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A Thin Film Analog of the Corneal Mucus Layer of the Tear Film: An Enigmatic Long Range Non-Classical DLVO Interaction in the Breakup of Thin Polymer Films

A. Sharma, R. Khanna, G. Reiter. Colloids & Surfaces B 14, 223-235 (1999)

Abstract

We present experimental results on the instability and dewetting of thin liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films intercalated between an aqueous medium and a silicon wafer grafted with PDMS 'brushes'. This is a thin film analog of the precorneal thin mucus coating sandwiched between the aqueous tear film and the glycocalyx carrying corneal epithelial surface. Lowering of the PDMS-water interfacial tension by a surfactant results in dewetting even of micrometer thick films within a few minutes. The instability appears to be induced by a long range non-classical DLVO force which has the same decay behavior as the nonretarded van der Waals force, but a magnitude which is about 2-3 orders higher. Implications for the breakup of the precorneal mucus layer and the tear film are discussed.

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