Evaporative Deposition of Bacteria and Microspheres on Mica from a Sessile Drop: The Use of Surface Conditioning in a Laboratory Atmosphere to Control Drop Spreading and Particle Deposition Patterns

Evaporative deposition from a sessile drop is an appealing way to deposit materials on a surface due to the simplicity of the technique. In this work we deposit aqueous solutions of two types of colloidal particles, namely bacteria and microspheres, on mica. We show that by controlling the extent of initial drop spreading through subtle changes in surface conditioning caused by exposure to the laboratory atmosphere in a laminar flow hood it is possible to systematically vary the particle deposition patterns. On freshly cleaved mica the contact angle of water is