Andreas Carlson

Modeling of dynamic wetting far from equilibrium

In this paper we present simulations of dynamic wetting far from equilibrium based on phase field theory. In direct simulations of recent experiments [J. C. Bird, S. Mandre, and H. A. Stone, Phys. ...

Universality in dynamic wetting dominated by contact-line friction.

We report experiments on the rapid contact-line motion present in the early stages of capillary-driven spreading of drops on dry solid substrates. The spreading data fail to follow a conventional viscous or inertial scaling. By integrating experiments and simulations, we quantify a contact-line friction μ(f) which is seen to limit the speed of the rapid dynamic wetting. A scaling based on this contact-line friction is shown to yield a universal curve for the evolution of the contact-line radius as a function of time, for a range of fluid viscosities, drop sizes, and surface wettabilities.

Contact line dissipation in short-time dynamic wetting

Dynamic wetting of a solid surface is a process that is ubiquitous in Nature, and also of increasing technological importance. The underlying dissipative mechanisms are, however, still unclear. We present here short-time dynamic wetting experiments and numerical simulations, based on a phase field approach, of a droplet on a dry solid surface, where direct comparison of the two allows us to evaluate the different contributions from the numerics. We find that an important part of the dissipation may arise from a friction related to the motion of the contact line itself, and that this may be dominating both inertia and viscous friction in the flow adjacent to the contact line. A contact line friction factor appears in the theoretical formulation that can be distinguished and quantified, also in room temperature where other sources of dissipation are present. Water and glycerin-water mixtures on various surfaces have been investigated where we show the dependency of the friction factor on the nature of the surface, and the viscosity of the liquid.

Short and long time drop dynamics on lubricated substrates

Liquid infiltrated solids have been proposed as functional solvent-phobic surfaces for handling single and multiphase flows. Implementation of such surfaces alters the interfacial transport phenomenon as compared to a dry substrate. To better understand the interface characteristics in such systems we study experimentally the dynamics of a pendant water drop in air that contacts a substrate coated by thin oil films. At short times the water drop is deformed by the oil that spreads onto the water-air interface, and the dynamics are characterized by inertial and viscous regimes. At late times, the the oil film under the drop relaxes either to a stable thin film or ruptures. In the thin film rupture regime, we measure the waiting time for the rupture as a function of the drop equilibrium contact angle on a dry substrate and the initial film height. The waiting time is rationalized by lubrication theory, which indicates that long-range intermolecular forces destabilize the oil-water interface and is the primary mechanism for the film drainage.

Directional memory arises from long-lived cytoskeletal asymmetries in polarized chemotactic cells

Significance Cells orient their motility along chemical gradients using sensitive measurements of the external environment, a process termed chemotaxis. How cells sense, respond to, and remember varying environmental stimuli is only just beginning to be understood. Here, we identify a directional memory in chemotactic neutrophil-like cells. This memory allows cells to orient in low signal gradients and even uniform environments. This memory can be modeled by distinct time scales of chemical sensing and cytoskeletal dynamics, pointing to a general strategy of separating time scales for robust behavioral dynamics in cellular systems. Disrupting specific long-lived molecular assemblies erases directional memory. These studies reveal a novel directional memory resulting from distinct molecular time scales and contributing to chemotactic robustness in migrating cells. Chemotaxis, the directional migration of cells in a chemical gradient, is robust to fluctuations associated with low chemical concentrations and dynamically changing gradients as well as high saturating chemical concentrations. Although a number of reports have identified cellular behavior consistent with a directional memory that could account for behavior in these complex environments, the quantitative and molecular details of such a memory process remain unknown. Using microfluidics to confine cellular motion to a 1D channel and control chemoattractant exposure, we observed directional memory in chemotactic neutrophil-like cells. We modeled this directional memory as a long-lived intracellular asymmetry that decays slower than observed membrane phospholipid signaling. Measurements of intracellular dynamics revealed that moesin at the cell rear is a long-lived element that when inhibited, results in a reduction of memory. Inhibition of ROCK (Rho-associated protein kinase), downstream of RhoA (Ras homolog gene family, member A), stabilized moesin and directional memory while depolymerization of microtubules (MTs) disoriented moesin deposition and also reduced directional memory. Our study reveals that long-lived polarized cytoskeletal structures, specifically moesin, actomyosin, and MTs, provide a directional memory in neutrophil-like cells even as they respond on short time scales to external chemical cues.

Elastohydrodynamics and Kinetics of Protein Patterning in the Immunological Synapse

We propose a minimal mathematical model for the physical basis of membrane protein patterning in the immunological synapse (IS), which encompass membrane mechanics, protein binding kinetics and motion, and fluid flow in the synaptic cleft. Our theory leads to simple predictions for the spatial and temporal scales of protein cluster formation, growth and arrest as a function of membrane stiffness, rigidity and kinetics of the adhesive proteins, and the fluid flow in the synaptic cleft. Numerical simulations complement these scaling laws by quantifying the nucleation, growth and stabilization of proteins domains on the size of the cell. Direct comparison with experiment shows that passive elastohydrodynamics and kinetics of protein binding in the synaptic cleft can describe the short-time formation and organization of protein clusters, without evoking any active processes in the cytoskeleton. Despite the apparent complexity of the process, our analysis shows that just two dimensionless parameters characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of the protein pattern: a ratio of membrane elasticity to protein stiffness, and the ratio of a hydrodynamic time scale for fluid flow relative to the protein binding rate. A simple phase diagram encompasses the variety of patterns that can arise.

Similarity and singularity in adhesive elastohydrodynamic touchdown

We consider the touchdown of an elastic sheet as it adheres to a wall, which has a dynamics that is limited by the viscous resistance provided by the squeeze flow of the intervening liquid trapped between the two solid surfaces. The dynamics of the sheet is described mathematically by elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory, coupling the elastic deformation of the sheet, the microscopic van der Waals adhesion and the viscous thin film flow. We use a combination of numerical simulations of the governing partial differential equation and a scaling analysis to describe the self-similar solution of the touchdown of the sheet as it approaches the wall. An analysis of the equation satisfied by the similarity variables in the vicinity of the touchdown event shows that an entire sequence of solutions are allowed. However, a comparison of these shows that only the fundamental similarity solution is observed in the time-dependent numerical simulations, consistent with the fact that it alone is stable. Our analysis generalizes similar approaches for rupture in capillary thin film hydrodynamics and suggests experimentally verifiable predictions for a new class of singular flows linking elasticity, hydrodynamics and adhesion.

Multifunctional ferrofluid-infused surfaces with reconfigurable multiscale topography

Developing adaptive materials with geometries that change in response to external stimuli provides fundamental insights into the links between the physical forces involved and the resultant morphologies and creates a foundation for technologically relevant dynamic systems1,2. In particular, reconfigurable surface topography as a means to control interfacial properties3 has recently been explored using responsive gels4, shape-memory polymers5, liquid crystals6–8 and hybrid composites9–14, including magnetically active slippery surfaces12–14. However, these designs exhibit a limited range of topographical changes and thus a restricted scope of function. Here we introduce a hierarchical magneto-responsive composite surface, made by infiltrating a ferrofluid into a microstructured matrix (termed ferrofluid-containing liquid-infused porous surfaces, or FLIPS). We demonstrate various topographical reconfigurations at multiple length scales and a broad range of associated emergent behaviours. An applied magnetic-field gradient induces the movement of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in the ferrofluid, which leads to microscale flow of the ferrofluid first above and then within the microstructured surface. This redistribution changes the initially smooth surface of the ferrofluid (which is immobilized by the porous matrix through capillary forces) into various multiscale hierarchical topographies shaped by the size, arrangement and orientation of the confining microstructures in the magnetic field. We analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics of these reconfigurations theoretically and experimentally as a function of the balance between capillary and magnetic pressures15–19 and of the geometric anisotropy of the FLIPS system. Several interesting functions at three different length scales are demonstrated: self-assembly of colloidal particles at the micrometre scale; regulated flow of liquid droplets at the millimetre scale; and switchable adhesion and friction, liquid pumping and removal of biofilms at the centimetre scale. We envision that FLIPS could be used as part of integrated control systems for the manipulation and transport of matter, thermal management, microfluidics and fouling-release materials.By infusing a ferrofluid into a microstructured matrix and applying a magnetic field, dynamic, multiscale topographical reconfigurations emerge, enabling functions such as colloidal self-assembly, switchable adhesion and friction, and biofilm removal.

Local dissipation limits the dynamics of impacting droplets on smooth and rough substrates

A droplet that impacts onto a solid substrate deforms in a complex dynamics. To extract the principal mechanisms that dominate this dynamics, we deploy numerical simulations based on the phase fiel ...

Concerted ESCRT and clathrin recruitment waves define the timing and morphology of intraluminal vesicle formation

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery mediates cargo sorting, membrane deformation and membrane scission on the surface of endosomes, generating intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) to degrade signaling receptors. By live-cell imaging of individual endosomes in human cells, we find that ESCRT proteins are recruited in a repetitive pattern: ESCRT-0 and -I show a gradual and linear recruitment and dissociation, whereas ESCRT-III and its regulatory ATPase VPS4 display fast and transient dynamics. Electron microscopy shows that ILVs are formed consecutively, starting immediately after endocytic uptake of cargo proteins and correlating with the repeated ESCRT recruitment waves, unraveling the timing of ILV formation. Clathrin, recruited by ESCRT-0, is required for timely ESCRT-0 dissociation, efficient ILV formation, correct ILV size and cargo degradation. Thus, cargo sorting and ILV formation occur by concerted, coordinated and repetitive recruitment waves of individual ESCRT subcomplexes and are controlled by clathrin.Intraluminal vesicles are formed by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery. Here, the authors unravel the timing of vesicle budding, and that endosomal clathrin regulates concerted recruitment of ESCRT subcomplexes, required for efficient membrane remodeling.