Changes In Surface Tension Research Articles

Surface tension of cementitious pore solutions at low atmospheric pressure: An experimental exploration

Currently, it is believed that surface tension increases with the reduction of atmospheric pressure, and the increased surface tension is considered as the primary cause of the decreased bubble stability in cement-based materials at low atmospheric pressure. However, this viewpoint lacks experimental verification due to the difficulty in measuring surface tension at low atmospheric pressure. This study systematically explores the effect of low atmospheric pressure (0∼0.1 MPa) on the surface tension of pore solutions of fresh cement pastes. The surface tension of pore solutions was measured at different atmospheric pressures by using the high-accuracy automatic interface tension meter. Results show that the impact of low atmospheric pressure on the surface tension of deionized water, cement and fly ash pore solutions is insignificant. Therefore, the decrease in bubble stability and air content of concrete at low atmospheric pressure cannot be attributed to the change of surface tension. The effect of low atmospheric pressure on the surface tension of air-liquid interface is explained from the perspective of intermolecular force and density. This research helps to better understand the impact of low atmospheric pressure on surface tension and lays the essential groundwork for improving bubble stability of cement-based materials in high-altitude regions.

Simulation and modeling of the vaporization of a freely moving and deforming drop at low to moderate Weber numbers

The vaporization of a freely moving drop in a uniform, high-temperature gas stream is investigated through direct numerical simulation. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with surface tension and phase change are solved in conjunction with the energy equations of each phase. The sharp liquid-gas interface is tracked using the geometric Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method and an immersed Dirichlet boundary condition for temperature is imposed at the interface. The simulation approach is validated by simulating water and acetone drops at nearly zero Weber numbers, and the simulation results agree very well with the empirical relation for spherical drops. Parametric simulations were conducted to investigate the aerodynamic breakup of vaporizing drops at low to moderate Weber and Reynolds numbers. The range of Weber numbers considered has covered the vibrational and bag breakup regimes. Through the simulation results, we have characterized the impact of drop deformation and breakup on the drop vaporization rate. When the drop Weber number increases, the windward surface area increases more rapidly over time. As a result, the rate of drop volume reduction also increases. The correlation between the vaporization rate and the windward surface area is examined for different Weber and Reynolds numbers. Using the approximate correlation between the drop vaporization rate and the windward surface area and the TAB model for drop deformation, a new time-dependent drop vaporization model is proposed. The present model agrees well with the simulation results and shows a significant improvement over the conventional model for spherical drops.

Influence of magnetic field on the physicochemical properties of water molecule under growing of cucumber plant in an arid region

This study highlights the potential impact of magnetic fields on water quality, which could have implications for plant growth and development. Theoretical estimates of changes in surface tension, pH, and some other properties due to passing water through a magnetic field for a certain period were experimentally validated in this study. Overall, the results revealed changes in the physicochemical properties of water after magnetic field application. In accordance, pH significantly (p < 0.05) increased from 2 to 2.25, from 4 to 4.5, from 6 to 6.45, from 7.3 to 7.8, and from 8 to 8.7 and except at pH10, which decreased from 10 to 9.7. In addition, the model developed in this study indicated that the change of electrical conductivity (EC) decreased from 9 to 6.11 dS m−1 with an increasing number of run flow through the magnetic field. The decline in EC can be described as follows: magnetically treated water contains fine colloidal molecules and electrolytic chemicals that respond to a magnetic field by enhancing their ability for precipitation, resulting in a fall in EC. Moreover, the Hardness values of recirculated water were decreased after magnetic field application. This corroborates the decline of calcium carbonate adhesion and surface tension values as increases in hydrogen bonding between protons and water molecules and changes in the distribution of molecules in magnetized water. As the internal electrical field grew and the hydration shells surrounding the constituent ions weakened, EC decreased. Lastly, by using an electronic microscope, observing the water in regular, such as regular hexagonal tree shape instead of random irregular shapes after magnetic field application, confirming that the magnetic field had a significant effect on the physical properties of water molecules. In conclusion, magnetic behavior may improve water quality, resulting in increased development and plant growth.

Heat transfer of bubbly flows in microchannels at varied aspect ratios and hydraulic diameters

With the fast progress of new technologies applied to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and fifth generation communication, the researches on the heat dissipation of high-power electronic devices have concentrated on the two-phase flows in the microchannel, with the phase change used to achieve excellent cooling efficiency. The objective of this paper is to conduct the computational and experimental studies for investigating the thermal-fluid behaviors of subcooled flow boiling in microchannels. In the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, the numerical solver is built in ANSYS/Fluent® implementing the multiphase formulation with the full consideration of the effects of turbulence, surface tension, and phase change to appropriately imitate the interfacial movements between liquid water and vapor for probing the subcooled boiling and bubble nucleation processes over the microchannel. In the experimental investigation, a syringe pump and a programmable DC power supply is employed to regulate the heat flux and subcooled temperature for determining the heat transfer and pressure drop outcomes across the microchannel at varied aspect ratios and hydraulic diameters. In addition, this study sets up a high-speed camera with a LED fiber optical light source to acquire the close-up observation images over the complex flow boiling phenomena. The accuracy of CFD predictions is assessed by comparison against both the measured heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops as well as the photo-captured interfacial behaviors. The numerical simulations are then conducted to resolve the temperature gradients on the heating wall surface due to intense disturbances incited by the confined bubbly flow and sweeping flow at high aspect ratios, enhancing the cooling performance over the microchannels. The experimental measurements show that a reduction in inlet subcooling from 65 to 50 °C tends to enlarge the average heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop by 21.5 and 17.1%, respectively. The design impact study also reveals the average heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop at an aspect ratio of 5 greater than those at an aspect ratio of 2 by up to 41.1 and 27.2%, respectively. In contrast, increasing hydraulic diameter from 0.92 to 1.38 mm can strengthen the thermal and frictional outcomes by 17.2 and 20.3%. The microchannel design having an aspect ratio of 5.0 can realize the estimated coefficient of performance (COP) up to 116,277.8, achieving the satisfactory overall thermal and frictional outcomes.

A thermodynamic framework for bulk–surface partitioning in finite-volume mixed organic–inorganic aerosol particles and cloud droplets

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles and their interactions with clouds are among the largest sources of uncertainty in global climate modeling. Aerosol particles in the ultrafine size range with diameters less than 100 nm have very high surface-area-to-volume ratios, with a substantial fraction of molecules occupying the air–droplet interface. The partitioning of surface-active species between the interior bulk of a droplet and the interface with the surrounding air plays a large role in the physicochemical properties of a particle and in the activation of ultrafine particles, especially those of less than 50 nm diameter, into cloud droplets. In this work, a novel and thermodynamically rigorous treatment of bulk–surface equilibrium partitioning is developed through the use of a framework based on the Aerosol Inorganic–Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients (AIOMFAC) model in combination with a finite-depth Guggenheim interface region on spherical, finite-volume droplets. We outline our numerical implementation of the resulting modified Butler equation, including accounting for challenging extreme cases when certain compounds have very limited solubility in either the surface or the bulk phase. This model, which uses a single, physically constrained interface thickness parameter, is capable of predicting the size-dependent surface tension of complex multicomponent solutions containing organic and inorganic species. We explore the impacts of coupled surface tension changes and changes in bulk–surface partitioning coefficients for aerosol particles ranging in diameters from several micrometers to as small as 10 nm and across atmospherically relevant relative humidity ranges. The treatment of bulk–surface equilibrium leads to deviations from classical cloud droplet activation behavior as modeled by simplified treatments of the Köhler equation that do not account for bulk–surface partitioning. The treatments for bulk–surface partitioning laid out in this work, when applied to the Köhler equation, are in agreement with measured critical supersaturations of a range of different systems. However, we also find that challenges remain in accurately modeling the growth behavior of certain systems containing small dicarboxylic acids, especially in a predictive manner. Furthermore, it was determined that the thickness of the interfacial phase is a sensitive parameter in this treatment; however, constraining it to a meaningful range allows for predictive modeling of aerosol particle activation into cloud droplets, including cases with consideration of co-condensation of semivolatile organics.

Feedback Control of Electrospray with and without an External Liquid Pump Using the Spray Current and the Apex Angle of a Taylor Cone for ESI-MS.

An electrospray operated in the steady cone-jet mode is highly stable but the operating state can shift to pulsation or multijet modes owing to changes in flow rate, surface tension, and electrostatic variables. Here, a simple feedback control system was developed using the spray current and the apex angle of a Taylor cone to determine the error signal for correcting the emitter voltage. The system was applied to lock the cone-jet mode operation against external perturbations. For a pump-driven electrospray at a regulated flow rate, the apex angle of the Taylor cone decreased with increasing voltage. In contrast, for a voltage-driven electrospray with low flow resistance, the angle was found to increase with the emitter voltage. A simple algorithm based on iterative learning control was formulated and implemented using a personal computer to automatically correct the emitter voltage in response to the error signal. For voltage-driven electrospray ionization (ESI), the feedback control of the spray current can also be used to regulate the flow rate to an arbitrary value or pattern. Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) with feedback control was demonstrated to produce ion signal acquisition with long-term stability that was insusceptible to the emulated external disturbances.

Effects of static magnetic field on the surface tension of surfactant solutions

AbstractThe magnetic field (MF) effects resulting from water or solution treatments are still of significant interest. However, a relatively small number of papers have been published dealing with the pure surfactant solutions alone. On the other hand, surfactants are applied in many industrial processes as well as in everyday life and are also present in different waste waters. Therefore, it seemed interesting to investigate whether some effects would appear after the MF treatment of pure aqueous surfactant solutions. In the earlier published papers after MF action the changes in water evaporation rate and the surface tension were found for both the cationic dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions. The gradient MF originated from three connected ring magnets inside which the solutions were placed. The objective of this paper is to study whether using the same magnets but in a different position the effects of the MF are observed. The given surfactant solution in a closed vessel was placed in an uniform MF when the magnets were in the “lying” position. The investigated solutions on the magnet surface remained for 24 h. In this paper, despite SDS and DTAB also the cationic hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and nonionic Triton X‐100 solutions were applied. It appeared that in the uniform MF the surface tension of cationic and anionic surfactant solutions changes. However, larger changes were observed in the gradient MF. Generally, the changes of surface tension depend on the surfactant kind and its concentration. Stronger MF influence was found for the cationic surfactant and almost no changes were observed for nonionic Triton X‐100.

Surface plasmon resonance imaging for analyzing the local variation of evaporation flux of multiple binary mixture droplets

This study investigates the local variation of concentration and selective evaporation flux affected by the droplet-to-droplet distance during the evaporation of multiple-binary mixture droplets (M-BMDs). Surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) is used to measure the local liquid concentration of the binary mixture droplets and to analyze the spatial distributions of liquid concentration with the estimated local changes of surface tension during evaporation. In addition, we conduct three-dimensional numerical simulations to predict the ethanol vapor distributions and the local ethanol evaporation flux for single- and multiple-binary mixture droplets. It was found that the total evaporation time of M-BMDs is delayed due to vapor accumulation in the region adjacent to the neighboring droplets for M-BMDs, which significantly reduces the local evaporation flux. Also, the local liquid concentration of M-BMDs was found to vary, showing a lower ethanol concentration far away from the adjacent region due to vapor shielding and selective evaporation. Moreover, the scaled lifetime, which is the ratio of evaporation time between multiple droplets and a single droplet, shows good agreement with the previously reported experiments and theoretical models.

Mechanics of leukemic T-cell.

Cell mechanics is a factor that determines cell growth, migration, proliferation, or differentiation, as well as trafficking inside the cytoplasm and organization of organelles. Knowledge about cell mechanics is critical to gaining insight into these biological processes. Here, we used atomic force microscopy to examine the elasticity, an important parameter of cell mechanics, of non-adherent Jurkat leukemic T-cells in both interphase and mitotic phases. We found that the elasticity of an individual cell does not significantly change at interphase. When a cell starts to divide, its elasticity increases in the transition from metaphase to telophase during normal division while the cell is stiffened right after it enters mitosis during abnormal division. At the end of the division, the cell elasticity gradually returned to the value of the mother cell. These changes may originate from the changes in cell surface tension during modulating actomyosin at the cleavage furrow, redistributing cell organelles, and constricting the contractile ring to sever mother cell to form daughters. The difference in elasticity patterns suggests that there is a discrepancy in the redistribution of the cell organelles during normal and abnormal division.

Impact of carbamate formation on the surface tension of epoxy‐amine curing systems

AbstractEpoxy‐amine reactive systems, including their surface tension, have been studied due to their use and importance in composites and adhesives in laboratory and industrial applications. Understanding how the system's surface tension changes during curing could help target applications for tailored composites. Using the Wilhelmy plate method, surface tensions for epoxy‐curing agent systems were investigated under different environments. While the epoxy exhibited an expected negative temperature coefficient of −0.096 mN/m/°C, the curing agent exhibited a positive temperature coefficient of 0.073 mN/m/°C, which is due to the curing agent reacting with atmospheric CO2 to form carbamate through a zwitterion pathway and functional groups accumulating at the surface of the reacting systems. Carbamate formation results in a surface tension below that of the individual constituents in the epoxy‐amine curing agent system. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to verify in situ formation of carbamate, and by reducing the system's temperature, it was demonstrated that the system surface tension profiles displayed micellar surfactant‐like characteristics. FTIR was used to explore the difference in composition between the surface and the bulk, in particular carbamate formation at the surface, resulting in a lowering of the surface tension of reacting systems.

Photo-Responsive Control of Adsorption and Structure Formation at the Air-Water Interface with Arylazopyrazoles.

Smart interfaces that are responsive to external triggers such as light are of great interest for the development of responsive or adaptive materials and interfaces. Using alkyl-arylazopyrazole butyl sulfonate surfactants (alkyl-AAP) that can undergo E/Z photoisomerization when irradiated with green (E) and UV (Z) lights, we demonstrate through a combination of experiments and computer simulations that there can be surprisingly large changes in surface tension and in the molecular structure and order at air-water interfaces. Surface tensiometry, vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, and neutron reflectometry (NR) are applied to the study of custom-synthesized AAP surfactants with octyl- and H-terminal groups at air-water interfaces as a function of their bulk concentration and E/Z configuration. Upon photoswitching, a drastic influence of the alkyl chain on both the surface activity and the responsiveness of interfacial surfactants is revealed from changes in the surface tension, γ, where the largest changes in γ are observed for octyl-AAP (Δγ ∼ 23 mN/m) in contrast to H-AAP with Δγ < 10 mN/m. Results from vibrational SFG spectroscopy and NR show that the interfacial composition and the molecular order of the surfactants drastically change with E/Z photoisomerization and surface coverage. Indeed, from analysis of the S-O (head group) and C-H vibrational bands (hydrophobic tail), a qualitative analysis of orientational and structural changes of interfacial AAP surfactants is provided. The experiments are complemented by resolution of thermodynamic parameters such as equilibrium constants from ultra-coarse-grained simulations, which also capture details like island formation and interaction parameters of interfacial molecules. Here, the interparticle interaction ("stickiness") and the interaction with the surface are adjusted, closely reflecting experimental conditions.

The effect of the addition of alumina on the viscosity, surface tension, and foaming efficiency of 2.5(CaO/SiO2)-xAl2O3-yFeO-MgO melts

Viscosity and surface tension strongly influence the efficiency of slag foam in metallurgical processes. An excellent foaming slag preserves heat and lowers the cost of smelting in an electric furnace. In this study, we investigated the viscosity, surface tension, and foaming efficiency of a 2.5CaO/SiO2-xAl2O3-yFeO-MgO slag. We also investigated the different valence oxygen ions by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that with a gradual increase in the content of Al2O3, the viscosity initially increased and then decreased, and the changes in surface tension followed a similar pattern. The change in viscosity was caused by the increase in the degree of polymerization of the slag, which was determined by the competitive relationship between polymerization and the reduction in the stability of the overall network structure. Adding a small amount of Al2O3 to the slag slightly increased the number of Al–O–Al structures, whereas adding a large amount of the Al2O3 led to the formation of low-strength Al–O–Si structures, which reduced the stability of the network structure, thus reducing the viscosity. Because the surface tension is related to the concentration of non-bridging oxygens (NBOs), when the NBO content increased, the instability of the surface structure caused an increase in energy, thus increasing the surface tension. In addition, the CaO–SiO2–5MgO-xAl2O3-yFeO five-element oxide in this study had the lowest surface tension at the same NBO concentration, which positively contributed to slag foaming. Finally, When the Al2O3 content in the system increased from 5.1 to 15.7 wt%, the foaming efficiency increased from 24.2 to 69.2 (minute‧centimeters), an increase of 286%.

Numerical Experiments for Surfactant Infiltration in the Vadose Zone to Demonstrate Concentration-Dependent Capillarity, Viscosity, and Sorption Characteristics

Surfactants (i.e., solutes that reduce the surface tension of water) exist in the subsurface either naturally or are introduced to the subsurface due to anthropogenic activities (e.g., agricultural purposes, environmental remediation strategies). Surfactant-induced changes in surface tension, contact angle, density, and viscosity alter the water retention and conduction properties of the vadose zone. This research numerically investigates the effects of surfactants in the vadose zone by comparing the flow and transport of three different surfactant solutions, namely butanol, ethanol, and Triton X-100. For each surfactant case, surfactant-specific concentration-dependent surface tension, contact angle, density, and viscosity relationships were incorporated by modifying a finite element unsaturated flow and transport code. The modified code was used to simulate surfactant infiltration in the vadose zone at residual state under intermittent boundary conditions. The modelling results show that all three surfactant solutions led to unique and noteworthy differences in comparison to the infiltration of pure water containing a conservative tracer. Results indicate that surfactant infiltrations led to complex patterns with reduced vertical movement and enhanced horizontal spreading, which are a function of concentration-dependent surface tension, density, contact angle, viscosity and sorption characteristics. The findings of this research will help understanding the effects of surfactant presence in the subsurface on unsaturated flow and its possible links to future environmental problems.

Surfactant sorption on a single air bubble in an ultrasonic standing acoustic wave field

Ultrasound application presents a promising non-intrusive way to enhance and facilitate mass transfer in aqueous systems. This enhanced mass transfer can influence the sorption processes in multiphase flows. Previous studies investigating the impact of ultrasound on sorption, have reported an increase in either desorption due to the rise in liquid temperature or adsorption due to the additional convective mass transfer resulting from acoustic streaming. In this study, low intensity ultrasound with a frequency of 36kHz was deployed to evaluate the sorption process of Triton X-100 on the surface of a single bubble, placed along the standing acoustic wave using profile analysis tensiometry. Furthermore, microscopic particle image velocimetry was used to understand the role acoustic streaming might play during different stages of the sorption process. Contrary to expectations, the results showed no considerable change in surface tension and sorption dynamics after sonicating both fresh and surfactant-loaded bubbles. The results of this study suggest that the observations from previous studies may be attributed to the additional energy input of the acoustic wave into the system rather than the presence of an external acoustic field.

Experimental and computational investigation into hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of subcooled flow boiling on the International Space Station

This study is part of a long-term initiative to investigate flow boiling of n-perfluorohexane (n-PFH) under microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS). Investigated are data received from the ISS during 2022 using the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) (actual name of experimental payload). FBCE is designed to accommodate one of two test modules, one for flow boiling and another for condensation. Data for the present study are acquired using FBCE's Flow Boiling Module (FBM), which features a rectangular channel of 5.0-mm height, 2.5-mm width, and 114.6-mm heated length. Examined are results for three different mass velocities of 199.9, 799.9, and 2399.9 kg/m2.s, and heat fluxes corresponding to approximately 20, 40, and 60% of critical heat flux (CHF). Detailed development of the interfacial behavior is captured by high-speed video through the channel's transparent sidewalls. In the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, numerical solver is constructed in ANSYS-Fluent wherein the multiphase model is combined with appropriate models for turbulence, surface tension, and interfacial phase change. Also incorporated are momentum source terms governing bubble shear-lift, bubble drag, and bubble dispersion. Accuracy of the CFD predictions is assessed by comparison against both the heat transfer data and video-captured interfacial behavior. Very good agreement is achieved against measured axial profile of heated wall temperatures and further validated by accurately capturing such interfacial features as bubble formation, detachment, coalescence, and downstream wavy vapor layer development. Additionally, the CFD simulations enable prediction of other transport parameters vitally important to understanding evolution of the boiling flow but not possible from experiment, such as cross-sectional profiles of void fraction, fluid velocity, and mixture temperature.

Assessment of facial surface tension after CGF Harmony treatment – preliminary report

Introduction. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the Clinical Direct Transmission System device and photographic medical documentation to assess the improvement in the skin of the face and hands before and after a one‑time CGF Harmony treatment.Material and methods. The study, after signing a voluntary informed consent, was attended by 3 patients of the Facial Aesthetics Clinic of the University Center of Dentistry and Specialist Medicine of the limited liability company. in Poznan. Once, in accordance with the procedure, a complex of stem cells and growth factors (CGF Harmony – in liquid and gel form) was administered to the area of the facial skin and the gel skin to the area of the dorsal surface of the hands. The observation period was 12 months, from the moment of the procedure, including control tests at several stages: before the procedure, immediately after administration, and approximately 6 and 12 months after the application.Results. The study showed no statistically significant differences in the surface tension of facial expressive muscles with a single application of CGF Harmony for most of the measurements.Conclusions. The analyzis of the photographic documentation and the subjective assessment of the patients, showed that the treatment turned out to be beneficial in terms of improving the quality of the facial skin and exceptionally beneficial in the area of the skin of the hands, which requires confirmation in further studies with a larger study group. There were no statistically significant changes in the facial expression muscles surface tension after the CGF Harmony procedure.

Zinc- and Copper-Doped Mesoporous Borate Bioactive Glasses: Promising Additives for Potential Use in Skin Wound Healing Applications.

In this study, zinc (Zn)- and copper (Cu)-doped 13-93B3 borate mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were successfully synthesized using nitrate precursors in the presence of Pluronic P123. We benefited from computational approaches for predicting and confirming the experimental findings. The changes in the dynamic surface tension (SFT) of simulated body fluid (SBF) were investigated using the Du Noüy ring method to shed light on the mineralization process of hydroxyapatite (HAp) on the glass surface. The obtained MBGs were in a glassy state before incubation in SBF. The formation of an apatite-like layer on the SBF-incubated borate glasses was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The incorporation of Zn and Cu into the basic composition of 13-93B3 glass led to changes in the glass transition temperature (Tg) (773 to 556 °C), particle size (373 to 64 nm), zeta potential (-12 to -26 mV), and specific surface area (SBET) (54 to 123 m2/g). Based on the K-means algorithm and chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) tree, we found that the SFT of SBF is an important factor for the prediction and confirmation of the HAp mineralization process on the glasses. Furthermore, we proposed a simple calculation, based on SFT variation, to quantify the bioactivity of MBGs. The doped and dopant-free borate MBGs could enhance the proliferation of mouse fibroblast L929 cells at a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. These glasses also induced very low hemolysis (&lt;5%), confirming good compatibility with red blood cells. The results of the antibacterial test revealed that all the samples could significantly decrease the viability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In summary, we showed that Cu-/Zn-doped borate MBGs can be fabricated using a cost-effective method and also show promise for wound healing/skin tissue engineering applications, as especially supported by the cell test with fibroblasts, good compatibility with blood, and antibacterial properties.

Study on volume change of droplet

In infusion therapy, flow rate errors are caused by changes in the droplet volume dripped from drip chamber. The purpose of this study is to determine the change in droplet volume when surface tension, viscosity, density, and flow rate are varied. The droplet mass in a continuous drip is precisely measured and the droplet volume and standard deviation are determined for each 100 drops. At drip nozzle A, the rate of change in droplet volume was -44.78% at the change in surface tension, -12.14% at the change in viscosity, -5.70% at the change in density, and 8.14% at the change in flow rate. The volume change rate when double the surface tension, viscosity, and density were changed was 43.18% at the change in surface tension, -2.87% at the change in viscosity, and -16.10% at the change in density. The volume change rate affected by the viscosity change was slight. An experimental equation was tried to calculate the droplet volume of each condition. Since a change in surface tension causes a significant change in droplet volume, infusion therapy used drugs with significantly different surface tensions needs to pay attention to flow rate errors. It is recommended that the surface tension of drugs used for infusion is written on the package insert.

Stability of soluble bulk nanobubbles: Many-body dissipative particle dynamics analysis

Bulk nanobubbles (bNBs) have attracted considerable research attention due to their broad application prospects. Numerous experiments have demonstrated the stability of nanobubbles (NBs) in solution, but further investigation is needed to determine their stability mechanism. This paper investigates the properties of bNBs using mesoscopic simulations based on many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD). Based on the standard insoluble bubble model, the soluble bubble model is developed by modifying the attraction amplitude between gas and liquid. This modification determined the range of soluble bubble parameters. The new surface tension calculation model indicates that reducing the surface tension is helpful to the stability of soluble bubbles. In contrast, surface tension changes do not affect the stability of insoluble bubbles. The two bubble models follow the Young-Laplace equation to analyze further the internal density, pressure, gas diffusion, and other characteristics of bNBs. The results show that the gas in bNBs has a high density and pressure. In addition, as the size of the bNBs decreases, the gas density and pressure in the bNBs also increase. In the soluble bubble, the gas density is not uniform, and the gas in the soluble bubble forms a density peak at the gas-liquid interface. The density peak in the bNBs delays the outward diffusion of the gas to maintain its stability. This study aims to provide a method to simulate bNBs, reveal their characteristics, and explore the influence of non-uniform density in bNBs on diffusion.

Liquid Metal pH Morphology Sensor Used for Biological Microenvironment Detection.

pH is one of the important parameters of a biological microenvironment, which is closely related to cell growth, development, vitality, division, and differentiation. Monitoring the pH of a microenvironment is helpful to monitor the cell metabolism as well as to understand the cellular life cycle. The sensitivity of liquid metals (LMs) to hydrogen ions has aroused our interest. Here, we propose a novel but facile pH sensor using liquid gallium (LM for short) droplet morphological change as the readout. The pH sensing characteristics of the LM droplet were examined, especially the shape response. LM can form solid native oxide skin rapidly in oxygenated solution, and the oxide layer will be removed in acidic or alkaline solutions, which will cause a great change in surface tension. The phenomenon is the change of LM morphology from macroscopic observation. We explored the electrochemical characteristics of LM at different pH values, explained the mechanism of surface change, and calibrated the relationship curve between LM morphology and pH and the interference of impurity ions on the sensor. Finally, we proposed a detection algorithm for the LM pH morphology sensor and tried to automatically detect pH with a mobile app, which was applied to the pH detection of cell culture solution. We believe that the response characteristics of LM to hydrogen ions have great potential in microenvironment detection.