Depletion forces near a soft surface

We investigate excluded-volume effects in a bidisperse colloidal suspension near a flexible interface. Inspired by a recent experiment by Dinsmore [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 409 (1998)], we study the adsorption of a mesoscopic bead on the surface and show that depletion forces could in principle lead to particle encapsulation. We then consider the effect of surface fluctuations on the depletion potential itself and construct the density profile of a polymer solution near a soft interface. Surprisingly we find that the chains accumulate at the wall, whereas the density displays a deficit of particles at distances larger than the surface roughness. This nonmonotonic behavior demonstrates that surface fluctuations can have major repercussions on the properties of a colloidal solution. On average, the additional contribution to the Gibbs adsorbance is negative. The amplitude of the depletion potential between a mesoscopic bead and the surface increases accordingly. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.