Linear and nonlinear microrheology of lysozyme layers forming at the air-water interface

Soft Matter. 2014 Sep 28;10(36):7051-60. doi: 10.1039/c4sm00484a.

Abstract

We report experiments studying the mechanical evolution of layers of the protein lysozyme adsorbing at the air-water interface using passive and active microrheology techniques to investigate the linear and nonlinear rheological response, respectively. Following formation of a new interface, the linear shear rheology, which we interrogate through the Brownian motion of spherical colloids at the interface, becomes viscoelastic with a complex modulus that has approximately power-law frequency dependence. The power-law exponent characterizing this frequency dependence decreases steadily with increasing layer age. Meanwhile, the nonlinear microrheology, probed via the rotational motion of magnetic nanowires at the interface, reveals a layer response characteristic of a shear-thinning power-law fluid with a flow index that decreases with age. We discuss two possible frameworks for understanding this mechanical evolution: gelation and the formation of a soft glass phase.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Air
  • Animals
  • Chickens
  • Colloids / chemistry*
  • Elasticity
  • Gels
  • Glass
  • Linear Models
  • Magnetics
  • Muramidase / chemistry*
  • Nanowires
  • Rheology / methods*
  • Shear Strength
  • Surface Properties
  • Viscosity
  • Water / chemistry*

Substances

  • Colloids
  • Gels
  • Water
  • hen egg lysozyme
  • Muramidase