Inertial and viscous flywheel sensing of nanoparticles
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s41467-021-25266-3.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.78 MB
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Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Katsikis, Georgios
Collis, Jesse F.
Knudsen, Scott
Agache, Vincent
Sader, John E.
Manalis, Scott R
Date Issued
December 2021
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Rotational dynamics often challenge physical intuition while enabling unique realizations, from the rotor of a gyroscope that maintains its orientation regardless of the outer gimbals, to a tennis racket that rotates around its handle when tossed face-up in the air. In the context of inertial sensing, which can measure mass with atomic precision, rotational dynamics are normally considered a complication hindering measurement interpretation. Here, we exploit the rotational dynamics of a microfluidic device to develop a modality in inertial sensing. Combining theory with experiments, we show that this modality measures the volume of a rigid particle while normally being insensitive to its density. Paradoxically, particle density only emerges when fluid viscosity becomes dominant over inertia. We explain this paradox via a viscosity-driven, hydrodynamic coupling between the fluid and the particle that activates the rotational inertia of the particle, converting it into a ‘viscous flywheel’. This modality now enables the simultaneous measurement of particle volume and mass in fluid, using a single, high-throughput measurement.
MIT Department
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25266-3
