Biomedical subjects

D Y C Chan

Publications and source records attributed to D Y C Chan.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Dynamic forces between two deformable oil droplets in water.

The understanding of static interactions in colloidal suspensions is well established, whereas dynamic interactions more relevant to biological and other suspended soft-matter systems are less well understood. We present the direct force measurement and quantitative theoretical description for dynamic forces for liquid droplets in another immiscible fluid. Analysis of this system demonstrates the strong link between interfacial deformation, static surface forces, and hydrodynamic drainage, which govern dynamic droplet-droplet interactions over the length scale of nanometers and over the time scales of Brownian collisions. The results and analysis have direct bearing on the control and manipulation of suspended droplets in soft-matter systems ranging from the emulsions in shampoo to cellular interactions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Interaction forces between oil-water particle interfaces--non-DLVO forces.

The interaction force between a rigid silica sphere and a butyl or octyl acetate droplet was measured in an aqueous environment using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The force measurements were performed without added stabilizers and the observed force behavior was found to be dependent on the type of inorganic electrolyte present, where the interfacial tension was constant over the electrolyte concentration range used. Force measurements in the presence of sodium nitrate showed repulsion at all concentrations. Force measurements in the presence of calcium nitrate or sodium perchlorate exhibited an initial repulsion followed by an attraction resulting in a mechanical instability in the AFM cantilever, termed jump-in. The force behavior observed was independent of the water solubility of the organic liquid, in that the same force-distance characteristics were obtained for slightly water soluble butyl acetate and the water sparingly soluble octyl acetate droplets. Modeling of the drop profile during particle-droplet interactions for this type of AFM measurement showed that the force-distance data for the sodium nitrate system obeys typical DLVO interactions. The disagreement between the DLVO predictions for the sodium perchlorate and calcium nitrate systems is attributed to a specific ion effect at the liquid-liquid interface, which gives rise to an attraction force that is greater than the electrostatic double layer repulsion over the length scale of 5 to 10 nm.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Forces between two oil drops in aqueous solution measured by AFM.

The surface and hydrodynamic forces between individual oil droplets in solution can provide insight into both emulsion stability and processes such as drop coalescence in liquid-liquid extraction. We present the first measurements of the interaction forces between alkane droplets in aqueous solution using atomic force microscopy. The radii of the droplets were well below the capillary lengths for the system, thus gravity effects are negligible, and interfacial tension and interaction forces governed the system behavior. The effects of modulating electrostatic double-layer interactions and interfacial tension through the presence of an anionic surfactant are demonstrated. Challenges in interpretation of the force data due to drop deformation are also discussed. A range of drop approach and retract speeds was used to determine the regime where hydrodynamic drainage effects had significant impact on the measurement.

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