Microrheology in Heterogeneous Media
Megan Valentine
Peter Kaplan (Unilever Research, U.S) Devi Thota John Crocker (currently at CalTech) Thomas Gisler (currently at U. Konstanz) Dave Weitz Dept. of Physics & DEAS, Harvard University http://www.deas.harvard.edu/projects/weitzlab/
Soft Systems are Complicated!!!
Lots of length scales - rarely homogeneous Many different types of heterogeneity Function often determined by MICROSCOPIC mechanical response
Microrheology Experiment
Measure the displacements of thermally excited probe particles viscous limit: x 2 = 2 D k BT elastic limit: x = G a
2
Constrained Brownian Motion kBT
Measure individual bead statistics --- multiparticle tracking and video microscopy
Multi-particle Tracking Technique
http://glinda.lrsm.upenn.edu/~weeks/idl/ Spatial resolution = 20nm Temporal resolution = 60Hz tracks roughly 100 particles for 10 minutes particles are constrained, but still move in and out of depth of field How to compare individual particles when we track them for different amounts of time???
COMPARE STATISTICS
Statistical Analysis
Mean Square Displacement
Particle A Particle B
0.1
Van Hove Correlation Functions
100
Particle A Particle B
x (m )
10
0.01
1E-3 0.01
1
0.1 1 10
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
time (seconds)
x (m)
Compare variance of Van Hove Correlation Functions for individual particles Classify particles by local diffusivity
Individual Van Hove Correlation Functions
Results: Glycerol
Ensemble-averaged Van Hove Correlation Function
100000
100
10
10000
1
Ensemble-averaged Mean Square Displacement
1000
1
10
<x > (m )
2 2
100
0.1
0.01
slope = 0.99
1 -0.5
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
1E-3 0.01 0.1 1 10
x (m)
time (seconds)
All beads have same local diffusion coefficient homogeneous Newtonian Fluid
Results: Agarose
Ensemble-Averaged Van Hove Correlation Functions
100000
Individual Van Hove Correlation Functions
dt=1/10 second
100
dt=1/30 second dt=1/10 second
10000
1000
10 100
10
1 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0
1 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6
x (m)
x (m)
Non-Gaussianity in Ensemble - exponential Distribution of local Diffusion Coefficients
Agarose
Cluster-averaged Mean Square Displacement
1
<x > (m )
2 2
0.1
0.01
1E-3 0.01
0.1
10
time (seconds)
Short-time diffusivity predicts long-time elasticity Microscopic elastic modulus is 105 times less than Macro!!! SPATIAL Heterogeneity on the micron scale
Results: F-Actin
Ensemble-Averaged Van Hove Correlation Functions
100000
Individual Van Hove Correlation Functions
100
dt=1/30 sec. dt=1/10 sec.
10000
dt=1/10 second
1000
100
10
10
1 -0.5
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
x (m)
1 -0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
x (m)
Non-Gaussianity in Ensemble Individual Particles are statistically indistinguishable suggests TEMPORAL heterogeneity
Summary
Extend micro-rheology to heterogeneous systems Quantify local mechanical response, Classify types of heterogeneity
Whats Next???
What is effect of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the micron-scale dynamics and function of soft materials? Continue to explore actin and other semi-flexible polymers Study local environments of cells, extra-cellular matrix
To Find out More about Cool Squishy Physics :
http://www.deas.harvard.edu/projects/weitzlab/
