Lock-key microfluidics: simulating nematic colloid advection along wavy-walled channels.

Autor:	Wamsler K; School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, UK. t.shendruk@ed.ac.uk., Head LC; School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, UK. t.shendruk@ed.ac.uk., Shendruk TN; School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, UK. t.shendruk@ed.ac.uk.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Soft matter [Soft Matter] 2024 May 15; Vol. 20 (19), pp. 3954-3970. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 15.
DOI:	10.1039/d3sm01536j
Abstrakt:	Liquid crystalline media mediate interactions between suspended particles and confining geometries, which not only has potential to guide patterning and bottom-up colloidal assembly, but can also control colloidal migration in microfluidic devices. However, simulating such dynamics is challenging because nemato-elasticity, diffusivity and hydrodynamic interactions must all be accounted for within complex boundaries. We model the advection of colloids dispersed in flowing and fluctuating nematic fluids confined within 2D wavy channels. A lock-key mechanism between homeotropic colloids and troughs is found to be stronger for planar anchoring on the wavy walls compared to homeotropic anchoring on the wavy walls due to the relative location of the colloid-associated defects. Sufficiently large amplitudes result in stick-slip trajectories and even permanent locking of colloids in place. These results demonstrate that wavy walls not only have potential to direct colloids to specific docking sites but also to control site-specific resting duration and intermittent elution.
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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