Document Detail


Brownian motion of stiff filaments in a crowded environment.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21205665     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The thermal motion of stiff filaments in a crowded environment is highly constrained and anisotropic; it underlies the behavior of such disparate systems as polymer materials, nanocomposites, and the cell cytoskeleton. Despite decades of theoretical study, the fundamental dynamics of such systems remains a mystery. Using near-infrared video microscopy, we studied the thermal diffusion of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) confined in porous agarose networks. We found that even a small bending flexibility of SWNTs strongly enhances their motion: The rotational diffusion constant is proportional to the filament-bending compliance and is independent of the network pore size. The interplay between crowding and thermal bending implies that the notion of a filament's stiffness depends on its confinement. Moreover, the mobility of SWNTs and other inclusions can be controlled by tailoring their stiffness.
Authors:
Nikta Fakhri; Frederick C MacKintosh; Brahim Lounis; Laurent Cognet; Matteo Pasquali
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Science (New York, N.Y.)     Volume:  330     ISSN:  1095-9203     ISO Abbreviation:  Science     Publication Date:  2010 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-01-05     Completed Date:  2011-01-20     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0404511     Medline TA:  Science     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1804-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Diffusion
Microscopy, Video
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Physicochemical Phenomena
Polymers / chemistry
Sepharose
Temperature
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Nanotubes, Carbon; 0/Polymers; 9012-36-6/Sepharose

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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