Electroacoustic particle analyzer for ultrasound micro-rheology of hydrogel-colloid composites

一个市售的电声粒子分析仪将被用来表征一类新的水凝胶称为水凝胶胶体复合材料的微观结构。这种仪器通常用于向胶体分散体施加高频振荡电场，并感测由此产生的压力波动。这种反应通过提供所谓的ζ电位来评估光学不透明（致密）流体的胶体稳定性，例如油漆，食品和化妆品，ζ电位是颗粒电荷的量度。然而，在这项研究中，该仪器将被用作一种创新的，非侵入性的，定量的工具，用于探测水凝胶-胶体复合材料的机械和电气特性。这是一种迅速兴起的纳米复合材料，例如，作为响应性生物材料和传感器具有广泛的应用。我们最近发表的理论预测链接到重要的微观结构特征，如颗粒和水凝胶的电荷，粘弹性的弹性声学信号。因此，该仪器将使我们能够测试的理论，从而为广泛使用电声技术的微观流变分析铺平道路。

A commercially available electroacoustic particle analyzer will be adopted to characterize the microstructure of a novel class of hydrogels termed hydrogel-colloid composites. Such instruments are routinely used to apply a high-frequency oscillatory electric field to a colloidal dispersion and sense the resulting pressure fluctuations. This response accesses the colloidal stability of optically opaque (dense) fluids, such a paints, foods, and cosmetics, by furnishing the so-called zeta-potential, which is a measure of particle charge. In this research, however, the instrument will be used as an innovative, non-invasive, quantitative tool for probing the mechanical and electrical characteristics hydrogel-colloid composites. This is a rapidly emerging class of nanocomposites with widespread applications as responsive biomaterials and sensors, for example. We have recently published theoretical predictions linking the elastroscoustic signal to important microstructural characteristics, such as the particle and hydrogel charge, and viscoelasticity. Accordingly, the instrument will allow us to test the theory and, thus, pave the way toward widespread use of electroacoustic technologies for microrheological analysis.