Measurement of complex shear viscosity up to 3 GHz using an electrodeless AT-cut quartz transducer

An experimental method is proposed to determine the frequency-dependent complex shear viscosity of liquids based on the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation method. An AT-cut quartz transducer without metal electrodes is immersed in a sample liquid and the transducer is electrically coupled to the circuit through the dielectric response of the sample itself. After correcting for the apparent change in the resonance properties due to the dielectric coupling of the sample, our method is able to determine the viscosity of liquids of high polarity and low viscosity at frequencies as high as 3 GHz. The method was then applied to ethylene glycol and the viscoelastic relaxation in the GHz regime was observed. Furthermore, it was also applied to room-temperature ionic liquids to show that the dielectric correction of the resonance properties is valid for conductive liquids.

High-pressure pulsation of central and microvessel pulmonary artery endothelial cells

We developed an in vitro method of pulsating central and microvessel pulmonary artery endothelial cells that would allow us to study the effects of increased distending pressures over a prolonged period of time. Preservation of the contact-inhibited monolayer was assessed on phase contrast microscopy and, in addition, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) were used to determine whether there were alterations in the surface characteristics or intracytoplasmic organelles that suggested cellular damage. The cells used were obtained from Rambouillet lambs, age 3-5 days, anesthetized with halothane and ventilated. The endothelium was harvested from the central pulmonary artery (CPA) by scraping the luminal surface and from the microvessels (MPA) by infusing microcarrier beads 40-140 microns external diameter. After the second passage in culture, the cells were seeded onto the translucent, flexible polyvinylchloride membrane of a transducer dome and grown to confluence. The cell dome was then connected to a blank dome with an attached quartz transducer, to a reservoir, and to stainless steel bellows tubing, all filled with culture medium and affixed to a pulsation generator. By varying the height of the reservoir, the amplitude of excursion of the bellows tubing, and the rate, the cells could be pulsated at a given distending pressure and frequency. Confluent CPA endothelial cells from three lambs and MPA cells from two others were studied after pulsation at both 100/60 and 20/10 mmHg, 60 times/min for 48 h and after nonpulsation. On phase contrast light microscopy and on SEM, the cells remained confluent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)