基于微流控芯片技术的秀丽隐杆线虫研究进展

秀丽隐杆线虫具有体积小、生命周期短、结构简单和高基因保守性等特点,是生命科学研究领域中的一种重要模式生物。微流控芯片的通道尺寸与线虫大小相匹配,并可实现灵活集成的线虫操控,为线虫研究提供了一种全新的平台。在微流控平台上,线虫长期培养、固定、分选、精确刺激传递和单线虫包裹等单元操作已经实现,并被应用于线虫神经生物学、行为学、衰老及发育、药物筛选等研究中。该文着重介绍近几年基于微流控芯片技术的线虫研究最新进展,并对其应用前景予以展望。     

零砷压下Ga液滴在AlGaAs表面扩散行为的研究

本文研究了Ga液滴在Al_(0.4)Ga_(0.6)As表面的扩散行为.在衬底温度为380℃时,在Al_(0.4)Ga_(0.6)As薄膜上沉积3 MLGa液滴;在零砷压下,通过改变退火时间(0 s, 150 s, 300 s, 450 s, 600 s)观察液滴形貌变化,利用剖面线、坑洞和液滴的比例变化分析发现液滴高度随时间延长越来越低,直至形成坑洞,Ga液滴内部的原子在Al_(0.4)Ga_(0.6)As表面上首先向外扩散,而后与表面As原子结合成环,约在退火时间到500 s时扩散模式逐步变化为向下溶蚀.利用公式计算出最初Ga覆盖率约为2.6 ML,并且在380℃下Ga液滴在Al_(0.4)Ga_(0.6)As表面的液滴消耗速率为0.0065 ML/s.     

Flame-spread limit from interactive burning droplets in microgravity

This research conducted microgravity experiments on the flame spread over droplet-cloud elements with strong droplet interaction aboard Kibo on the ISS. The droplet-cloud element represents a local droplet pattern appearing in randomly distributed droplet clouds near the group-combustion-excitation limit and consists of small-droplet-spacing droplets and large-droplet-spacing droplets. As droplet-cloud elements, we used four n-decane droplets, Droplets C, B, A and L, placed at fiber intersections of two-dimensional SiC-fiber lattice with a 4-mm fiber interval in a combustion chamber. The flame spreads over the droplet-cloud element in order of Droplets C, B, A and L. The position of Droplet L relative to Droplet A was varied to investigate the flame-spread-limit distribution around burning Droplet A. The position of Droplet B relative to Droplet A was varied to investigate the effect of two-droplet interaction between Droplets B and A on the flame spread to Droplet L. The position of Droplet C relative to Droplet B was also varied to investigate the effect of three-droplet interaction among Droplets C, B and A. The results shows that in the case with the strong interaction by two or three interactive droplets, the high-temperature region is enlarged by the droplet interaction, centers near the center of mass of the interactive droplets and plays an important role in the flame-spread-limit distribution. Since the burning lifetime of Droplet A is finite, the flame-spread time from burning Droplet A to Droplet L is limited by burning lifetime of Droplet A and is less than 80% of the burning lifetime of Droplet A, which increases with the interactive effect. The flame-spread-limit distance from the center of mass of the interactive droplets increases with the burning lifetime.     

组装式微流控系统制备双重包裹微液滴的方法研究

介绍了一种组装式微流控系统制备单、双重包裹微液滴的方法。微系统中用三通接头构成T型微流体通道,使得分散相在连续相强烈的剪切力和压力差作用下断裂形成单个微米级液滴。在制备单个微液滴基础上,用毛细管将两个三通接头串联,通过调控三相流量,可产生双重包裹液滴。结合实验结果,分析了流体粘度比对液滴大小的影响,并得出液滴的尺寸与流量比之间的关系式,为制备不同尺寸的液滴提供了参考依据。对制备的样品进行统计分析,结果显示,液滴的多分散性指数均小于3.2%,表明微液滴的高度均匀性。此外,通过调节三相液体的流量不仅可以控制内外层液滴的大小,还可以调节内层包裹液滴的个数。本文提出的制备方法,设备组装拆卸简便,不需表面亲疏水性处理,装置利用率高,产生的单、双重包裹微液滴可满足高通量的测量分析要求。     

Monte Carlo模拟空间各向异性势向列相液晶微滴

基于分子两体势,用Monte Carlo方法计算向列相液晶微滴.两体势基于格点模型,是空间各向异性的且依赖于液晶的弹性常数.假定向列相液晶微滴具有自由表面,引入切向内禀强度定量描写表面引发的分子内禀易取向的强弱.通过各向异性势的两种方案,在低温下计算切向内禀强度和二阶序参数在微滴内不同区域的变化,与Lebwohl-Lasher模型作对比分析.结果表明:只有一种方案在微滴表面产生内禀易取向,且内禀强度值的大小与K₃₃/K₁₁值有关;空间不完整的向列相液晶使得微滴由内层到外层有序度越来越低.     

Classical nucleation theory with a tolman correction

The effect of the Tolman correction for the surface tension of small droplets on the classical Becker-Doering theory of nucleation is studied near the critical temperature T_c. Also a generalization of the kinetic prefactor is studied together with this correction. No qualitative change in the very small slope of the curve of the reduced supercooling as a function of (1–T)/T _c at constant nucleation rates was found.The Center for Polymer Studies is supported in part by grants from ARO, ONR, and NSF.     

Electrochemical growth of single mercury droplets under joint ohmic, diffusion, and charge transfer limitations

Growth kinetics of single mercury droplets electrochemically deposited on a platinum single crystal electrode was investigated. Potentiostatic current transients were recorded at different electrode potentials. The experimental data were interpreted on the basis of a general theoretical model accounting for joint ohmic, diffusion and charge transfer limitations. Information is obtained on two important growth parameters: the exchange current density at the mercury/solution interface boundary and the diffusion coefficient of mercury ions. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 756–759. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Effect of the presence of polymer in miniemulsion droplets on the kinetics of polymerization

Solution of polystyrene in styrene were dispersed in an aqueous gel phase comprising sodium lauryl sulfate, cetyl alcohol, and water using an emulsification process known to produce monomer droplet sizes inthe submicron size range (referred to as miniemulsion droplets). The shelf-life stabilities of these miniemulsions were studied to determine their relative droplet sizes, and the emulsions were concommitantly polymerized in an isothermal batch reaction calorimeter. The polymerization kinetics and final particle sizes produced were compared with miniemulsion and conventional emulsion polymerizations prepared using equivalent recipes without the addition of polystyrene. The results indicate that polymerization of miniemulsions prepared from polymer solutions produce significantly different kinetics than both miniemulsion and conventional emulsion polymerizations. In general, a small amount of polymer greatly increases the rate of polymerization and the final number of particles produced in the polymerization to the extent where even conventional polymerizations carried out above the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant polymerize more slowly. The results are explained by considering the system to be comprised of small, stable pre-formed monomer-swollen polymer particles which are able to efficiently capture aqueous phase radicals. This enables the system to produce a large final number of particles, similar to the initial number of pre-formed polymer particles, as opposed to miniemulsions and micelles in which only a relatively small fraction of the initial number of species (droplets or micelles) become polymer particles. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Several surfaces with special wettability: Influence on spreading and motion of W/O emulsion droplets

Physical and chemical modifications were made on the surface of the aluminum sheet to change the surface properties and superhydrophobic–hydrophilic wettability gradient surface was made on the perspex surface by using microstructure-pattering technique and self-assembled-monolayer method. By using high-speed video camera system and optical tensiometer, this paper discusses the influence of special surfaces with different wettability on spreading and motion of water, oil, and W/O emulsion droplets both experimentally and theoretically. In addition, the paper also discusses the influence of the superhydrophobic–hydrophilic wettability gradient on fluidity of W/O emulsion droplets and the coalescence process of droplets. The results showed that the contact angle of W/O emulsion droplets on the modified surfaces was related to the water and oil distribution at the three-phase line. On the wettability gradient surface, the droplet moved spontaneously when the droplet was located at the junction of the gradient. A quasi-steady theoretical model was used to analyze the driving and resistant forces acting on a droplet to improve the understanding of the self-transport behavior of the droplets.