Biomedical subjects

Remco Tuinier

Publications and source records attributed to Remco Tuinier.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Depletion interaction mediated by a polydisperse polymer studied with total internal reflection microscopy.

Total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM) was applied to measure depletion forces between a charged colloidal sphere and a charged solid wall induced by dextran, a nonionic nonadsorbing polydisperse polysaccharide. The polymer size polydispersity is shown to greatly influence the depletion potential. Using the theory for the depletion interaction due to ideal polydisperse polymer chains, we could accurately describe the experimental data with a single adjustable parameter.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Critical endpoint and analytical phase diagram of attractive hard-core Yukawa spheres.

We analytically calculate the gas-liquid critical endpoint (cep) for hard spheres with a Yukawa attraction. This cep is a boundary condition for the existence of a liquid. We use an analytical Helmholtz energy expression for the attractive Yukawa (hard) spheres based on the first-order mean spherical approximation to the attractive Yukawa potential by Tang and Lu (J. Chem. Phys. 1993, 99, 9828). This theory and our analytical simplification of it predict the gas-liquid and fluid-solid phase behavior, as found from computer simulations, very accurately as long as the range 1/kappa of attraction is not too short. We find that the cep is situated at kappasigma approximately 6 and at a contact potential around 2 kT. It follows that a liquid state is only possible when the attraction range is longer than (1/6) of the particle diameter sigma, and the attraction strength is smaller than 2 kT. The liquid region does not span more than 0.6 kT in strength, and there is also a relatively narrow window for the attraction range.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Interactions and two-phase coexistence in nonionic micellar solutions as determined by static light scattering.

We suggest semi-phenomenological approaches for the pair interaction potential in aqueous C(m)E(n) solutions. These expressions are non-linear least squares fitted to static light scattering data from solutions of C(m)E4 and C(m)E8 surfactants in the long wavelength limit. From the resulting interaction parameters we calculate the location of the liquid/liquid two phase coexistence curves, which are in very good agreement with experimental data reported by others.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Phase stability of concentrated dairy products.

The interactions between the two most important colloids in milk, fat globules and casein micelles, were investigated. Mixtures of oil droplets (as a model for fat globules) and casein micelles were prepared, and their phase behavior was studied. It was found that the oil droplets and the casein micelles phase separate as a result of depletion interaction. The experimentally determined phase boundary is consistent with a prediction by theory that involves no adjustable parameters. Furthermore, it is shown that the kinetics of phase separation can be explained by the differences in viscosity of the samples. The results are of relevance to the behavior of concentrated dairy products such as whipping cream and evaporated milk.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Morphology and kinetics of phase separating transparent xanthan-colloid mixtures.

We present a study on the morphology and kinetics of depletion-induced phase separation in aqueous xanthan-colloid mixtures with light microscopy and small angle light scattering (SALS), using fluorinated colloids with a refractive index close to that of water to prevent complications of multiple scattering. Microscopy with the direction of observation perpendicular to gravity enabled us to observe the development of the microstructure during the entire phase separation process including the formation of a macroscopic interface. Bicontinuous structures typical of a spinodal decomposition mechanism were observed at early times. These structures coarsened in time until hydrodynamic flow resulted in lane formation. Close to the binodal, a nucleation-and-growth mechanism was observed with formation of droplets. The coarsening kinetics were studied in more detail with SALS and turbidity measurements. Above polysaccharide concentrations at which entanglements become dominant, a slower coarsening and macroscopic phase separation were found because of the high continuous phase viscosity.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗