Dark field differential dynamic microscopy enables accurate characterization of the roto-translational dynamics of bacteria and colloidal clusters. (7th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cerbino, Roberto; Piotti, Davide; Buscaglia, Marco; Giavazzi, Fabio
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 30:Number 2(2018)
• Publication Date: 2017-12-07
• Subjects: Brownian motion -- microscopy -- rotational diffusion -- bacteria -- aggregation; Condensed matter -- Periodicals; Matière condensée -- Périodiques; Vaste stoffen; Vloeistoffen; Natuurkunde; Electronic journals; Computer network resources; 530.4105
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa9bc5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-8984

Abstract

Abstract: Micro- and nanoscale objects with anisotropic shape are key components of a variety of biological systems and inert complex materials, and represent fundamental building blocks of novel self-assembly strategies. The time scale of their thermal motion is set by their translational and rotational diffusion coefficients, whose measurement may become difficult for relatively large particles with small optical contrast. Here we show that dark field differential dynamic microscopy is the ideal tool for probing the roto-translational Brownian motion of anisotropic shaped particles. We demonstrate our approach by successful application to aqueous dispersions of non-motile bacteria and of colloidal aggregates of spherical particles.