Motion of a massive particle attached to a spherical interface: Statistical properties of the particle path

K. Velikov, K. Danov, M. Angelova, C. Dietrich, B. Pouligny*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We have studied the motion of a Brownian particle on a spherical interface under gravity, with the aim of setting up a protocol to measure the friction (ζ) felt by such a particle in experimental conditions. Our analysis is based on the Schmoluchowski equation for particle motion. Essentially we derive a practical criterion to find ζ from the average particle path. Our statements are illustrated by a few experimental and numerical examples. Numerical paths are obtained by computer simulation and experimental paths are those of micrometre-sized latex or glass particles attached to spherical giant lipid (SOPC) vesicles. From experimental values of ζ, we estimate the surface shear viscosity of SOPC bilayers to be in the range 3-8x10-6Poise. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)245-251
Number of pages7
JournalColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Volume149
Issue number1-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Apr 1999
EventProceedings of 1997 9th International Conference on Surface and Colloids Science, 9ICSCS - Sofia, BGR
Duration: 6 Jul 199712 Jul 1997

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge financial support from the ULTIMATECH program (CNRS), the “Laboratoire Franco—Bulgare” (CNRS/Bulgarian Academy of Sciences/University of Sofia), the European Union, through Tempus JEP3949 and a fellowship to one of us (C.D.), and from the Bulgarian National Science Foundation through contract K-437/94. We thank P. Kralchevsky for useful discussions and M. Mitov for his help in development of the particle-tracking software.

Keywords

  • Brownian motion
  • Lipid vesicles
  • Membrane viscosity

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