Entropically driven self-assembly and interaction in suspension

In this paper we: present fundamental studies elucidating the role of entropy in particle suspensions. We focus on systems composed of large colloidal particles along with a second, usually smaller species such as a particle or polymer. We describe direct measurements of these interactions in suspension, and we systematically show how these forces can be used to control the self-assembly of colloidal particles. The paper provides a unified review of the experiments from our laboratory, and in a few cases touches on very recent results.