms of the interpenetration among aggregates. In attraction-driven aggregations, the interpenetration of clusters competes with aggregation in the tips of the clusters, causing low-density clusters.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Oppositely charged colloidal binary mixtures: a colloidal analog of the restricted primitive model.

The equilibrium phase diagram of a colloidal system composed of 1:1 mixture of positive and negative particles with equal charge is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The system is the colloidal analog of the restricted primitive model (RPM) for ionic fluids. A liquid-gas transition is found in the low-temperature-low-density region, similar to the liquid-gas transition in the RPM. The fluid-crystal transition is also studied, and the liquid phase is shown to be stable in a narrow range of temperatures. In the liquid, the pair distribution function shows alternating layers of particles with opposite sign of charge surrounding every particle. In the vapor phase, clusters of particles are observed, again in agreement with the RPM. However, a decreasing distribution of clusters is obtained, instead of the discrimination between charged and neutral clusters found in the RPM.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

The aggregation behaviour of protein-coated particles: a light scattering study.

The different mechanisms involved in the aggregation of spherical latex particles coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been studied using static and dynamic light scattering. These techniques assess the fractal dimension of the aggregates and their mean hydrodynamic radius. Particles with different degrees of surface coverage have been prepared. The net charge of the covered particles has been modified by varying the pH of the aqueous phase. The aggregation rate was measured and used to determine the importance of the different aggregation mechanisms that are responsible for these types of flocculation processes. At low and intermediate degrees of surface coverage, bridging flocculation is the principal aggregation mechanism irrespective of the electrical state of the protein-particle complexes. At high degree of surface coverage, however, weak flocculation is important only when the BSA molecules are at their isoelectric point.

Animals↗