arXiv subjects

Balint Szabo

Publications and source records attributed to Balint Szabo.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Characterization of the dissolution of water microdroplets in oil

Water in oil emulsions have a wide range of applications from chemical technology to microfluidics, where the stability of water droplets is of paramount importance. Here using an accessible and easily reproducible experimental setup we describe and characterize the dissolution of water in oil, which renders nanoliter-sized droplets unstable, resulting in their shrinkage and disappearance in a time scale of hours. This process has applicability in creating miniature reactors for crystallization. We test multiple oils and their combinations with surfactants exhibiting widely different rates of dissolution. We derived simple analytical equations to determine the product of the diffusion coefficient and the relative saturation density of water in oil from the measured dissolution data. By measuring the moisture content of mineral and silicone oils with Karl Fischer titration before and after saturating them with water, we calculated the diffusion coefficient of water in these two oils

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

A practical review on the measurement tools for cellular adhesion force

Cell cell and cell matrix adhesions are fundamental in all multicellular organisms. They play a key role in cellular growth, differentiation, pattern formation and migration. Cell-cell adhesion is substantial in the immune response, pathogen host interactions, and tumor development. The success of tissue engineering and stem cell implantations strongly depends on the fine control of live cell adhesion on the surface of natural or biomimetic scaffolds. Therefore, the quantitative and precise measurement of the adhesion strength of living cells is critical, not only in basic research but in modern technologies, too. Several techniques have been developed or are under development to quantify cell adhesion. All of them have their pros and cons, which has to be carefully considered before the experiments and interpretation of the recorded data. Current review provides a guide to choose the appropriate technique to answer a specific biological question or to complete a biomedical test by measuring cell adhesion.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2013

Predictability of measurements

The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy increases (or does not change) by time in an isolated system. As microscopic physical laws are reversible, the origin of irreversibility is not straightforward. Although the outcome of a measurement on a pure quantum state is not fully predictable due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, quantum and finite entropy uncertainties are thought to be fundamentally different. We propose to calculate the predictability of measurements comprising both quantum and entropic uncertainties. We show that the unpredictability of measurements is identical to entropy in case of semiclassical statistical mechanics, and it increases by time in a pure entangled quantum state as a result of quantum measurement.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2006

Phase transition in the collective migration of tissue cells: experiment and model

We have recorded the swarming-like collective migration of a large number of keratocytes (tissue cells obtained from the scales of goldfish) using long-term videomicroscopy. By increasing the overall density of the migrating cells, we have been able to demonstrate experimentally a kinetic phase transition from a disordered into an ordered state. Near the critical density a complex picture emerges with interacting clusters of cells moving in groups. Motivated by these experiments we have constructed a flocking model that exhibits a continuous transition to the ordered phase, while assuming only short-range interactions and no explicit information about the knowledge of the directions of motion of neighbors. Placing cells in microfabricated arenas we found spectacular whirling behavior which we could also reproduce in simulations.

q-bio.CB↗

arXiv2003

Protein induced morphological transitions in KCl crystal growth

We investigated the formation of KCl crystals on glass surface by phase contrast, fluorescent, and atomic force microscopy on the micrometer scale, and observed interesting morphological transitions as a function of the experimental conditions. The presence of proteins in the solution from which the salt crystals grow during the drying up leads to complex microscopic patterns of crystals some of which are analogous to those commonly observed on the macroscopic scale. We tested the effect of tubulin, FITC-labeled albumin and IgG on the morphology of crystals grown either slowly or fast. A rich variety of protein specific and concentration dependent morphologies was found and described by a morphological diagram. We give a phenomenological interpretation, which can explain the growth of complex patterns. Fluorescent images prove that a protein layer covers the surface of the KCl structures. We propose that this layer reduces the anisotropy of the effective surface tension during growth. The tip splitting fractal regime is attributed to the decrease of anisotropy. Other possible mechanisms, which can cause morphological transition, are also discussed. We found elongated saw-toothed crystals induced by proteins, especially IgG and identified their structure.

physics.bio-ph↗