A thin film analog of the corneal mucus layer of the tear film: an enigmatic long range non-classical DLVO interaction in the breakup of thin polymer films

We present experimental results on the instability and dewetting of thin liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films intercalated between an aqueous medium and a silicon wafer grafted with PDMS ‘brushes’. This is a thin film analog of the precorneal thin mucus coating sandwiched between the aqueous tear film and the glycocalyx carrying corneal epithelial surface. Lowering of the PDMS–water interfacial tension by a surfactant results in dewetting even of micrometer thick films within a few minutes. The instability appears to be induced by a long range non-classical DLVO force which has the same decay behavior as the nonretarded van der Waals force, but a magnitude which is about 2–3 orders higher. Implications for the breakup of the precorneal mucus layer and the tear film are discussed.     

Physics with REX-ISOLDE and MINIBALL

REX-ISOLDEis an experiment atISOLDE/CERN with the aim to study the nuclear structure of neutron-rich nuclei using radioactive ion beams up to 2.2 MeV/u. The highly-efficient γ-ray detector set-up MINIBALL will be used to explore reactions induced by Coulomb excitation or neutron transfer.     

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Book reviews

     

Influence of oleic acid on the structure of a mixture of hydrated model stratum corneum fatty acids and their soaps

The phase behaviour of a hydrated (32% (w/w) water) mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and their soaps has been examined. By progressively increasing the proportion of oleic acid, it could be shown that this unsaturated component exists partly as a separate phase within the others. The unsaturated fatty acids form an H_II phase at 25°C, whereas the saturated fatty acids form a fatty acid—soap crystal under the conditions employed. The results help to explain the role played by the fatty acids (and also cholesterol) within the lipid fraction of human stratum corneum. A feature of this study is a comparison of the results obtained by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.