走査型プローブ顕微鏡を用いた流体中の高分子の流動抵抗実測に向けた試験的研究

抄録

A study has been performed to measure a drag force of a polymer molecule in a fluid flow with a scanning probe microscopy. In order to attach polyethylene glycol with a thiol end, which molecular weight was 2x10⁴, a gold-plated cantilever of a scanning probe microscopy was inserted into a flow through a micro-channel. The mean velocity in a micro-channel was changed from 0.43 to 2.56 mm/s. In order to change the amount of the polymer onto the cantilever, the soaking time of the cantilever into the solution of polyethylene glycol with a thiol end was also changed from 0 to 48 h. The results on drag forces were compared with ones in a polyethylene glycol solution without a thiol end. From the results, it was found that the drag forces in the cases with a thiol end are significantly larger than those without a thiol end. Thus, the present method was concluded to be a promising method for measuring a drag force of a polymer molecule in a flow.