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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
Confinement Effects on Polymer Dynamics: Thermo-Responsive Behaviours of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Polymers in
Kazunari Yoshida1, Keitaro Horii2, Azusa Saito3
1Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16, Jonan, Yonezawa 992-8510, Yamagata, Japan. k-yoshida@yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
In order to construct the artificial cells and to understand the physicochemical properties of living cells, it is important to clarify the cell-sized confinement effect on the behaviours of bio-inspired polymers. We report the dynamic behaviours of aqueous hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) solution coated with phospholipids in oil (water-in-oil droplets, W/O droplets), accompanied by an increase in the temperature. We directly observed the beginning of phase separation of HPC solution using a fluorescence microscope and confirmed the dependence of such phenomena on droplet size. The results indicate that the start time of phase separation is decreased with an increase in droplet size. The experimental results suggest that the confinement situation accelerates the phase separation of aqueous HPC solutions.
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