Mi 150

A small volume (=4 μl) of ionic aqueous droplet was placed onto a dye-sensitized TiO₂ surface submerged in dodecane. Visible light (MI 150, Edmund Optics) was irradiated from the top of the droplet. Note that the intensity of the light was constant (I=145 mW cm⁻²) in all measurements. The contact angle measurements were conducted using a Ramé–Hart 590-F1 goniometer.

Shear
alignment experiments were conducted using an Anton Paar Physica MCR301
rheometer equipped with a SIPLI attachment. For these measurements,
25 mm polished steel and fused quartz plates were employed using a
plate–plate geometry with a zero gap of 0.50 mm. Temperature
was controlled using a Peltier system with a Peltier hood. Sample
illumination was achieved using a high-intensity fiber optic white
light source (150 W MI-150) supplied by Edmund Optics (York, U.K.).
Polarized light images were recorded with the polarizer and analyzer
axes crossed at 90° using a color CCD camera (Lumenera Lu165c).

To excite fluorescent dyes, an illumination setup was constructed to expose the whole animal (bed in OI position) with a relatively high intensity of (excitation) light at the appropriate wavelength.
An MI-150 fiber optic illuminator (Edmund Optics Inc., Barrington, NJ, USA) with a 150-W EKE halogen light bulb produced a high intensity bundle of light (450 to 800 nm), covering our wavelength range of interest for fluorescence imaging. Light from the illuminator was guided to an excitation filter box ② using a 0.25 inch glass fiber bundle guide. In the filter box, the spectrum of the excitation light can be tailored to a particular dye using a 12.5-mm diameter filter. After the filter, the light was split into two fiber bundles that enter the dark box next to the camera. The light from the fibers was reflected by two small mirrors above the bed to illuminate the mouse from two directions. Light leakage at the fiber bundle entrance points was prevented by applying cable glands.