Scaling analysis of the concentration dependence on elasticity of agarose gel

Abstract

Since the critical exponent of the elastic modulus is related to the spatial dimension and the critical exponent of the correlation length, depending on the characteristics of elasticity, we experimentally evaluated both the elastic modulus of a sol-gel transition system and also the correlation length. We could determine thecorrelation length of agarose gel by the dynamiclight scattering method; it was well described by the power law as a function of the deviation from the sol-gel transition point. Three scaling laws between the critical exponent of the correlation length (ν) and that of the elastic shear modulus (t) were compared, and the criticalexponent of the elastic modulus was described bythe equation of de Gennes expression (t=1+ν(d-2), where d is the spatial dimension). This result suggests that agarose fibers are stiff enough to show scalar elasticity. © 2000, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.