Paper Number
PL3 

Session
Plenary Lectures

Title
Nanoparticle transport in complex media

Presentation Date and Time
October 12, 2022 (Wednesday) 8:30

Track / Room
Plenary Lectures / Sheraton 4

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

1. Conrad, Jacinta C. (University of Houston)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Jacinta C. Conrad
University of Houston, Houston, TX

Speaker / Presenter 
Conrad, Jacinta C.

Keywords
glasses; microscopy; polymer solutions; spectroscopy; suspensions

Text of Abstract
Transport of nanoscale particles through crowded, confined matrices is essential for drug delivery, diagnostic assays, and processing of nanocomposite materials. Because nanoparticles are comparable in size to heterogeneities within these matrices, their transport properties may be altered by the local structure and dynamics within the complex fluid. I will discuss our recent work on nanoparticle transport in polymer solutions, in which dynamic and structural length scales can be controlled through polymer concentration and molecular weight and hence serve as tunable model viscoelastic liquids. We use microscopy, scattering, and simulation methods to identify the mechanisms controlling the diffusion of a variety of particles, including nanospheres, viruses, and polymer-grafted nanoparticles. This fundamental understanding of the coupling of nanoparticles dynamics to liquid relaxations will lead to better control over the spreading of nanoparticles through complex, heterogeneous materials.