Dynamics of capillary transport in semi-solid channels
Journal article, 2017

Capillary action has been described by Lucas and Washburn and extensively studied experimentally in hard materials, but few studies have examined capillary action in soft materials such as hydrogels. In tissue engineering, cells or dispersions must be often distributed within a hydrogel via microporous paths. Capillary action is one way to disperse such substances. Here, we examine the dynamics of capillary action in a model system of straight capillaries in two hydrogels. The channels had a circular cross-section in the micrometer size range (180-630 ?m). The distance travelled over time was recorded and compared with the predictions of Lucas and Washburn. Besides water, we used a sucrose solution and a hydroxyethyl cellulose solution, both with viscosities slightly higher than that of water. The results showed that the distance travelled is proportional to the square root of time, , and that larger capillaries and lower viscosities result, as expected, in faster speeds. However, the absolute experimental values display large discrepancies from the predictions. We demonstrate that several possible reasons for these discrepancies can be ruled out and we describe a novel hypothesis for the cause of the retarded meniscus movement.

Author

Johanna Andersson

SuMo Biomaterials

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Anna Ström

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

SuMo Biomaterials

Tobias Gebäck

SuMo Biomaterials

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences, Applied Mathematics and Statistics

Anette Larsson

SuMo Biomaterials

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Soft Matter

1744-683X (ISSN) 1744-6848 (eISSN)

Vol. 13 14 2562-2570

SuMo BIOMATERIALS (Stage 4)

Akzo Nobel - Pulp and Performance Chemicals (1001653), 2015-01-01 -- 2016-12-31.

Mölnlycke healthcare (1000057), 2015-03-01 -- 2017-02-28.

Stora Enso AB (1018187), 2015-01-01 -- 2016-12-31.

VINNOVA (2015-03150), 2015-03-01 -- 2017-02-28.

Akzo Nobel - Pulp and Performance Chemicals (1032593), 2017-12-05 -- 2020-12-31.

SCA Hygiene Products AB (1007707), 2015-01-01 -- 2016-12-31.

Subject Categories

Polymer Chemistry

Areas of Advance

Production

Materials Science

DOI

10.1039/C6SM02305C

More information

Latest update

8/18/2020