On the macroion virial contribution to the osmotic pressure in charge-stabilized colloidal suspensions

Our interest goes to the different virial contributions to the equation of state of charged colloidal suspensions. Neglect of surface effects in the computation of the colloidal virial term leads to spurious and paradoxical results. This pitfall is one of the several facets of the danger of a naive implementation of the so called One Component Model, where the micro-ionic degrees of freedom are integrated out to only keep in the description the mesoscopic (colloidal) degrees of freedom. On the other hand, due incorporation of wall induced forces dissolves the paradox brought forth in the naive approach, provides a consistent description, and confirms that for salt-free systems, the colloidal contribution to the pressure is dominated by the micro-ionic one. Much emphasis is put on the no salt case but the situation with added electrolyte is also discussed

Colloidal hard-rod fluids near geometrically structured substrates

Density functional theory is used to study colloidal hard-rod fluids near an individual right-angled wedge or edge as well as near a hard wall which is periodically patterned with rectangular barriers. The Zwanzig model, in which the orientations of the rods are restricted to three orthogonal orientations but their positions can vary continuously, is analyzed by numerical minimization of the grand potential. Density and orientational order profiles, excess adsorptions, as well as surface and line tensions are determined. The calculations exhibit an enrichment [depletion] of rods lying parallel and close to the corner of the wedge [edge]. For the fluid near the geometrically patterned wall, complete wetting of the wall -- isotropic liquid interface by a nematic film occurs as a two-stage process in which first the nematic phase fills the space between the barriers until an almost planar isotropic -- nematic liquid interface has formed separating the higher-density nematic fluid in the space between the barriers from the lower-density isotropic bulk fluid. In the second stage a nematic film of diverging film thickness develops upon approaching bulk isotropic -- nematic coexistence.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Colloids in light fields: particle dynamics in random and periodic energy landscapes

The dynamics of colloidal particles in potential energy landscapes have mainly been investigated theoretically. In contrast, here we discuss the experimental realization of potential energy landscapes with the help of light fields and the observation of the particle dynamics by video microscopy. The experimentally observed dynamics in periodic and random potentials are compared to simulation and theoretical results in terms of, e.g. the mean-squared displacement, the time-dependent diffusion coefficient or the non-Gaussian parameter. The dynamics are initially diffusive followed by intermediate subdiffusive behaviour which again becomes diffusive at long times. How pronounced and extended the different regimes are, depends on the specific conditions, in particular the shape of the potential as well as its roughness or amplitude but also the particle concentration. Here we focus on dilute systems, but the dynamics of interacting systems in external potentials, and thus the interplay between particle-particle and particle-potential interactions, is also mentioned briefly. Furthermore, the observed dynamics of dilute systems resemble the dynamics of concentrated systems close to their glass transition, with which it is compared. The effect of certain potential energy landscapes on the dynamics of individual particles appears similar to the effect of interparticle interactions in the absence of an external potential

A parametrisation of the direct correlation function for the square-shoulder fluid

We introduce a parametrisation of the direct correlation function for the square-shoulder fluid and demonstrate that this parametrisation is in quantitative agreement with the numerical solution of the Ornstein-Zernike equation within the Percus-Yevick approximation. Moreover, the radial distribution function obtained from the parametrisation reproduces quantitatively Monte Carlo simulation data. Our results show that the parametrisation is accurate over a large regime of densities for different interaction ranges and potential strengths

Magnetisation of red blood cells: A Brownian dynamics simulation

A model to calculate the magnetisation of deoxyhemoglobin of human blood by means of Brownian dynamics simulations is presented. We consider a system made up of dipolar magnetic spheres, which can interact but do not overlap. Particles are exposed to external magnetic fields to compute the magnetisation curve, which exhibit a Langevin-like behaviour. The magnetic susceptibility of the erythrocytes and completely deoxygenated whole blood are ?p = 1:61 10 -6(SI) and ?WB = -4:46 10 -6(SI), respectively, which are in good agreement to experimental data and theoretical calculations. Moreover, we also compute the paramagnetic component of the susceptibility of erythrocytes that in our simulations normal blood from beta thalassemia major samples could be differentiated

Magnetisation of red blood cells: A Brownian dynamics simulation

A model to calculate the magnetisation of deoxyhemoglobin of human blood by means of Brownian dynamics simulations is presented. We consider a system made up of dipolar magnetic spheres, which can interact but do not overlap. Particles are exposed to external magnetic fields to compute the magnetisation curve, which exhibit a Langevin-like behaviour. The magnetic susceptibility of the erythrocytes and completely deoxygenated whole blood are χp = 1:61 × 10 -6(SI) and χWB = -4:46 × 10 -6(SI), respectively, which are in good agreement to experimental data and theoretical calculations. Moreover, we also compute the paramagnetic component of the susceptibility of erythrocytes that in our simulations normal blood from beta thalassemia major samples could be differentiated

On the calculation of the structure of charge-stabilized colloidal dispersions using density-dependent potentials

The structure of charge-stabilized colloidal dispersions has been studied through a one-component model using a Yukawa potential with density-dependent parameters examined with integral equation theory and Monte Carlo simulations. Partial thermodynamic consistency was guaranteed by considering the osmotic pressure of the dispersion from the approximate mean-field renormalized jellium and Poisson-Boltzmann cell models. The colloidal structures could be accurately described by the Ornstein-Zernike equation with the Rogers-Young closure by using the osmotic pressure from the renormalized jellium model. Although we explicitly show that the correct effective pair-potential obtained from the inverse Monte Carlo method deviates from the Yukawa shape, the osmotic pressure constraint allows us to have a good description of the colloidal structure without losing information on the system thermodynamics. Our findings are corroborated by primitive model simulations of salt-free colloidal dispersions

Magnetic properties of synthetic eumelanin - Preliminary results

We report an experimental and theoretical study of magnetic properties of synthetic eumelanin. The magnetization curves are determined by using both a vibrating sample magnetometer and a superconducting quantum interferometer device in an extended range of magnetic fields ranging from -10 kOe to 10 kOe at different temperatures. We find that the eumelanin magnetization can be qualitatively explained in terms of a simple model of dipolar spheres with an intrinsic magnetic moment. The latter one is experimentally measured by using X-band electron paramagnetic resonance. Our findings indicate that synthetic melanins are superparamagnetic