PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

UMass Amherst polymer scientists jam nanoparticles, trapping liquids in useful shapes

The advance holds promise for a wide range of different applications including in drug delivery, biosensing, fluidics, photovoltaics, encapsulation and bicontinuous media for energy applications and separations media

2013-10-25
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Janet Lathrop
jlathrop@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0444
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
UMass Amherst polymer scientists jam nanoparticles, trapping liquids in useful shapes The advance holds promise for a wide range of different applications including in drug delivery, biosensing, fluidics, photovoltaics, encapsulation and bicontinuous media for energy applications and separations media AMHERST, Mass. – Sharp observation by doctoral student Mengmeng Cui in Thomas Russell's polymer science and engineering laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently led her to discover how to kinetically trap and control one liquid within another, locking and separating them in a stable system over long periods, with the ability to tailor and manipulate the shapes and flow characteristics of each.

Russell, her advisor, points out that the advance holds promise for a wide range of different applications including in drug delivery, biosensing, fluidics, photovoltaics, encapsulation and bicontinuous media for energy applications and separations media.

He says, "It's very, very neat. We've tricked the system into remaining absolutely fixed, trapped in a certain state for as long as we like. Now we can take a material and encapsulate it in a droplet in an unusual shape for a very long time. Any system where I can have co-continuous materials and I can do things independently in both oil and water is interesting and potentially valuable."

Cui, with Russell and his colleague, synthetic chemist Todd Emrick, report their findings in the current issue of Science.

Russell's lab has long been interested in jamming phenomena and kinetically trapped materials, he says. When Cui noticed something unusual in routine experiments, rather than ignore it and start again she decided to investigate further. "This discovery is really a tribute to Cui's observational skills," Russell notes, "that she recognized this could be of importance."

Specifically, the polymer scientists applied an electric field to a system with two liquids to overcome the weak force that stabilizes nanoparticle assemblies at interfaces. Under the influence of the external field, a spherical drop changes shape to an ellipsoid with increased surface area, so it has many more nanoparticles attached to its surface.

When the external field is released, the higher number of surface nanoparticles jam the liquid system, stopping nanoparticle movement like Friday afternoon gridlock on an exit ramp or sand grains stuck in an hourglass, Russell explains. In its jammed state, the nanoparticle-covered droplet retains its ellipsoid shape and still carries many more nanoparticles on its surface, disordered and liquid-like, than it could as a simple spherical drop. This new shape can be permanently fixed. Cui, Russell and Emrick also accomplished the jamming using a mechanical method, stirring.

By generating these jammed nanoparticle surfactants at interfaces, fluid drops of arbitrary shape and size can be stabilized opening applications in fluidics, encapsulation and bicontinuous media for energy applications. Further stabilization is realized by replacing monofunctional ligands with difunctional ones that cross-link the assemblies, the authors note. The ability to generate and stabilize liquids with a prescribed shape poses opportunities for reactive liquid systems, packaging, delivery and storage.

INFORMATION:

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Genetic analysis reveals insights into the genetic architecture of OCD, Tourette syndrome

2013-10-25
Genetic analysis reveals insights into the genetic architecture of OCD, Tourette syndrome An international research consortium led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Chicago has answered several questions about ...

What is it about your face?

2013-10-25
What is it about your face? Berkeley Lab researchers provide new insight into why each human face is unique The human face is as unique as a fingerprint, no one else looks exactly like you. But what is it that makes facial morphology so distinct? Certainly ...

Why plants usually live longer then animals

2013-10-25
Why plants usually live longer then animals Ghent, 24 October –Stem cells are crucial for the continuous generation of new cells. Although the importance of stem cells in fuelling plant growth and development still many questions on their tight molecular ...

Foreign private patients provide a lucrative source of NHS income

2013-10-25
Foreign private patients provide a lucrative source of NHS income Foreign patients coming to the UK for private medical treatment are a lucrative source of income for the NHS, according to a new study by researchers at the London School ...

Study ties bone marrow transplant to negative sexual side effects

2013-10-25
Study ties bone marrow transplant to negative sexual side effects Radiation, graft-versus-host disease cited as particularly damaging (WASHINGTON – October 24, 2013) – New research ties preparative procedures and complications associated with blood or bone ...

Grasshopper mice are numb to the pain of the bark scorpion sting

2013-10-25
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Oct-2013 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Ashlee Rowe roweashl@msu.edu 517-432-4468 Michigan State University Harold Zakon h.zakon@mail.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin Grasshopper mice are numb to the pain of the bark scorpion sting The painful, potentially deadly stings of bark scorpions are nothing more than a slight nuisance to grasshopper mice, which ...

Behavior problems in preschool and child care centers may be an issue of genes

2013-10-25
Behavior problems in preschool and child care centers may be an issue of genes BEND, Ore. – A new study suggests that some children may be genetically predisposed to developing behavioral problems in child care and preschool settings. Previous ...

NASA sees Super-typhoon Lekima ready to make the curve

2013-10-25
NASA sees Super-typhoon Lekima ready to make the curve Super-typhoon Lekima is poised to "make the curve" in the northwestern Pacific Ocean today. The storm's track is expected to shift from a northwesterly direction, and curve to northeasterly direction because ...

Preclinical study finds drug helps against pancreatic cancer

2013-10-25
Preclinical study finds drug helps against pancreatic cancer October 23, 2013—(BRONX, NY)—An investigational drug that disrupts tumor blood vessels shows promise against a rare type of pancreatic cancer, scientists at Albert Einstein College ...

Could the Colorado River once have flowed into the Labrador Sea?

2013-10-25
Could the Colorado River once have flowed into the Labrador Sea? November 2013 GSA Today Boulder, Colorado, USA – In the November issue of GSA Today, James W. Sears of the University of Montana in Missoula advocates a possible Canadian connection for the early Miocene ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Palm oil isn’t necessarily less sustainable than other oils, say conservationists

A hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy of space immunology

Mysterious glow in Milky Way could be evidence of dark matter

Pathogenic germline variants in cancer susceptibility genes

Discrimination experiences among medical students

Pickleball-related ocular injuries among patients presenting to emergency departments

Ganoderma lucidum alleviates high-fat diet-induced hepatic lipotoxicity via modulating the unfolded protein response and endoplasmic reticulum-phagy

Circularly polarized luminescence enhancement in rare-earth MOFs due to framework chirality and host–guest energy transfer

Nickel-substituted polyoxometalate-CdS single-cluster photocatalysts for efficient plastic waste degradation coupled with H2 production

Polyoxometalate hybrid comb-like crosslinked polymer networks for anhydrous proton conductors

A research team at the Universitat Jaume I creates a robotic platform with artificial intelligence to accelerate the transition to a sustainable industry

Binghamton University researchers use nanotubes to improve blood flow in bioengineered tissues

Elizabeth Haines, DO, MSc, FACEP, appointed Chief Operating Officer of Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital and Senior Vice President of Pediatric Services, Mount Sinai Health System

Just knowing help is there makes all the difference

Gut microbiome affects alcohol preference by influencing brain’s reward system

Manchurian walnut tree holds key to eco-friendly weed control

After cancer: study explores caring-healing modalities for survivors

The paper industry can become more energy-efficient with a new measurement method

SEOULTECH researchers develop VFF-Net, a revolutionary alternative to backpropagation that transforms AI training

Pusan National University study finds pollution shifts rainfall from land to sea in Southeast Asia

Korea University researchers advance orthodontics with AI-assisted growth prediction

New low-cost, efficient single-photon source for powering future quantum internet

Helping farmers, boosting biofuels

Air pollution during pregnancy is associated with slower brain maturation in newborns

Expanding farming capabilities will not close Africa’s ‘hidden hunger’ gaps

Time crystals could power future quantum computers

Climate whiplash effects due to rapidly intensifying El Niño cycles

Quantum radio antenna

A pill that prints

New research submarine after Ran got lost under the ice

[Press-News.org] UMass Amherst polymer scientists jam nanoparticles, trapping liquids in useful shapes
The advance holds promise for a wide range of different applications including in drug delivery, biosensing, fluidics, photovoltaics, encapsulation and bicontinuous media for energy applications and separations media