We present a novel experimental method to measure linear viscoelastic moduli of complex fluids using dynamic light scattering. A generalized Langevin equation is used to relate the mean square displacement of a probe particle to the storage and loss moduli of the bulk complex fluid. We confirm the experimental validity of this technique by comparing the light scattering results with mechanical measurements for several complex fluids. This method probes the moduli over a greatly extended frequency range and provides significant new insight into the elastic susceptibility of complex fluids.

We present a new method for measuring the linear viscoelastic shear moduli of complex fluids. Using photodiode detection of laser light scattered from a thermally excited colloidal probe sphere, we track its trajectory and extract the moduli using a frequency-dependent Stokes-Einstein equation. Spectra obtained for polyethylene oxide in water are in excellent agreement with those found mechanically and using diffusing wave spectroscopy. Since only minute sample volumes are required, this method is well suited for biomaterials of high purity, as we demonstrate with a concentrated DNA solution. [S0031-9007(97)04234-8]

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In microrheology, the local and bulk mechanical properties of a complex fluid are extracted from the motion of probe particles embedded within it. In passive microrheology, particles are forced by thermal fluctuations and probe linear viscoelasticity, whereas active microrheology involves forcing probes externally and can be extended out of equilibrium to the nonlinear regime. Here we review the development, present state, and future directions of this field. We organize our review around the generalized Stokes-Einstein relation (GSER), which plays a central role in the interpretation of microrheology. By discussing the Stokes and Einstein components of the GSER individually, we identify the key assumptions that underpin each, and the consequences that occur when they are violated. We conclude with a discussion of two techniques—multiple particle-tracking and nonlinear microrheology—that have arisen to handle systems in which the GSER breaks down.