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Chattopadhyay J, Mandal J, Maiti PK. Stability of the chiral crystal phase and breakdown of the cholesteric phase in mixtures of active-passive chiral rods. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:2464-2473. [PMID: 38381111 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01567j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we aim to explore the effect of chirality on the phase behavior of active helical particles driven by two-temperature scalar activity. We first calculate the equation of state of soft helical particles of various intrinsic chiralities using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. In equilibrium, the emergence of various liquid crystal (LC) phases such as nematic (N), cholesteric , smectic (Sm) and crystal (K) crucially depends on the presence of walls that induce planar alignment. Next, we introduce activity through the two-temperature model: keep increasing the temperature of half of the helical particles (labeled as 'hot' particles) while maintaining the temperature of the other half at a lower value (labeled as 'cold' particles). Starting from a homogeneous isotropic (I) phase, we find the emergence of 2-TIPS: two temperature-induced phase separations between the hot and cold particles. We also observe that the cold particles undergo an ordering transition to various LC phases even in the absence of a wall. This observation reveals that the hot-cold interface in the active system plays the role of a wall in the equilibrium system by inducing an alignment direction for the cold particles. However, in the case of a cholesteric phase, we observe that activity destabilizes the phase by inducing smectic ordering in the cold zone while an isotropic structure in the hot zone. The smectic ordering in the cold zone eventually transforms to a chiral crystal phase with high enough activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayeeta Chattopadhyay
- Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
| | - Jaydeep Mandal
- Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
| | - Prabal K Maiti
- Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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2
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Tortora MMC, Jost D. Orientational Wetting and Topological Transitions in Confined Solutions of Semiflexible Polymers. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maxime M. C. Tortora
- Université de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, 69364 Lyon CEDEX 07, France
| | - Daniel Jost
- Université de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule, 69364 Lyon CEDEX 07, France
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3
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Revignas D, Ferrarini A. Microscopic modelling of nematic elastic constants beyond Straley theory. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:648-661. [PMID: 34935844 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01502h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Recent findings on various classes of nematics, whose microscopic structure differs from the prototypical rod-like shape, evidence unusual elastic properties, which challenge existing theories. Here we develop a theoretical and numerical methodology for the calculation of Frank elastic constants, accounting for the coupling between the molecular shape and each specific deformation mode. This is done in the framework of Onsager-Straley's second-virial theory, using a non-local form of the orientational distribution function. The comparison between two benchmark systems, a straight and a bent rod, allows us to illustrate the distinct features of this approach, which include additional order parameters induced by the deformation and, related to this, an ideal contribution to the deformation free energy. Then, using a simple system that can be seen as a minimalist model of liquid crystal trimers, we discuss the impact of different molecular conformations on elastic constants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Revignas
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Alberta Ferrarini
- Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
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Milchev A, Egorov SA, Midya J, Binder K, Nikoubashman A. Blends of Semiflexible Polymers: Interplay of Nematic Order and Phase Separation. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:2270. [PMID: 34301028 PMCID: PMC8309418 DOI: 10.3390/polym13142270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mixtures of semiflexible polymers with a mismatch in either their persistence lengths or their contour lengths are studied by Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics simulation. Considering lyotropic solutions under good solvent conditions, the mole fraction and pressure is systematically varied for several cases of bending stiffness κ (the normalized persistence length) and chain length N. For binary mixtures with different chain length (i.e., NA=16, NB=32 or 64) but the same stiffness, isotropic-nematic phase coexistence is studied. For mixtures with the same chain length (N=32) and large stiffness disparity (κB/κA=4.9 to 8), both isotropic-nematic and nematic-nematic unmixing occur. It is found that the phase diagrams may exhibit a triple point or a nematic-nematic critical point, and that coexisting phases differ appreciably in their monomer densities. The properties of the two types of chains (nematic order parameters, chain radii, etc.) in the various phases are studied in detail, and predictions on the (anisotropic) critical behavior near the critical point of nematic-nematic unmixing are made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Milchev
- Institute for Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academia of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria;
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (S.A.E.); (J.M.); (K.B.)
| | - Sergei A. Egorov
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (S.A.E.); (J.M.); (K.B.)
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22901, USA
| | - Jiarul Midya
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (S.A.E.); (J.M.); (K.B.)
- Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute for Advanced Simulation and Institute of Complex Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Kurt Binder
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (S.A.E.); (J.M.); (K.B.)
| | - Arash Nikoubashman
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany; (S.A.E.); (J.M.); (K.B.)
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5
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Nikoubashman A. Ordering, phase behavior, and correlations of semiflexible polymers in confinement. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:090901. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0038052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arash Nikoubashman
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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6
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Winogradoff D, Li P, Joshi H, Quednau L, Maffeo C, Aksimentiev A. Chiral Systems Made from DNA. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:2003113. [PMID: 33717850 PMCID: PMC7927625 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202003113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The very chemical structure of DNA that enables biological heredity and evolution has non-trivial implications for the self-organization of DNA molecules into larger assemblies and provides limitless opportunities for building functional nanostructures. This progress report discusses the natural organization of DNA into chiral structures and recent advances in creating synthetic chiral systems using DNA as a building material. How nucleic acid chirality naturally comes into play in a diverse array of situations is considered first, at length scales ranging from an individual nucleotide to entire chromosomes. Thereafter, chiral liquid crystal phases formed by dense DNA mixtures are discussed, including the ongoing efforts to understand their origins. The report then summarizes recent efforts directed toward building chiral structures, and other structures of complex topology, using the principle of DNA self-assembly. Discussed last are existing and proposed functional man-made nanostructures designed to either probe or harness DNA's chirality, from plasmonics and spintronics to biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Winogradoff
- Center for the Physics of Living CellsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
- Department of PhysicsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
| | - Pin‐Yi Li
- Department of PhysicsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
| | - Himanshu Joshi
- Department of PhysicsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
| | - Lauren Quednau
- Center for the Physics of Living CellsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
| | - Christopher Maffeo
- Center for the Physics of Living CellsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
- Department of PhysicsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and TechnologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
| | - Aleksei Aksimentiev
- Center for the Physics of Living CellsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
- Department of PhysicsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and TechnologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–ChampaignUrbanaILUSA
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Egorov SA, Milchev A, Nikoubashman A, Binder K. Phase Separation and Nematic Order in Lyotropic Solutions: Two Types of Polymers with Different Stiffnesses in a Common Solvent. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:956-969. [PMID: 33440121 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The interplay of the isotropic-nematic transition and phase separation in lyotropic solutions of two types of semiflexible macromolecules with pronounced difference in chain stiffness is studied by Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics simulations. While the width of the isotropic-nematic two-phase coexistence region is narrow for solutions with a single type of semiflexible chain, the two-phase coexistence region widens for solutions containing two types of chains with rather disparate stiffness. In the nematic phase, both types of chains contribute to the nematic order, with intermediate values of the order parameter compared to the corresponding single component solutions. As the difference in bending stiffness is increased, the two chain types separate into two coexisting nematic phases. The phase behavior is rationalized by considering the chemical potentials of the two components and the Gibbs excess free energy. The geometric properties of the chain conformations under the various conditions are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei A Egorov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901, United States.,Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Andrey Milchev
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.,Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Arash Nikoubashman
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Kurt Binder
- Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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8
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Revignas D, Ferrarini A. Interplay of Particle Morphology and Director Distortions in Nematic Fluids. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:267802. [PMID: 33449752 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.267802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The existing microscopic theories for elasticity of nematics are challenged by recent findings on systems, whether bent molecules or semiflexible polymers, which do not comply with the model of rigid rodlike particles. Here, we propose an extension of Onsager-Straley second-virial theory, based on a model for the orientational distribution function that, through explicit account of the director profile along a particle, changes in the presence of deformations. The elastic constants reveal specific effects of particle morphology, which are not captured by the existing theories. This paves the way to microscopic modeling of the elastic properties of semiflexible liquid crystal polymers, which is a longstanding issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Revignas
- Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Alberta Ferrarini
- Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
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Tortora MMC, Mishra G, Prešern D, Doye JPK. Chiral shape fluctuations and the origin of chirality in cholesteric phases of DNA origamis. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaw8331. [PMID: 32789165 PMCID: PMC7399560 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw8331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Lyotropic cholesteric liquid crystal phases are ubiquitously observed in biological and synthetic polymer solutions, characterized by a complex interplay between thermal fluctuations and entropic and enthalpic forces. The elucidation of the link between microscopic features and macroscopic chiral structure, and of the relative roles of these competing contributions on phase organization, remains a topical issue. Here, we provide theoretical evidence of a previously unidentified mechanism of chirality amplification in lyotropic liquid crystals, whereby phase chirality is governed by fluctuation-stabilized helical deformations in the conformations of their constituent molecules. Our results compare favorably to recent experimental studies of DNA origami assemblies and demonstrate the influence of intramolecular mechanics on chiral supramolecular order, with potential implications for a broad class of experimentally relevant colloidal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime M. C. Tortora
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Garima Mishra
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Domen Prešern
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Jonathan P. K. Doye
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK
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10
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Wu L, Sun H. Manipulation of cholesteric liquid crystal phase behavior and molecular assembly by molecular chirality. Phys Rev E 2019; 100:022703. [PMID: 31574769 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.100.022703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Molecular simulation is used to study the effect of molecular chirality on liquid crystalline phase transition and molecular assembly behavior. Based on a flexible chain (FCh) model with helical arrangement of side beads, the phase behavior of FCh models with various molecular chiralities are studied as functions of pressure (or density). By modifying the molecular chirality of FCh, we can manipulate the relative stability of the nematic and cholesteric phases continuously; and we found that increasing molecular chirality may destabilize cholesteric order due to the effective reduction of chiral interactions. A semismectic phase is identified in the high-density region, in which the two-dimensional fluid layers overlap due to shift alignment formed by FCh particles. The global phase diagram of the FCh model is constructed and the potential energy surface is calculated to elucidate the formation of cholesteric phase in terms of two-body interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Wu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Materials Genome Initiative Center, and Key Laboratory of Scientific and Engineering Computing of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Huai Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Materials Genome Initiative Center, and Key Laboratory of Scientific and Engineering Computing of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
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11
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Nguyen KT, De Michele C. Nematic liquid crystals of bifunctional patchy spheres. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2018; 41:141. [PMID: 30552517 DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2018-11750-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Anisotropic interactions can bring about the formation, through self-assembly, of semi-flexible chains, which in turn can give rise to nematic phases for suitable temperatures and concentrations. A minimalist model constituted of hard cylinders decorated with attractive sites has been already extensively studied numerically. Simulation data shows that a theoretical approach recently proposed is able to properly capture the physical properties of these self-assembly-driven liquid crystals. Here, we investigated a simpler model constituted of bifunctional Kern-Frenkel hard spheres which does not possess steric anisotropy but which can undergo a istropic-nematic transition as a result of their self-assembly into semi-flexible chains. For this model we compare an accurate numerical estimate of isotropic-nematic phase boundaries with theoretical predictions. The theoretical treatment, originally proposed for cylinder-like particles, has been greatly simplified and its predictions are in good agreement with numerical results. Finally, we also assess a crucial, and not obvious, hypothesis used in the theory, i.e. the ability of the Onsager trial function to properly model particle orientation in the presence of aggregation, that has not been properly checked yet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khanh Thuy Nguyen
- Dipartimento di Fisica, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 2, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Cristiano De Michele
- Dipartimento di Fisica, "Sapienza" Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro 2, 00185, Roma, Italy.
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