Biomedical subjects

Clemens Bechinger

Publications and source records attributed to Clemens Bechinger.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Single-particle evanescent light scattering simulations for total internal reflection microscopy.

We simulate and measure light scattering of a micrometer-sized spherical particle suspended in solution close to a glass substrate. The model, based on the discrete sources method, is developed to describe the experimental situation of total internal reflection microscopy experiments; i.e., the particle is illuminated by an evanescent light field originating from the glass-solvent interface. In contrast to the well-established assumption of a simple exponential decay of the scattering intensity with distance, we demonstrate significant deviations for a certain range of penetration depths and polarization states of the incident light.

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PubMed2006

Optical microscopy measurement of pair correlation functions.

We studied the pair correlation function g(r) of silica particles with a fluorescent core and a nonfluorescent shell which were confined between two glass plates by optical video microscopy. To investigate the possible role of optical artifacts due to overlapping particle images, we compared experiments, where, first, the whole particle (white image) and then, only the fluorescent core (fluorescent image) was used for determining particle positions. While under white-image conditions the observed g(r) exhibits a main peak at about 1.2 times the particle's diameter; under fluorescent image conditions the obtained g(r) resembles a short-ranged repulsive system where the main peak is close to contact. This discrepancy points towards artifacts of video microscopy, leading to erroneous g(r) and in turn to erroneous effective-pair potentials.

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PubMed2005

Noise-enhanced performance of ratchet cellular automata.

We present the first experimental realization of a ratchet cellular automaton (RCA) which has recently been suggested as an alternative approach for performing logical operations with interacting (quasi)particles. Our study was performed with interacting colloidal particles which serve as a model system for other dissipative systems, i.e., magnetic vortices on a superconductor or ions in dissipative optical arrays. We demonstrate that noise can enhance the efficiency of information transport in RCA and consequently enables their optimal operation at finite temperatures.

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PubMed2004

Locked-floating-solid to locked-smectic transition in colloidal systems.

We investigate two-dimensional melting of a colloidal system in the presence of a one-dimensional periodic substrate potential created by two interfering laser beams. We study the commensurability ratio p=sqrt[3]a/2d=2 with a the mean particle distance and d the period of the periodic potential. In contrast with the previously investigated case p=1, here we observe that melting of the locked-floating solid occurs via a novel locked-smectic phase, predicted by recent theoretical studies.

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PubMed2004

Single-file diffusion of colloids in one-dimensional channels.

We study the diffusive behavior of colloidal particles which are confined to one-dimensional channels generated by scanning optical tweezers. At long times t, the mean-square displacement is found to scale as t(1/2), which is expected for systems where single-file diffusion occurs. In addition, we experimentally obtain the long-time, self-diffusive behavior from the short-time collective density fluctuations of the system as suggested by a recent analytical approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 180602 (2003)].

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PubMed2004

Depletion potentials induced by charged colloidal rods.

We present direct depletion potential measurements for a single colloidal sphere close to a wall in suspensions of charged colloidal rods. In contrast to earlier studies of purely entropic systems (Helden et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2003, 90, 048301), here electrostatic interactions are important. These enhance the depletion attraction and lead to repulsive parts in the interaction potentials, indicating correlation effects between the rods.

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PubMed2004

Three-body interactions in colloidal systems.

We present a direct measurement of three-body interactions in a colloidal system comprised of three charged colloidal particles. Two of the particles have been confined by means of a scanned laser tweezers to a line-shaped optical trap where they diffused due to thermal fluctuations. Upon the approach of a third particle, attractive three-body interactions have been observed. The results are in qualitative agreement with additionally performed nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann calculations, which also allow us to investigate the microionic density distributions in the neighborhood of the interacting colloidal particles.

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PubMed2004

Direct measurement of three-body interactions amongst charged colloids.

Three-body interactions amongst three charged colloidal particles are measured in a deionized aqueous solution. Two of the particles are confined to an optical line trap while the third one is approached by means of a focused laser beam. From the observed particle configurations we extract the three-body potential which is found to be attractive and roughly of the same magnitude and range as the pair interactions. In addition, numerical calculations are performed which show qualitative agreement with the experimental results.

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PubMed2003

Phase transitions of colloidal monolayers in periodic pinning arrays.

We study the phase behavior of two-dimensional paramagnetic colloidal systems on square pinning arrays, the latter being created by a holographic optical tweezer technique. When the particle interaction strength is decreased, a transition from an incommensurate to a commensurate solid is observed. At even smaller pair potentials, the interstitial particles start to melt, whereas the particles at the substrate pinning sites are still localized. Our results are in good agreement with recent numerical studies on vortex melting in periodic pinning arrays.

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PubMed2002

Phase behavior of colloidal molecular crystals on triangular light lattices.

We investigate the melting process of a two-dimensional charge-stabilized colloidal system in the presence of a triangular substrate potential. This potential is formed by an optical interference pattern that allows the substrate strength to be varied continuously. By means of an additional scanned optical tweezer the particle density can be adjusted to different numbers m of colloidal particles per substrate minima; here we concentrate on the case of trimers, i.e., m = 3. Because trimers exhibit additional internal degrees of rotational freedom, the phase behavior of such a system is very different from homogeneous or one-dimensional periodic substrate potentials.

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PubMed2001

Force exertion in fungal infection.

Fungal pathogens of plants or animals invade their hosts either by secretion of lytic enzymes, exerting force, or by a combination of both. Although many fungi are thought to rely mostly on lysis of the host tissue, some plant pathogenic fungi differentiate complex infection cells that develop enormous turgor pressure, which in turn is translated into force used for invasion. In order to understand mechanisms of fungal infection in detail, methods have been developed that indirectly or directly measure turgor pressure and force. In this article, these methods are described and critically discussed, and their importance in analysis of fungal infection are outlined.

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