Micrometer
scale colloidal particles experiencing âŒkT scale interactions and suspended in a fluid are relevant
to a broad spectrum of applications. Often, colloidal particles are
anisotropic, either by design or by nature. Yet, there are few techniques
by which âŒkT scale interactions of anisotropic
particles can be measured. Herein, we present the initial development
of scattering morphology resolved total internal reflection microscopy
(SMR-TIRM). The hypothesis of this work is that the morphology of
light scattered by an anisotropic particle from an evanescent wave
is a sensitive function of particle orientation. This hypothesis was
tested with experiments and simulations mapping the scattered light
from colloidal ellipsoids at systemically varied orientations. Scattering
morphologies were first fitted with a two-dimensional (2D) Gaussian
surface. The fitted morphology was parameterized by the morphologyâs
orientation angle M
Ï and aspect
ratio M
AR. Data from both experiments
and simulations show M
Ï to be a
function of the particle azimuthal angle, while M
AR was a sensitive function of the polar angle. This analysis
shows that both azimuthal and polar angles of a colloidal ellipsoid
could be resolved from scattering morphology as well or better than
using bright-field microscopy. The integrated scattering intensity,
which will be used for determining the separation distance, was also
found to be a sensitive function of particle orientation. A procedure
for interpreting these confounding effects was developed that in principle
would uniquely determine the separation distance, the azimuthal angle,
and the polar angle. Tracking these three quantities is necessary
for calculating the potential energy landscape sampled by a colloidal
ellipsoid.