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Updated: Oct 10, 2025

Studying Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear Response of Soft Materials
Published on: April 25, 2019
FRET Measurement of Polymer Response under Shear
Ryo Iwao1, Hiroki Yamaguchi1, Makoto Obata2
1Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
Abstract:
Polymer solutions under shear flow are often observed in manufacturing processes. Classically, polymer behavior is represented by Kuhn's bead-spring model, in which only the elongation of polymer chains is assumed. In recent years, the compression of polymer chains under shear flow has been reported. In this study, we investigated the behavior of polymer chains dissolved in various concentrations under shear flow. We measured the time variation of the fluorescence intensity emitted from a FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) polymer, which enabled us to study the change in the distance between both ends of a polymer chain. The polymer chains appeared to stretch and compress depending on the concentration of the polymer solution. The results showed that the deformation of polymer chains was different from the classical theory. The FRET measurement is a promising diagnostic method for understanding the dynamics of polymer chains.
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