Biomedical subjects

F Scheffold

Publications and source records attributed to F Scheffold.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Photocount statistics in mesoscopic optics.

We report the first observation of the impact of mesoscopic fluctuations on the photocount statistics of coherent light scattered in a random medium. A Poisson photocount distribution of the incident light widens and gains additional asymmetry upon transmission through a suspension of small dielectric spheres. The effect is only appreciable when the average number n of photocounts becomes comparable or larger than the effective dimensionless conductance g of the sample.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Multispeckle diffusing-wave spectroscopy with a single-mode detection scheme.

We present a detection scheme for diffusing-wave spectroscopy (DWS) based on a two-cell geometry that allows efficient ensemble averaging. This is achieved by putting a fast rotating diffuser in the optical path between laser and sample. We show that the recorded (multispeckle) correlation echoes provide an ensemble averaged signal that does not require additional time averaging. Furthermore, combined with traditional two-cell DWS, the full intensity autocorrelation function can be measured with a single experimental setup. The scheme provides access to a large range of correlation times thus opening an experimental window for the study of slowly relaxing and arrested systems, such as viscoelastic complex fluids, colloidal glasses, and gels.

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PubMed2004

Photonic properties of strongly correlated colloidal liquids.

The optical and structural properties of dense colloidal suspensions in the presence of long-range electrostatic repulsion are determined from both light and small-angle neutron scattering experiments. Short-range structural order induces an enhancement of the scattering strength while at the same time the total transmission shows strong wavelength dependence, reminiscent of a photonic crystal. Interestingly, the interplay between diffusive scattering and local order leads to negative values of the scattering anisotropy parameter. The tunable optical properties of these liquids furthermore suggest potential applications such as transparency switches or filters.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Optical imaging of the spatiotemporal dynamics of cerebral blood flow and oxidative metabolism in the rat barrel cortex.

Oxidative metabolism and cerebral blood flow (CBF) are two of the most important measures in neuroimaging. However, results from concurrent imaging of the two with high spatial and temporal resolution have never been published. We used flavoprotein autofluorescence (AF) and laser speckle imaging (LSI) in the anaesthetized rat to map oxidative metabolism and CBF in response to single vibrissa stimulation. Autofluorescence responses reflecting oxidative metabolism demonstrated a fast increase with a delay of 0.1 s. The sign-reversed speckle contrast reflecting CBF started to rise with a delay of 0.6 s and reached its maximum 1.4 s after the stimulation offset. The fractional signal changes were 2.0% in AF and 9.7% in LSI. Pixelwise modelling revealed that CBF maps spread over an area up to 2.5-times larger than metabolic maps. The results provide evidence that the increase in cerebral oxidative metabolism in response to sensory stimulation is considerably faster and more localized than the CBF response. This suggests that future developments in functional imaging concentrating on the metabolic response promise an increased spatial resolution.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Particle dynamics in concentrated colloidal suspensions.

We have studied the dynamical and structural properties of dense charge stabilized colloidal suspensions by a combination of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), 3D dynamic light scattering (3DDLS) and diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS). SANS and 3DDLS extend static and dynamic light scattering techniques to the regime of opaque samples while DWS additionally provides information on short length scales, typically from 1-50 nm. This offers an increased range of accessible length and time scales perfectly suited for the (non-invasive) investigation of highly concentrated suspensions. Different systems have been examined ranging from hard sphere like suspensions over strongly repulsive charged spheres to colloidal gels. We furthermore present an extended theoretical frame for DWS to characterize the internal dynamics of turbid gels made from nanosized colloidal particles.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Diffusing wave spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering from concentrated colloidal suspensions.

We have studied the properties of dense colloidal suspensions with a combination of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS). Contrary to single light scattering, DWS provides dynamic information on length scales, from 1 to 100 nm, comparable to SANS. This offers a unique range of accessible length and time scales perfectly suited for the (noninvasive) investigation of highly concentrated systems. By this we obtain valuable information about the structural properties and the short-time diffusion of electrostatically stabilized, but strongly screened, hard-sphere-like colloidal suspensions with volume fractions up to 30%. We furthermore discuss the consequences of local structural ordering on the optical properties, such as optical density and polarization. Quantitative agreement is found when comparing transmission measurements (optical density) with parameter-free numerical calculations based on the structural characterization from SANS.

Biophysics↗

PubMed2002

Finite-size effects on intensity correlations in random media.

The correlations between waves transmitted through random media are analyzed by use of a random-matrix approach and numerical simulations of rough waveguides. Although the intensity and conductance fluctuations are practically independent of the sample length, the correlations present a strong dependence on the length of the disordered region. In waveguide geometries the long-range correlations C((2)) and C((3)), usually associated to intensity and conductance fluctuations, respectively, become negative as the length of the system decreases. Our results provide a new interpretation of recent optical experiments on disordered slab geometries.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Diffusing-wave spectroscopy of nonergodic media.

We introduce an elegant method that allows the application of diffusing-wave spectroscopy (DWS) to nonergodic, solidlike samples. The method is based on the idea that light transmitted through a sandwich of two turbid cells can be considered ergodic even though only the second cell is ergodic. If absorption and/or leakage of light take place at the interface between the cells, we establish a so-called "multiplication rule," which relates the intensity autocorrelation function of light transmitted through the double-cell sandwich to the autocorrelation functions of individual cells by a simple multiplication. To test the proposed method, we perform a series of DWS experiments using colloidal gels as model nonergodic media. Our experimental data are consistent with the theoretical predictions, allowing quantitative characterization of nonergodic media and demonstrating the validity of the proposed technique.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Sol-Gel transition of concentrated colloidal suspensions

Diffusing-wave spectroscopy (DWS) was used to follow the sol-gel transition of concentrated colloidal suspensions. We present a new technique based on a sandwich of two scattering cells aimed to overcome the problem of nonergodicity in DWS of solidlike systems. Using this technique we obtain quantitative information about the microscopic dynamics all the way from an aggregating suspension to the final gel, thereby covering the whole sol-gel transition. At the gel point a dramatic change of the particle dynamics from diffusion to a subdiffusive arrested motion is observed. A critical-power-law behavior is found for the time evolution of the maximum mean square displacement delta(2) probed by a single particle in the gel.

Journal Article↗