Biomedical subjects

Anna C Balazs

Publications and source records attributed to Anna C Balazs.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Effect of hydrodynamic interactions on the evolution of chemically reactive ternary mixtures.

We investigate the structural evolution of an A/B/C ternary mixture in which the A and B components can undergo a reversible chemical reaction to form C. We developed a lattice Boltzmann model for this ternary mixture that allows us to capture both the reaction kinetics and the hydrodynamic interactions within the system. We use this model to study a specific reactive mixture in which C acts as a surfactant, i.e., the formation of C at the A/B interface decreases the interfacial tension between the A and B domains. We found that the dynamics of the system is different for fluids in the diffusive and viscous regimes. In the diffusive regime, the formation of a layer of C at the interface leads to a freezing of the structural evolution in the fluid; the values of the reaction rate constants determine the characteristic domain size in the system. In the viscous regime, where hydrodynamic interactions are important, interfacial reactions cause a slowing down of the domain growth, but do not arrest the evolution of the mixture. The results provide guidelines for controlling the morphology of this complex ternary fluid.

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PubMed2004

Using nanoparticles to create self-healing composites.

The need for viable materials for optical communications, display technologies, and biomedical engineering is driving the creation of multilayer composites that combine brittle materials, such as glass, with moldable polymers. However, crack formation is a critical problem in composites where thin brittle films lie in contact with deformable polymer layers. Using computer simulations, we show that adding nanoparticles to the polymers yields materials in which the particles become localized at nanoscale cracks and effectively form "patches" to repair the damaged regions. Through micromechanics simulations, we evaluate the properties of these systems in the undamaged, damaged, and healed states and determine optimal conditions for harnessing nanoparticles to act as responsive, self-assembled "band aids" for composite materials. The results reveal situations where the mechanical properties of the repaired composites can potentially be restored to 75%-100% of the undamaged material.

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PubMed2004

Interdiffusion in a polydisperse polymer blend.

We present a theoretical description of interdiffusion in a binary blend of polymers that exhibit polydispersity in length. The diffusion equations are formulated in terms of the volume fractions and the chain concentrations of the components. This choice of variables is equivalent to the assumption that the local molecular weight distributions of the components are described by the Flory distribution. The Onsager kinetic coefficients are obtained based on the Green-Kubo equation and correspond to the fast-mode interdiffusion theory. As demonstrated by numerical simulations, the resulting equations describe the simultaneous processes of the evolution of blend composition and the relaxation of the local molecular weight distributions of the components. The developed approach can be used to study polymer systems in which the degree of polymerization changes due to interfacial or bulk chemical reactions.

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PubMed2003

Diffusive intertwining of two fluid phases in chemically patterned microchannels.

Via a coarse-grained model, we simulate the flow of a pressure driven binary AB fluid through a three-dimensional microchannel, which is decorated on both top and bottom with distinct A- and B-like patches. The advection is "frustrated" because A-like patches are placed in the path of the B stream and similarly, B-like patches are placed in the path of the A fluid. A competition between two factors, the advection caused by the imposed flow and the interactions between the confined fluids and the patterned substrates, introduces nonlinearity into the system. This nonlinear behavior gives rise to a temporally periodic state, where the A and B fluids are intertwined. In effect, the simple pattern of chemically distinct patches introduces positive feedback, which is responsible for the instability of the interface separating the injected fluids.

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PubMed2003

Modeling the self-assembly of copolymer-nanoparticle mixtures confined between solid surfaces.

Using numerical calculations, we undertake the first morphological studies of mixtures of AB diblocks and nanoparticles that are confined between two hard walls. A complex interplay of entropic and enthalpic interactions drives the nonselective particles to localize at the hard walls and A/B interfaces, causing the mixture to spontaneously self-assemble into particle-decorated lamellae that are oriented perpendicular to the surfaces. The film reveals a periodic array of particle "nanowires" that are separated by the nanoscale polymer domains, yielding a vital material for nanodevice fabrication.

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PubMed2003

Periodic droplet formation in chemically patterned microchannels.

Simulations show that, when a phase-separated binary AB fluid is driven to flow past chemically patterned substrates in a microchannel, the fluid exhibits unique morphological instabilities. For the pattern studied, these instabilities give rise to the simultaneous, periodic formation of monodisperse droplets of A in B and B in A. The system bifurcates between time-independent behavior and different types of regular, nondecaying oscillations in the structural characteristics. The surprisingly complex behavior is observed even in the absence of hydrodynamic interactions and arises from the interplay between the fluid flow and patterned substrate, which introduces nonlinearity into the dynamical system.

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PubMed2003

Simulating the dynamic behavior of immiscible binary fluids in three-dimensional chemically patterned microchannels.

Using computer simulations, we investigate the behavior of an immiscible binary AB fluid that is driven to flow through a microchannel, which is decorated with a checkerboard pattern of chemically distinct A- and B-like patches on the top and bottom walls. We isolate conditions where the coupling between the imposed flow field and thermodynamic interactions yields a rich interfacial behavior between the A and B fluids and complex velocity patterns over the checkerboard domains. In effect, the A and B fluids undergo extensive mixing in specific regions of the channel, even for low Reynolds number flow. Decreasing the height-to-width ratio of the patterned microchannel enhances the extent of mixing between these two components. On the other hand, the length of the A/B interfaces is optimized in microchannels that have a square cross section. The results provide guidelines for designing microfluidic devices that can be used to effectively intermix multicomponent fluids.

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PubMed2003

Simulating the morphology and mechanical properties of filled diblock copolymers.

We couple a morphological study of a mixture of diblock copolymers and spherical nanoparticles with a micromechanical simulation to determine how the spatial distribution of the particles affects the mechanical behavior of the composite. The morphological studies are conducted through a hybrid technique, which combines a Cahn-Hilliard (CH) theory for the diblocks and a Brownian dynamics (BD) for the particles. Through these "CH-BD" calculations, we obtain the late-stage morphology of the diblock-particle mixtures. The output of this CH-BD model serves as the input to the lattice spring model (LSM), which consists of a three-dimensional network of springs. In particular, the location of the different phases is mapped onto the LSM lattice and the appropriate force constants are assigned to the LSM bonds. A stress is applied to the LSM lattice, and we calculate the local strain fields and overall elastic response of the material. We find that the confinement of nanoparticles within a given domain of a bicontinous diblock mesophase causes the particles to percolate and form essentially a rigid backbone throughout the material. This continuous distribution of fillers significantly increases the reinforcement efficiency of the nanoparticles and dramatically increases the Young's modulus of the material. By integrating the morphological and mechanical models, we can isolate how modifications in physical characteristics of the particles and diblocks affect both the structure of the mixture and the macroscopic behavior of the composite. Thus, we can establish how choices made in the components affect the ultimate performance of the material.

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PubMed2003

Self-assembly of a binary mixture of particles and diblock copolymers.

Using theoretical models, we undertake the first investigation into the synergy and rich phase behavior that emerges when binary particle mixtures are blended with microphase-separating copolymers. We isolate an example of spontaneous hierarchical self-assembly in such hybrid materials, where the system exhibits both nanoscopic ordering of the particles and macroscopic phase transformation in the copolymer matrix. Furthermore, the self-assembly is driven by entropic effects involving all the different components. The results reveal that entropy can be exploited to create highly ordered nanocomposites with potentially unique electronic and photonic properties.

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PubMed2002

Entropically driven formation of hierarchically ordered nanocomposites.

Using theoretical models, we undertake the first investigation into the rich behavior that emerges when binary particle mixtures are blended with microphase-separating copolymers. We isolate an example of coupled self-assembly in such materials, where the system undergoes a nanoscale ordering of the particles along with a phase transformation in the copolymer matrix. Furthermore, the self-assembly is driven by entropic effects involving all the different components. The results reveal that entropy can be exploited to create highly ordered nanocomposites with potentially unique electronic and photonic properties.

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PubMed2002

Binary hard sphere mixtures in block copolymer melts.

We perform a self-consistent-field/density-functional-theory hybrid analysis for a system of diblock copolymers mixed with polydisperse, hard, spherical particles of various chemical species. We apply this theory to study the equilibrium morphologies of two different binary sphere/diblock melts. First, we examine the case where the particles have two different sizes, but both types are preferentially wetted by one of the copolymer blocks. We find that the single-particle distributions for the two species do not track one another and that the particles show a degree of entropically generated separation based on size, due to confinement within the diblock matrix. Second, we study the case where the particles are all the same size, but are of two different chemical species. We find that, as expected, the particle distributions reveal a degree of enthalpically driven separation, due to the spheres' preferential affinities for different blocks of the copolymer.

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PubMed2002

Using patterned substrates to promote mixing in microchannels.

Using a lattice Boltzmann model for fluid dynamics, we investigate the flow and phase behavior of a binary fluid moving over a patterned substrate within a microchannel. The binary fluid consists of two immiscible components, A and B, and this liquid is subjected to a Poiseuille flow. The substrate is decorated with a checkerboard pattern of A- and B-like patches. Through a coupling of hydrodynamics and thermodynamics, each component is driven to flow from the nonwettable domains to wettable regions. As a consequence, the A and B fluids undergo extensive mixing within the microchannels. We investigate how the degree of mixing depends on the size of the patches, the velocity of the imposed flow field, and the characteristics of the fluid. The results provide guidelines for creating localized "mixing stations" within microfluidic devices. The findings also reveal how a combination of imposed flow fields and surface patterning can be exploited to control the phase behavior of complex fluids.

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