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Dynamic light scattering microrheology for soft and living materials.

Dynamic light scattering microrheology for soft and living materials. Soft matter Cai, P. C., Krajina, B. A., Kratochvil, M. J., Zou, L., Zhu, A., Burgener, E. B., Bollyky, P. L., Milla, C. E., Webber, M. J., Spakowitz, A. J., Heilshorn, S. C. 2021

Abstract

We present a method for using dynamic light scattering in the single-scattering limit to measure the viscoelastic moduli of soft materials. This microrheology technique only requires a small sample volume of 12 muL to measure up to six decades in time of rheological behavior. We demonstrate the use of dynamic light scattering microrheology (DLSmuR) on a variety of soft materials, including dilute polymer solutions, covalently-crosslinked polymer gels, and active, biological fluids. In this work, we detail the procedure for applying the technique to new materials and discuss the critical considerations for implementing the technique, including a custom analysis script for analyzing data output. We focus on the advantages of applying DLSmuR to biologically relevant materials: breast cancer cells encapsulated in a collagen gel and cystic fibrosis sputum. DLSmuR is an easy, efficient, and economical rheological technique that can guide the design of new polymeric materials and facilitate the understanding of the underlying physics governing behavior of naturally derived materials.

View details for DOI 10.1039/d0sm01597k

View details for PubMedID 33427280