1
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Frka-Petesic B, Parton TG, Honorato-Rios C, Narkevicius A, Ballu K, Shen Q, Lu Z, Ogawa Y, Haataja JS, Droguet BE, Parker RM, Vignolini S. Structural Color from Cellulose Nanocrystals or Chitin Nanocrystals: Self-Assembly, Optics, and Applications. Chem Rev 2023; 123:12595-12756. [PMID: 38011110 PMCID: PMC10729353 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Widespread concerns over the impact of human activity on the environment have resulted in a desire to replace artificial functional materials with naturally derived alternatives. As such, polysaccharides are drawing increasing attention due to offering a renewable, biodegradable, and biocompatible feedstock for functional nanomaterials. In particular, nanocrystals of cellulose and chitin have emerged as versatile and sustainable building blocks for diverse applications, ranging from mechanical reinforcement to structural coloration. Much of this interest arises from the tendency of these colloidally stable nanoparticles to self-organize in water into a lyotropic cholesteric liquid crystal, which can be readily manipulated in terms of its periodicity, structure, and geometry. Importantly, this helicoidal ordering can be retained into the solid-state, offering an accessible route to complex nanostructured films, coatings, and particles. In this review, the process of forming iridescent, structurally colored films from suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is summarized and the mechanisms underlying the chemical and physical phenomena at each stage in the process explored. Analogy is then drawn with chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs), allowing for key differences to be critically assessed and strategies toward structural coloration to be presented. Importantly, the progress toward translating this technology from academia to industry is summarized, with unresolved scientific and technical questions put forward as challenges to the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Frka-Petesic
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
- International
Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM), Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
| | - Thomas G. Parton
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Camila Honorato-Rios
- Department
of Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Aurimas Narkevicius
- B
CUBE − Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Kevin Ballu
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Qingchen Shen
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Zihao Lu
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Yu Ogawa
- CERMAV-CNRS,
CS40700, 38041 Grenoble cedex 9, France
| | - Johannes S. Haataja
- Department
of Applied Physics, Aalto University School
of Science, P.O. Box
15100, Aalto, Espoo FI-00076, Finland
| | - Benjamin E. Droguet
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Richard M. Parker
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
| | - Silvia Vignolini
- Yusuf
Hamied Department of Chemistry, University
of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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2
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Kim J, Wang Z, Lahlil K, Davidson P, Gacoin T, Kim J. Charge-driven liquid-crystalline behavior of ligand-functionalized nanorods in apolar solvent. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:86. [PMID: 37747573 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00345-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Concentrated colloidal suspensions of nanorods often exhibit liquid-crystalline (LC) behavior. The transition to a nematic LC phase, with long-range orientational order of the particles, is usually well-captured by Onsager's theory for hard rods, at least qualitatively. The theory shows how the volume fraction at the transition decreases with increasing aspect ratio of the rods. It also explains that the long-range electrostatic repulsive interaction occurring between rods stabilized by their surface charge can significantly increase their effective diameter, resulting in a decrease in the volume fraction at the transition, as compared to sterically stabilized rods. Here, we report on a system of ligand-stabilized LaPO4 nanorods, of aspect ratio ≈ 11, dispersed in apolar medium exhibiting the counter-intuitive observation that the onset of nematic self-assembly occurs at an extremely low volume fraction of ≈ 0.25%, which is lower than observed (≈ 3%) with the same particles when charged-stabilized in polar solvent. Furthermore, the nanorod volume fraction at the transition increases with increasing concentration of ligands, in a similar way as in polar media where increasing the ionic strength leads to surface charge screening. This peculiar system was investigated by dynamic light scattering, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, zetametry, electron microscopy, polarized light microscopy, photoluminescence measurements, and X-ray scattering. Based on these experimental data, we formulate several tentative scenarios that might explain this unexpected phase behavior. However, at this stage, its full understanding remains a pending theoretical challenge. Nevertheless, this study shows that dispersing anisotropic nanoparticles in an apolar solvent may sometimes lead to spontaneous ordering events that defy our intuitive ideas about colloidal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeongmo Kim
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Zijun Wang
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Khalid Lahlil
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Patrick Davidson
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France.
| | - Thierry Gacoin
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France.
| | - Jongwook Kim
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France.
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3
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van Rossem M, Wilks S, Kaczmarek M, Secor PR, D’Alessandro G. Modelling of filamentous phage-induced antibiotic tolerance of P. aeruginosa. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261482. [PMID: 35404965 PMCID: PMC9000967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Filamentous molecules tend to spontaneously assemble into liquid crystalline droplets with a tactoid morphology in environments with high concentration on non-adsorbing molecules. Tactoids of filamentous Pf bacteriophage, such as those produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have been linked to increased antibiotic tolerance. We modelled this system and show that tactoids composed of filamentous Pf virions can lead to antibiotic tolerance by acting as an adsorptive diffusion barrier. The continuum model, reminiscent of descriptions of reactive diffusion in porous media, has been solved numerically and good agreement was found with the analytical results, obtained using a homogenisation approach. We find that the formation of tactoids significantly increases antibiotic diffusion times which may lead to stronger antibiotic resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria van Rossem
- Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
| | - Sandra Wilks
- Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
| | - Malgosia Kaczmarek
- Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick R. Secor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Giampaolo D’Alessandro
- Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
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4
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Peters VFD, Tuinier R, Vis M. Effects of polymer nonideality on depletion-induced phase behaviour of colloidal disks and rods. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:144008. [PMID: 35038683 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac4c11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal dispersions composed of either platelets or rods exhibit liquid crystalline phase behaviour that is strongly influenced by the addition of nonadsorbing polymers. In this work we examined how polymer segment-segment interactions affect this phase behaviour as compared to using either penetrable hard spheres (PHS) or ideal ('ghost') chains as depletants. We find that the simplified polymer description predicts the same phase diagram topologies as the more involved polymer descriptions. Therefore the PHS description is still adequate for qualitative predictions. For sufficiently large polymer sizes we find however that the precise polymer description significantly alters the locations of the phase coexistence regions. Especially the stability region of isotropic-isotropic coexistence is affected by the polymer interactions. To illustrate the quantitative effects some examples are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent F D Peters
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Remco Tuinier
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Mark Vis
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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5
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Fraccia TP, Zanchetta G. Liquid–liquid crystalline phase separation in biomolecular solutions. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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6
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Peters VD, González García Á, Wensink HH, Vis M, Tuinier R. Multiphase Coexistences in Rod-Polymer Mixtures. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:11582-11591. [PMID: 34553593 PMCID: PMC8495896 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Using recently derived analytical equations of state for hard rod dispersions, we predict the phase behavior of athermal rod-polymer mixtures with free volume theory. The rods are modeled as hard spherocylinders, while the nonadsorbing polymer chains are described as penetrable hard spheres. It is demonstrated that all of the different types of phase states that are stable for pure colloidal rod dispersions can coexist with any combination of these phases if polymers are added, depending on the concentrations, rod aspect ratio, and polymer-rod size ratio. This includes novel two-, three-, and four-phase coexistences and isostructural coexistences between dilute and concentrated phases of the same kind, even for the more ordered (liquid) crystal phases. This work provides insight into the conditions at which particular multiphase coexistences are expected for well-defined model colloidal rod-polymer mixtures. We provide a quantitative map detailing the various types of isostructural coexistences, which confirms an early qualitative hypothesis by Bolhuis et al. ( J. Chem. Phys. 107, 1997 1551).
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent
F. D. Peters
- Laboratory
of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
& Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Álvaro González García
- Sustainable
Polymer Chemistry Group, Department of Molecules & Materials, MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, University of
Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Henricus H. Wensink
- Laboratoire
de Physique des Solides − UMR 8502, CNRS & Université
Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Mark Vis
- Laboratory
of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
& Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Remco Tuinier
- Laboratory
of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
& Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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7
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Peters VFD, Tuinier R, Vis M. Phase stability of colloidal spheres mixed with semiflexible supramolecular polymers. J Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 608:644-651. [PMID: 34628323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.09.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Mixtures of colloids and supramolecular polymers may exhibit stimuli-responsive phase behaviour. However, in theoretical descriptions of such systems, the polymers are commonly described either as flexible chains or as rigid rods, while in experimental systems supramolecular polymers usually fall in between these two limits. We expect the flexibility of the polymers to have a profound effect on the stimuli-responsive phase behaviour. THEORY We propose a general approach to predict the phase behaviour of colloidal hard spheres mixed with covalent or supramolecular polymers of arbitrary persistence length using free volume theory and an interpolation between flexible and rigid chains. FINDINGS The binodals are predicted to shift to lower monomer concentrations as the persistence length is increased, making the polymers more efficient depletants. The persistence length is therefore an additional degree of freedom for manipulating the phase behaviour of colloid-polymer mixtures. We show that by manipulating the persistence length of temperature responsive supramolecular polymers, a wide range of phase diagrams with various topologies can be obtained. For example, we find phase diagrams with a critical point but no triple point or displaying two triple points for temperature-sensitive supramolecular polymers mixed with hard spheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent F D Peters
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, the Netherlands
| | - Remco Tuinier
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, the Netherlands
| | - Mark Vis
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, the Netherlands.
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8
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Cheng R, Li J, Ríos de Anda I, Taylor TWC, Faers MA, Anderson JLR, Seddon AM, Royall CP. Protein-polymer mixtures in the colloid limit: Aggregation, sedimentation, and crystallization. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:114901. [PMID: 34551522 DOI: 10.1063/5.0052122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
While proteins have been treated as particles with a spherically symmetric interaction, of course in reality, the situation is rather more complex. A simple step toward higher complexity is to treat the proteins as non-spherical particles and that is the approach we pursue here. We investigate the phase behavior of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) under the addition of a non-adsorbing polymer, polyethylene glycol. From small angle x-ray scattering, we infer that the eGFP undergoes dimerization and we treat the dimers as spherocylinders with aspect ratio L/D - 1 = 1.05. Despite the complex nature of the proteins, we find that the phase behavior is similar to that of hard spherocylinders with an ideal polymer depletant, exhibiting aggregation and, in a small region of the phase diagram, crystallization. By comparing our measurements of the onset of aggregation with predictions for hard colloids and ideal polymers [S. V. Savenko and M. Dijkstra, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 234902 (2006) and Lo Verso et al., Phys. Rev. E 73, 061407 (2006)], we find good agreement, which suggests that the behavior of the eGFP is consistent with that of hard spherocylinders and ideal polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Cheng
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
| | - Jingwen Li
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
| | | | - Thomas W C Taylor
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
| | | | - J L Ross Anderson
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, United Kingdom
| | - Annela M Seddon
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
| | - C Patrick Royall
- HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
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9
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Denton AR, Davis WJ. Influence of solvent quality on depletion potentials in colloid-polymer mixtures. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:084904. [PMID: 34470346 DOI: 10.1063/5.0061370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
As first explained by the classic Asakura-Oosawa (AO) model, effective attractive forces between colloidal particles induced by depletion of nonadsorbing polymers can drive demixing of colloid-polymer mixtures into colloid-rich and colloid-poor phases, with practical relevance for purification of water, stability of foods and pharmaceuticals, and macromolecular crowding in biological cells. By idealizing polymer coils as effective penetrable spheres, the AO model qualitatively captures the influence of polymer depletion on thermodynamic phase behavior of colloidal suspensions. In previous work, we extended the AO model to incorporate aspherical polymer conformations and showed that fluctuating shapes of random-walk coils can significantly modify depletion potentials [W. K. Lim and A. R. Denton, Soft Matter 12, 2247 (2016); J. Chem. Phys. 144, 024904 (2016)]. We further demonstrated that the shapes of polymers in crowded environments sensitively depend on solvent quality [W. J. Davis and A. R. Denton, J. Chem. Phys. 149, 124901 (2018)]. Here, we apply Monte Carlo simulation to analyze the influence of solvent quality on depletion potentials in mixtures of hard-sphere colloids and nonadsorbing polymer coils, modeled as ellipsoids whose principal radii fluctuate according to random-walk statistics. We consider both self-avoiding and non-self-avoiding random walks, corresponding to polymers in good and theta solvents, respectively. Our simulation results demonstrate that depletion of polymers of equal molecular weight induces much stronger attraction between colloids in good solvents than in theta solvents and confirm that depletion interactions are significantly influenced by aspherical polymer conformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan R Denton
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050, USA
| | - Wyatt J Davis
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050, USA
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10
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Self-assembly of protein superstructures by physical interactions under cytoplasm-like conditions. Biophys J 2021; 120:2701-2709. [PMID: 34022233 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure-driven assembly of multimeric protein complexes and the formation of intracellular phase-like protein condensates have been the subject of intense research. However, the assembly of larger superstructures comprising cellular components, such as protein nanoparticles driven by general physical rather than specific biochemical interactions, remains relatively uncharacterized. Here, we use gas vesicles (GVs)-genetically encoded protein nanoparticles that form ordered intracellular clusters-as a model system to study the forces driving multiparticle assembly under cytoplasm-like conditions. Our calculations and experimental results show that the ordered assembly of GVs can be achieved by screening their mutual electrostatic repulsion with electrolytes and creating a crowding force with dissolved macromolecules. The precise balance of these forces results in different packing configurations. Biomacromolecules such as polylysine and DNA are capable of driving GV clustering. These results provide basic insights into how physically driven interactions affect the formation of protein superstructures, offer guidance for manipulating nanoparticle assembly in cellular environments through synthetic biology methods, and inform research on the biotechnology applications of GVs.
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11
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Oguzlu H, Dobyrden I, Liu X, Bhaduri S, Claesson PM, Boluk Y. Polymer Induced Gelation of Aqueous Suspensions of Cellulose Nanocrystals. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:3015-3024. [PMID: 33646793 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the gelation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in polyelectrolyte and neutral polymer solutions. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with half-ester sulfate groups produced by acid hydrolysis of wood pulp were used in this study. The microstructure of CNCs/polymer suspensions was investigated in semidilute concentration regimes by selecting carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC700) as an anionic polymer and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO600) as a neutral polymer solution. Together with quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), rheology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), we characterized CNCs-polymer interactions, the suspension microstructure, and the macroscopic gel flow. Significant viscosity increases at low shear rates coupled with high shear-thinning behaviors were observed in CNC colloid-CMC700 polymer mixtures, but not those CNCs in PEO600 solutions. The apparent differences between CNCs-CMC700 and CNCs-PEO600 mixtures were due to their chain confirmations. On the basis of the evaluations from STEM, cryo-TEM, and polarized optical microscopy, we proposed that the excess CMC700 molecules in solutions result in the depletion of CNCs and the formation of anisotropic domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hale Oguzlu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H9
| | - Illia Dobyrden
- Department of Chemistry, Surface and Corrosion Science, School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiaoyan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry (Ministry of Education), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, P. R. China
| | - Swayamdipta Bhaduri
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H9
| | - Per Martin Claesson
- Department of Chemistry, Surface and Corrosion Science, School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Bioscience and Materials, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, SE-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yaman Boluk
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H9
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12
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Abstract
We study in this paper the dynamics of molecules leading to the formation of nematic and smectic phases using a mobile 6-state Potts spin model with Monte Carlo simulation. Each Potts state represents a molecular orientation. We show that, with the choice of an appropriate microscopic Hamiltonian describing the interaction between individual molecules modeled by 6-state Potts spins, we obtain the structure of the smectic phase by cooling the molecules from the isotropic phase to low temperatures: molecules are ordered in independent equidistant layers. The isotropic-smectic phase transition is found to have a first-order character. The nematic phase is also obtained with the choice of another microscopic Hamiltonian. The isotropic-nematic phase transition is a second-order one. The real-time dynamics of the molecules leading to the liquid-crystal ordering in each case is shown by a video.
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13
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Peters VFD, Vis M, García ÁG, Wensink HH, Tuinier R. Defying the Gibbs Phase Rule: Evidence for an Entropy-Driven Quintuple Point in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:127803. [PMID: 33016722 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.127803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Using a minimal algebraic model for the thermodynamics of binary rod-polymer mixtures, we provide evidence for a quintuple phase equilibrium; an observation that seems to be at odds with the Gibbs phase rule for two-component systems. Our model is based on equations of state for the relevant liquid crystal phases that are in quantitative agreement with computer simulations. We argue that the appearance of a quintuple equilibrium, involving an isotropic fluid, a nematic and smectic liquid crystal, and two solid phases, can be reconciled with a generalized Gibbs phase rule in which the two intrinsic length scales of the athermal colloid-polymer mixture act as additional field variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- V F D Peters
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
| | - M Vis
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Laboratoire de Chimie, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon CEDEX 07, France
| | - Á González García
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Department of Chemistry & Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - H H Wensink
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides-UMR 8502, CNRS & Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - R Tuinier
- Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Department of Chemistry & Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
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14
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Schönhöfer PWA, Marechal M, Cleaver DJ, Schröder-Turk GE. Self-assembly and entropic effects in pear-shaped colloid systems. II. Depletion attraction of pear-shaped particles in a hard-sphere solvent. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:034904. [PMID: 32716194 DOI: 10.1063/5.0007287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
We consider depletion effects of a pear-shaped colloidal particle in a hard-sphere solvent for two different model realizations of the pear-shaped colloidal particle. The two models are the pear hard Gaussian overlap (PHGO) particles and the hard pears of revolution (HPR). The motivation for this study is to provide a microscopic understanding for the substantially different mesoscopic self-assembly properties of these pear-shaped colloids, in dense suspensions, that have been reported in the previous studies. This is done by determining their differing depletion attractions via Monte Carlo simulations of PHGO and HPR particles in a pool of hard spheres and comparing them with excluded volume calculations of numerically obtained ideal configurations on the microscopic level. While the HPR model behaves as predicted by the analysis of excluded volumes, the PHGO model showcases a preference for splay between neighboring particles, which can be attributed to the special non-additive characteristics of the PHGO contact function. Lastly, we propose a potentially experimentally realizable pear-shaped particle model, the non-additive hard pear of revolution model, which is based on the HPR model but also features non-additive traits similar to those of PHGO particles to mimic their depletion behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp W A Schönhöfer
- College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Mathematics and Statistics, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia
| | - Matthieu Marechal
- Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Douglas J Cleaver
- Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, United Kingdom
| | - Gerd E Schröder-Turk
- College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Mathematics and Statistics, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia
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15
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Schönhöfer PWA, Marechal M, Cleaver DJ, Schröder-Turk GE. Self-assembly and entropic effects in pear-shaped colloid systems. I. Shape sensitivity of bilayer phases in colloidal pear-shaped particle systems. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:034903. [PMID: 32716179 DOI: 10.1063/5.0007286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of particle shape in self-assembly processes is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, particle shape and particle elongation are often considered the most fundamental determinants of soft matter structure formation. On the other hand, structure formation is often highly sensitive to details of shape. Here, we address the question of particle shape sensitivity for the self-assembly of hard pear-shaped particles by studying two models for this system: (a) the pear hard Gaussian overlap (PHGO) and (b) the hard pears of revolution (HPR) model. Hard pear-shaped particles, given by the PHGO model, are known to form a bicontinuous gyroid phase spontaneously. However, this model does not replicate an additive object perfectly and, hence, varies slightly in shape from a "true" pear-shape. Therefore, we investigate in the first part of this series the stability of the gyroid phase in pear-shaped particle systems. We show, based on the HPR phase diagram, that the gyroid phase does not form in pears with such a "true" hard pear-shaped potential. Moreover, we acquire first indications from the HPR and PHGO pair-correlation functions that the formation of the gyroid is probably attributed to the small non-additive properties of the PHGO potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp W A Schönhöfer
- College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Mathematics and Statistics, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, 6150 Murdoch, WA, Australia
| | - Matthieu Marechal
- Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Douglas J Cleaver
- Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, United Kingdom
| | - Gerd E Schröder-Turk
- College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Mathematics and Statistics, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, 6150 Murdoch, WA, Australia
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16
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Chiappini M, Drwenski T, van Roij R, Dijkstra M. Biaxial, Twist-bend, and Splay-bend Nematic Phases of Banana-shaped Particles Revealed by Lifting the "Smectic Blanket". PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:068001. [PMID: 31491177 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.068001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We perform an extensive computational study on the phase behavior of hard banana-shaped particles, and show that biaxial, twist-bend, and splay-bend nematic phases are metastable with respect to a smectic phase for a system of hard bent spherocylinders. However, if the smectic phase is destabilized-either by polydispersity in the particle length or by curvature in the particle shape-stable biaxial, twist-bend, and splay-bend nematic phases are obtained. This provides a unified and consistent picture on the subtle role of particle shape on the phase behavior of bent rods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimiliano Chiappini
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Department of Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 1, Utrecht 3584 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Tara Drwenski
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - René van Roij
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marjolein Dijkstra
- Soft Condensed Matter, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Department of Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 1, Utrecht 3584 CC, The Netherlands
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17
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Quiring P, Klopotek M, Oettel M. Nematic and gas-liquid transitions for sticky rods on square and cubic lattices. Phys Rev E 2019; 100:012707. [PMID: 31499763 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.100.012707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Using grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the phase diagram of hard rods of length L with additional contact (sticky) attractions on square and cubic lattices. The phase diagram shows a competition between gas-liquid and ordering transitions (which are of demixing type on the square lattice for L≥7 and of nematic type on the cubic lattice for L≥5). On the square lattice, increasing attractions initially lead to a stabilization of the isotropic phase. On the cubic lattice, the nematic transition remains of weak first order upon increasing the attractions. In the vicinity of the gas-liquid transition, the coexistence gap of the nematic transition quickly widens. These features are different from nematic transitions in the continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Quiring
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - M Klopotek
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - M Oettel
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
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18
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Zhao J, Gulan U, Horie T, Ohmura N, Han J, Yang C, Kong J, Wang S, Xu BB. Advances in Biological Liquid Crystals. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2019; 15:e1900019. [PMID: 30892830 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201900019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Biological liquid crystals, a rich set of soft materials with rod-like structures widely existing in nature, possess typical lyotropic liquid crystalline phase properties both in vitro (e.g., cellulose, peptides, and protein assemblies) and in vivo (e.g., cellular lipid membrane, packed DNA in bacteria, and aligned fibroblasts). Given the ability to undergo phase transition in response to various stimuli, numerous practices are exercised to spatially arrange biological liquid crystals. Here, a fundamental understanding of interactions between rod-shaped biological building blocks and their orientational ordering across multiple length scales is addressed. Discussions are made with regard to the dependence of physical properties of nonmotile objects on the first-order phase transition and the coexistence of multi-phases in passive liquid crystalline systems. This work also focuses on how the applied physical stimuli drives the reorganization of constituent passive particles for a new steady-state alignment. A number of recent progresses in the dynamics behaviors of active liquid crystals are presented, and particular attention is given to those self-propelled animate elements, like the formation of motile topological defects, active turbulence, correlation of orientational ordering, and cellular functions. Finally, future implications and potential applications of the biological liquid crystalline materials are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Zhao
- Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Quanzhou, 362200, China
- Third Institute of Physics-Biophysics, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Utku Gulan
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Takafumi Horie
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Naoto Ohmura
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan
| | - Jun Han
- Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Quanzhou, 362200, China
| | - Chao Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jie Kong
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Steven Wang
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Ben Bin Xu
- Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
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19
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Mastrogiacomo M, Campi G, Cancedda R, Cedola A. Synchrotron radiation techniques boost the research in bone tissue engineering. Acta Biomater 2019; 89:33-46. [PMID: 30880235 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2019.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
X-ray Synchrotron radiation-based techniques, in particular Micro-tomography and Micro-diffraction, were exploited to investigate the structure of bone deposited in vivo within a porous ceramic scaffold. Bone formation was studied by implanting Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) seeded ceramic scaffolds in a mouse model. Osteoblasts derived from the seeded MSC and from differentiation of cells migrated within the scaffold together with the blood vessels, deposited within the scaffold pores an organic collagenous matrix on which a precursor mineral amorphous liquid-phase, containing Ca++ and PO4-- crystallized filling the gaps between the collagen molecules. Histology offered a valid instrument to investigate the engineered tissue structure, but, unfortunately, limited itself to a macroscopic analysis. The evolution of the X-ray Synchrotron radiation-based techniques and the combination of micro X-ray diffraction with X-ray phase-contrast imaging enabled to study the dynamic of the structural and morphological changes occurring during the new bone deposition, biomineralization and vascularization. In fact, the unique features of Synchrotron radiation, is providing the high spatial resolution probe which is necessary for the study of complex materials presenting heterogeneity from micron-scale to meso- and nano-scale. Indeed, this is the occurrence in the heterogeneous and hierarchical bone tissue where an organic matter, such as the collagenous matrix, interacts with mineral nano-crystals to generate a hybrid multiscale biomaterial with unique physical properties. In this framework, the use of advanced synchrotron radiation techniques allowed to understand and to clarify fundamental aspects of the bone formation process within the bioceramic, i.e. biomineralization and vascularization, including to obtain deeper knowledge on bone deposition, mineralization and reabsorption in different health, aging and pathological conditions. In this review we present an overview of the X-ray Synchrotron radiation techniques and we provide a general outlook of their applications on bone Tissue Engineering, with a focus on our group work. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Synchrotron Radiation techniques for Tissue Engineering In this review we report recent applications of X-ray Synchrotron radiation-based techniques, in particular Microtomography and Microdiffraction, to investigations on the structure of ceramic scaffolds and bone tissue regeneration. Tissue engineering has made significant advances in bone regeneration by proposing the use of mesenchymal stem cells in combination with various types of scaffolds. The efficacy of the biomaterials used to date is not considered optimal in terms of resorbability and bone formation, resulting in a poor vascularization at the implant site. The review largely based on our publications in the last ten years could help the study of the regenerative model proposed. We also believe that the new imaging technologies we describe could be a starting point for the development of additional new techniques with the final aim of transferring them to the clinical practice.
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20
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Repula A, Oshima Menegon M, Wu C, van der Schoot P, Grelet E. Directing Liquid Crystalline Self-Organization of Rodlike Particles through Tunable Attractive Single Tips. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 122:128008. [PMID: 30978054 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.122.128008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Dispersions of rodlike colloidal particles exhibit a plethora of liquid crystalline states, including nematic, smectic A, smectic B, and columnar phases. This phase behavior can be explained by presuming the predominance of hard-core volume exclusion between the particles. We show here how the self-organization of rodlike colloids can be controlled by introducing a weak and highly localized directional attractive interaction between one of the ends of the particles. This has been performed by functionalizing the tips of filamentous viruses by means of regioselectively grafting fluorescent dyes onto them, resulting in a hydrophobic patch whose attraction can be tuned by varying the number of bound dye molecules. We show, in agreement with our computer simulations, that increasing the single tip attraction stabilizes the smectic phase at the expense of the nematic phase, leaving all other liquid crystalline phases invariant. For a sufficiently strong tip attraction, the nematic state may be suppressed completely to get a direct isotropic liquid-to-smectic phase transition. Our findings provide insights into the rational design of building blocks for functional structures formed at low densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrii Repula
- Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal, CNRS and Université de Bordeaux, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mariana Oshima Menegon
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
| | - Cheng Wu
- Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal, CNRS and Université de Bordeaux, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Paul van der Schoot
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Eric Grelet
- Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal, CNRS and Université de Bordeaux, 115 Avenue Schweitzer, F-33600 Pessac, France
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21
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Liu S, Zheng C, Ye Z, Blanc B, Zhi X, Shi L, Zhang Z. Filamentous Viruses Grafted with Thermoresponsive Block Polymers: Liquid Crystal Behaviors of a Rodlike Colloidal Model with “True” Attractive Interactions. Macromolecules 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b00674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuaiyu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Chunxiong Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Zihan Ye
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Baptiste Blanc
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
| | - Xueli Zhi
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Linqi Shi
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
| | - Zhenkun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China
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22
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Gibaud T, Constantin D. Direct Liquid to Crystal Transition in a Quasi-Two-Dimensional Colloidal Membrane. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:4302-4307. [PMID: 30004230 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Using synchrotron-based small-angle X-ray scattering, we study rigid fd viruses assembled into isolated monolayers from mixtures with a nonabsorbing polymer, which acts as an osmotic agent. As the polymer concentration increases, we observe a direct liquid to crystal transition, without an intermediate hexatic phase, in contrast with many other similar systems, such as concentrated DNA phases or packings of surfactant micelles. We tentatively attribute this effect to the difference in stiffness. The liquid phase can be well described by a hard-disk fluid, while we model the crystalline one as a hexagonal harmonic lattice and we evaluate its elastic constants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gibaud
- Univ. Lyon, Ens de Lyon, Univ. Claude Bernard, CNRS , Laboratoire de Physique , F-69342 Lyon , France
| | - Doru Constantin
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides , CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
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23
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Xie Y, Li Y, Wei G, Liu Q, Mundoor H, Chen Z, Smalyukh II. Liquid crystal self-assembly of upconversion nanorods enriched by depletion forces for mesostructured material preparation. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:4218-4227. [PMID: 29445801 DOI: 10.1039/c7nr06663e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Monodisperse rod-like colloidal particles are known for spontaneously forming both nematic and smectic liquid crystal phases, but their self-assembly was typically exploited from the fundamental soft condensed matter physics perspective. Here we demonstrate that depletion interactions, driven by non-adsorbing polymers like dextran and surfactants, can be used to enrich the self-organization of photon-upconversion nanorods into orientationally ordered nematic and smectic-like membrane colloidal superstructures. We study thermodynamic phase diagrams and demonstrate polarization-dependent photon upconversion exhibited by the ensuing composites, which arises from the superposition of unique properties of the solid nanostructures and the long-range ordering enabled by liquid crystalline self-organization. Finally, we discuss how our method of utilizing self-assembly due to the steric and electrostatic interactions, along with attractive depletion forces, can enable technological uses of lyotropic colloidal liquid crystals and mesostructured composite materials enabled by them, even when they are formed by anisotropic nanoparticles with relatively small aspect ratios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Xie
- Department of Physics, Material Science and Engineering Program, Department of Electrical, Computer, & Energy Engineering, and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
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24
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Gibaud T. Filamentous phages as building blocks for reconfigurable and hierarchical self-assembly. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2017; 29:493003. [PMID: 29099393 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/aa97f9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous bacteriophages such as fd-like viruses are monodisperse rod-like colloids that have well defined properties of diameter, length, rigidity, charge and chirality. Engineering these viruses leads to a library of colloidal rods, which can be used as building blocks for reconfigurable and hierarchical self-assembly. Their condensation in an aqueous solution with additive polymers, which act as depletants to induce attraction between the rods, leads to a myriad of fluid-like micronic structures ranging from isotropic/nematic droplets, colloid membranes, achiral membrane seeds, twisted ribbons, π-wall, pores, colloidal skyrmions, Möbius anchors, scallop membranes to membrane rafts. These structures, and the way that they shape-shift, not only shed light on the role of entropy, chiral frustration and topology in soft matter, but also mimic many structures encountered in different fields of science. On the one hand, filamentous phages being an experimental realization of colloidal hard rods, their condensation mediated by depletion interactions constitutes a blueprint for the self-assembly of rod-like particles and provides a fundamental foundation for bio- or material-oriented applications. On the other hand, the chiral properties of the viruses restrict the generalities of some results but vastly broaden the self-assembly possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Gibaud
- Univ Lyon, Ens de Lyon, Univ Claude Bernard, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique, F-69342 Lyon, France
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25
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Oguzlu H, Danumah C, Boluk Y. Colloidal behavior of aqueous cellulose nanocrystal suspensions. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2017.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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26
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Kang L, Lubensky TC. Chiral twist drives raft formation and organization in membranes composed of rod-like particles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E19-E27. [PMID: 27999184 PMCID: PMC5224397 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613732114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipid rafts are hypothesized to facilitate protein interaction, tension regulation, and trafficking in biological membranes, but the mechanisms responsible for their formation and maintenance are not clear. Insights into many other condensed matter phenomena have come from colloidal systems, whose micron-scale particles mimic basic properties of atoms and molecules but permit dynamic visualization with single-particle resolution. Recently, experiments showed that bidisperse mixtures of filamentous viruses can self-assemble into colloidal monolayers with thermodynamically stable rafts exhibiting chiral structure and repulsive interactions. We quantitatively explain these observations by modeling the membrane particles as chiral liquid crystals. Chiral twist promotes the formation of finite-sized rafts and mediates a repulsion that distributes them evenly throughout the membrane. Although this system is composed of filamentous viruses whose aggregation is entropically driven by dextran depletants instead of phospholipids and cholesterol with prominent electrostatic interactions, colloidal and biological membranes share many of the same physical symmetries. Chiral twist can contribute to the behavior of both systems and may account for certain stereospecific effects observed in molecular membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Kang
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Tom C Lubensky
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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27
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Chiappini M, Eiser E, Sciortino F. Phase behaviour in complementary DNA-coated gold nanoparticles and fd-viruses mixtures: a numerical study. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2017; 40:7. [PMID: 28108886 DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2017-11493-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A new gel-forming colloidal system based on a binary mixture of fd-viruses and gold nanoparticles functionalized with complementary DNA single strands has been recently introduced. Upon quenching below the DNA melt temperature, such a system results in a highly porous gel state, that may be developed in a new functional material of tunable porosity. In order to shed light on the gelation mechanism, we introduce a model closely mimicking the experimental one and we explore via Monte Carlo simulations its equilibrium phase diagram. Specifically, we model the system as a binary mixture of hard rods and hard spheres mutually interacting via a short-range square-well attractive potential. In the experimental conditions, we find evidence of a phase separation occurring either via nucleation-and-growth or via spinodal decomposition. The spinodal decomposition leads to the formation of small clusters of bonded rods and spheres whose further diffusion and aggregation leads to the formation of a percolating network in the system. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the mixture of DNA-coated fd-viruses and gold nanoparticles undergoes a non-equilibrium gelation via an arrested spinodal decomposition mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Erika Eiser
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, CB3 0HE, Cambridge, UK
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28
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Salamonczyk M, Zhang J, Portale G, Zhu C, Kentzinger E, Gleeson JT, Jakli A, De Michele C, Dhont JKG, Sprunt S, Stiakakis E. Smectic phase in suspensions of gapped DNA duplexes. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13358. [PMID: 27845332 PMCID: PMC5116068 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Smectic ordering in aqueous solutions of monodisperse stiff double-stranded DNA fragments is known not to occur, despite the fact that these systems exhibit both chiral nematic and columnar mesophases. Here, we show, unambiguously, that a smectic-A type of phase is formed by increasing the DNA's flexibility through the introduction of an unpaired single-stranded DNA spacer in the middle of each duplex. This is unusual for a lyotropic system, where flexibility typically destabilizes the smectic phase. We also report on simulations suggesting that the gapped duplexes (resembling chain-sticks) attain a folded conformation in the smectic layers, and argue that this layer structure, which we designate as smectic-fA phase, is thermodynamically stabilized by both entropic and energetic contributions to the system's free energy. Our results demonstrate that DNA as a building block offers an exquisitely tunable means to engineer a potentially rich assortment of lyotropic liquid crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslaw Salamonczyk
- Department of Physics and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- Institute of Complex Systems ICS-3, JARA-SOFT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Leo-Brandt-Str, Jülich D-52425, Germany
- Department of Environmental Nano-materials, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Giuseppe Portale
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Department of Macromolecular Chemistry and New Polymeric Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, 94720 California, USA
| | - Emmanuel Kentzinger
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS and Peter Grünberg Institut PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - James T. Gleeson
- Department of Physics and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Antal Jakli
- Department of Physics and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Cristiano De Michele
- Department of Physics, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Roma 00185, Italy
| | - Jan K. G. Dhont
- Institute of Complex Systems ICS-3, JARA-SOFT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Leo-Brandt-Str, Jülich D-52425, Germany
- Department of Physics, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrae 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Samuel Sprunt
- Department of Physics and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Emmanuel Stiakakis
- Institute of Complex Systems ICS-3, JARA-SOFT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Leo-Brandt-Str, Jülich D-52425, Germany
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29
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Oguzlu H, Danumah C, Boluk Y. The role of dilute and semi-dilute cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions on the rheology of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solutions. CAN J CHEM ENG 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/cjce.22597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hale Oguzlu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of Alberta; Edmonton AB T6G 2W2 Canada
- National Institute for Nanotechnology; Edmonton AB T6G 2M9 Canada
| | | | - Yaman Boluk
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of Alberta; Edmonton AB T6G 2W2 Canada
- National Institute for Nanotechnology; Edmonton AB T6G 2M9 Canada
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30
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Lim WK, Denton AR. Depletion-induced forces and crowding in polymer-nanoparticle mixtures: Role of polymer shape fluctuations and penetrability. J Chem Phys 2016; 144:024904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4939766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Kang Lim
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050, USA
| | - Alan R. Denton
- Department of Physics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108-6050, USA
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Modlińska A, Alsayed AM, Gibaud T. Condensation and dissolution of nematic droplets in dispersions of colloidal rods with thermo-sensitive depletants. Sci Rep 2015; 5:18432. [PMID: 26656207 PMCID: PMC4995677 DOI: 10.1038/srep18432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Nematic droplets are droplets composed of elongated molecules that tend to point in the same direction but do not have any positional order. Such droplets are well known to adopt a spindle shape called tactoid. How such droplets condensate or melt and how the orientational symmetry is broken remains however unclear. Here we use a colloidal system composed of filamentous viruses as model rod-like colloids and pnipam microgel particles to induce thermo-sensitive depletion attraction between the rods. Microscopy experiments coupled to particle tracking reveal that the condensation of a nematic droplet is preceded by the formation of a new phase, an isotropic droplet. As the viruses constitute an excellent experimental realization of hard rods, it follows that the phenomenology we describe should be relevant to diverse micro- and nano-sized rods that interact through excluded volume interactions. This transition between isotropic and nematic droplets provides a new and reversible pathway to break the symmetry and order colloidal rods within a droplet with an external stimulus, and could constitute a benchmark experiment for a variety of technologies relying on reconfigurable control of rods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Modlińska
- Labaroire de physique, CNRS/UMR 5672, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon – Université de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69007 Lyon, France
- Faculty of Technical Physics, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Piotrowo 3, 60-965 Poznań, Poland
| | - Ahmed M. Alsayed
- Complex Assemblies of Soft Matter (COMPASS), Solvay-CNRS-UPenn UMI 3254, Bristol, Pennsylvania 19007, USA
| | - Thomas Gibaud
- Labaroire de physique, CNRS/UMR 5672, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon – Université de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69007 Lyon, France
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32
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Kazem N, Majidi C, Maloney CE. Gelation and mechanical response of patchy rods. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:7877-7887. [PMID: 26381995 DOI: 10.1039/c5sm01845e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We perform Brownian dynamics simulations to study the gelation of suspensions of attractive, rod-like particles. We show that in detail the rod-rod surface interactions can dramatically affect the dynamics of gelation and the structure and mechanics of the networks that form. If the attraction between the rods is perfectly smooth along their length, they will collapse into compact bundles. If the attraction is sufficiently corrugated or patchy, over time, a rigid space-spanning network will form. We study the structure and mechanical properties of the networks that form as a function of the fraction of the surface, f, that is allowed to bind. Surprisingly, the structural and mechanical properties are non-monotonic in f. At low f, there are not a sufficient number of cross-linking sites to form networks. At high f, rods bundle and form disconnected clusters. At intermediate f, robust networks form. The elastic modulus and yield stress are both non-monotonic in the surface coverage. The stiffest and strongest networks show an essentially homogeneous deformation under strain with rods re-orienting along the extensional axis. Weaker, more clumpy networks at high f re-orient relatively little with strong non-affine deformation. These results suggest design strategies for tailoring surface interactions between rods to yield rigid networks with optimal mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navid Kazem
- Carnegie Mellon University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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33
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Campi G, Fratini M, Bukreeva I, Ciasca G, Burghammer M, Brun F, Tromba G, Mastrogiacomo M, Cedola A. Imaging collagen packing dynamics during mineralization of engineered bone tissue. Acta Biomater 2015; 23:309-316. [PMID: 26049151 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2015.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Revised: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The structure and organization of the Type I collagen microfibrils during mineral nanoparticle formation appear as the key factor for a deeper understanding of the biomineralization mechanism and for governing the bone tissue physical properties. In this work we investigated the dynamics of collagen packing during ex-vivo mineralization of ceramic porous hydroxyapatite implant scaffolds using synchrotron high resolution X-ray phase contrast micro-tomography (XPCμT) and synchrotron scanning micro X-ray diffraction (SμXRD). While XPCμT provides the direct 3D image of the collagen fibers network organization with micrometer spatial resolution, SμXRD allows to probe the structural statistical fluctuations of the collagen fibrils at nanoscale. In particular we imaged the lateral spacing and orientation of collagen fibrils during the anisotropic growth of mineral nanocrystals. Beyond throwing light on the bone regeneration multiscale process, this approach can provide important information in the characterization of tissue in health, aging and degeneration conditions. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE BONE grafts are the most common transplants after the blood transfusions. This makes the bone-tissue regeneration research of pressing scientific and social impact. Bone is a complex hierarchical structure, where the interplay of organic and inorganic mineral phases at different length scale (from micron to atomic scale) affect its functionality and health. Thus, the understanding of bone tissue regeneration requires to image its spatial-temporal evolution (i) with high spatial resolution and (ii) at different length scale. We exploited high spatial resolution X-ray Phase Contrast micro Tomography and Scanning micro X-ray Diffraction in order to get new insight on the engineered tissue formation mechanisms. This approach could open novel routes for the early detection of different degenerative conditions of tissue.
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34
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Piedrahita M, Cuetos A, Martínez-Haya B. Transport of spherical colloids in layered phases of binary mixtures with rod-like particles. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:3432-3440. [PMID: 25797280 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm02865a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The transport properties of colloids in anisotropic media constitute a general problem of fundamental interest in experimental sciences, with a broad range of technological applications. This work investigates the transport of soft spherical colloids in binary mixtures with rod-like particles by means of Monte Carlo and Brownian Dynamics simulations. Layered phases are considered, that range from smectic phases to lamellar phases, depending on the molar fraction of the spherical particles. The investigation serves to characterize the distinct features of transport within layers versus those of transport across neighboring layers, both of which are neatly differentiated. The insertion of particles into layers and the diffusion across them occur at a smaller rate than the intralayer diffusion modulated by the formation of transitory cages in its initial stages. Collective events, in which two or more colloids diffuse across layers in a concerted way, are described as a non-negligible process in these fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Piedrahita
- Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Seville, Spain.
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35
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Jiang Y, Zhang X, Miao B, Yan D. The study of the structure factor of a wormlike chain in an orientational external field. J Chem Phys 2015; 142:154901. [PMID: 25903904 DOI: 10.1063/1.4917520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Jiang
- School of Chemistry and Environment, Center of Soft Matter Physics and its Applications, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xinghua Zhang
- School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Bing Miao
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dadong Yan
- Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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36
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Hilitski F, Ward AR, Cajamarca L, Hagan MF, Grason GM, Dogic Z. Measuring cohesion between macromolecular filaments one pair at a time: depletion-induced microtubule bundling. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2015; 114:138102. [PMID: 25884139 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.114.138102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In the presence of nonadsorbing polymers, colloidal particles experience ubiquitous attractive interactions induced by depletion forces. Here, we measure the depletion interaction between a pair of microtubule filaments using a method that combines single filament imaging with optical trapping. By quantifying the dependence of filament cohesion on both polymer concentration and solution ionic strength, we demonstrate that the minimal model of depletion, based on the Asakura-Oosawa theory, fails to quantitatively describe the experimental data. By measuring the cohesion strength in two- and three- filament bundles, we verify pairwise additivity of depletion interactions for the specific experimental conditions. The described experimental technique can be used to measure pairwise interactions between various biological or synthetic filaments and complements information extracted from bulk osmotic stress experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feodor Hilitski
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA
| | - Andrew R Ward
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA
| | - Luis Cajamarca
- Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Michael F Hagan
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA
| | - Gregory M Grason
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - Zvonimir Dogic
- Department of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA
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37
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Preparation and characterization of hybrid hydrogels composed of physically cross-linked gelatin and liquid-crystalline filamentous viruses. Polym Bull (Berl) 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00289-015-1350-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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38
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Hayward DW, Gilroy JB, Rupar PA, Chabanne L, Pizzey C, Winnik MA, Whittell GR, Manners I, Richardson RM. Liquid Crystalline Phase Behavior of Well-Defined Cylindrical Block Copolymer Micelles Using Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering. Macromolecules 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/ma502222f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominic W. Hayward
- H.H.
Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TL, U.K
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
- Bristol
Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, U.K
| | - Joe B. Gilroy
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Paul A. Rupar
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Laurent Chabanne
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Claire Pizzey
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, U.K
| | - Mitchell A. Winnik
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - George R. Whittell
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
| | - Ian Manners
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, U.K
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39
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40
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Liu B, Cao Y, Huang Z, Duan Y, Che S. Silica biomineralization via the self-assembly of helical biomolecules. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2015; 27:479-97. [PMID: 25339438 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201401485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2014] [Revised: 07/06/2014] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The biomimetic synthesis of relevant silica materials using biological macromolecules as templates via silica biomineralization processes attract rapidly rising attention toward natural and artificial materials. Biomimetic synthesis studies are useful for improving the understanding of the formation mechanism of the hierarchical structures found in living organisms (such as diatoms and sponges) and for promoting significant developments in the biotechnology, nanotechnology and materials chemistry fields. Chirality is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and is an inherent feature of biomolecular components in organisms. Helical biomolecules, one of the most important types of chiral macromolecules, can self-assemble into multiple liquid-crystal structures and be used as biotemplates for silica biomineralization, which renders them particularly useful for fabricating complex silica materials under ambient conditions. Over the past two decades, many new silica materials with hierarchical structures and complex morphologies have been created using helical biomolecules. In this review, the developments in this field are described and the recent progress in silica biomineralization templating using several classes of helical biomolecules, including DNA, polypeptides, cellulose and rod-like viruses is summarized. Particular focus is placed on the formation mechanism of biomolecule-silica materials (BSMs) with hierarchical structures. Finally, current research challenges and future developments are discussed in the conclusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, State Key Laboratory of Composite Materials, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
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41
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Zhao J, Li C, Mezzenga R. Re-entrant isotropic-nematic phase behavior in polymer-depleted amyloid fibrils. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2014; 26:464112. [PMID: 25347270 DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/26/46/464112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid fibrils dispersed in water exhibit both isotropic (I) and nematic (N) phases, depending on concentration, but their coexistence, expected from the first order nature of the I - N thermodynamic transition is seldom observed. By adding a non-absorbing polymer to an amyloid fibrils suspension, we report, for the first time, an unusual closed-loop phase behavior. The phase diagrams reveal that the I + N coexistence does emerge, but only when the depleting polymer is present at intermediate concentrations. We combine depletion potentials in the dilute and semi-dilute polymer regime with the DLVO theory and the principle of equivalent law of corresponding states to calculate variations of the second virial coefficient with increasing polymer concentrations. We conclude that the decrease of the depletion potential range in the semi-dilute regime plays a pivotal role in the observed re-stabilization, leading to a closure of the I + N coexistence region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Zhao
- ETH Zurich, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Food and Soft Materials Laboratory, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland
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42
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Sun Z, Kang Y, Kang Y. Size selectivity in the confined ternary colloidal mixtures: the depletion in the competition. J Phys Chem B 2014; 118:11826-34. [PMID: 25259416 DOI: 10.1021/jp504978e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Based on classical density functional theory, we study the size selectivity for ternary colloidal mixtures in the presence of a Gauss barrier. The competition between the external potential and the depletion potential is also investigated. The effects of bulk fraction of each species, the size asymmetry, and the strength and width of the Gauss barrier on the selectivity of the big species are calculated and analyzed in detail. The results in different conditions of bulk fraction suggest that the larger the bulk fraction for the small species, the stronger selectivity of big particles. On the contrary, increase of bulk fraction for the big species leads to a reduction in selectivity. In addition, results under different conditions of size asymmetry suggest that the medium particles can also be selected by the Gauss barrier when they are sufficiently large in comparison to the small particles. We also demonstrate the effect of barrier geometry on the selectivity of the big species and the competition between the depletion and the external potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongli Sun
- Science and Technology College, North China Electric Power University , Baoding, 071051, China
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43
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Kornreich M, Heymann M, Fraden S, Beck R. Cross polarization compatible dialysis chip. LAB ON A CHIP 2014; 14:3700-3704. [PMID: 25105977 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc00600c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We visualize birefringence in microliter sample volumes using a microfluidic dialysis chip optimized for cross polarization microscopy. The chip is composed of two overlapping polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channels separated by a commercial cellulose ester membrane. Buffer exchange in the sample chamber is achieved within minutes by dialyzing under continuous reservoir flow. Using fd virus as a birefringent model system, we monitor the fd virus isotropic to liquid crystal phase transition as a function of ionic strength. We show that the reorientation of the fd virus spans a few tens of seconds, indicative of fast ion exchange across the membrane. Complete phase separation reorganization takes minutes to hours as it involves diffusive virus mass transport within the storage chamber.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micha Kornreich
- The Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.
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44
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Hemraz UD, Lu A, Sunasee R, Boluk Y. Structure of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes and steric stability of their grafted cellulose nanocrystal dispersions. J Colloid Interface Sci 2014; 430:157-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 05/04/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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45
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SAXS reveals the magnetic alignment pathway of the goethite columnar liquid crystal phase. J Colloid Interface Sci 2014; 428:316-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.04.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2014] [Revised: 04/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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46
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Anil Kumar AV. Anomalous dynamics of binary colloidal mixtures over a potential barrier: Effect of depletion interaction. J Chem Phys 2014; 141:034904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4890282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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47
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Gao M, Kim YK, Zhang C, Borshch V, Zhou S, Park HS, Jákli A, Lavrentovich OD, Tamba MG, Kohlmeier A, Mehl GH, Weissflog W, Studer D, Zuber B, Gnägi H, Lin F. Direct observation of liquid crystals using cryo-TEM: specimen preparation and low-dose imaging. Microsc Res Tech 2014; 77:754-72. [PMID: 25045045 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.22397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2014] [Revised: 05/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Liquid crystals (LCs) represent a challenging group of materials for direct transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies due to the complications in specimen preparation and the severe radiation damage. In this paper, we summarize a series of specimen preparation methods, including thin film and cryo-sectioning approaches, as a comprehensive toolset enabling high-resolution direct cryo-TEM observation of a broad range of LCs. We also present comparative analysis using cryo-TEM and replica freeze-fracture TEM on both thermotropic and lyotropic LCs. In addition to the revisits of previous practices, some new concepts are introduced, e.g., suspended thermotropic LC thin films, combined high-pressure freezing and cryo-sectioning of lyotropic LCs, and the complementary applications of direct TEM and indirect replica TEM techniques. The significance of subnanometer resolution cryo-TEM observation is demonstrated in a few important issues in LC studies, including providing direct evidences for the existence of nanoscale smectic domains in nematic bent-core thermotropic LCs, comprehensive understanding of the twist-bend nematic phase, and probing the packing of columnar aggregates in lyotropic chromonic LCs. Direct TEM observation opens ways to a variety of TEM techniques, suggesting that TEM (replica, cryo, and in situ techniques), in general, may be a promising part of the solution to the lack of effective structural probe at the molecular scale in LC studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Gao
- Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242
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48
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Nakato T, Yamashita Y, Mouri E, Kuroda K. Multiphase coexistence and destabilization of liquid crystalline binary nanosheet colloids of titanate and clay. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:3161-5. [PMID: 24658592 DOI: 10.1039/c3sm52311j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
A plate-plate binary colloid system of photocatalytically active titanate and inert clay nanosheets shows macroscopically separated multiphase coexistence. Two liquid crystalline phases and one isotropic phase coexist at high titanate and low clay concentrations whereas the colloids are destabilized at high clay concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teruyuki Nakato
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 1-1 Sensui-cho, Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka 804-8550, Japan.
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49
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50
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Tzoumaki MV, Moschakis T, Biliaderis CG. Effect of soluble polysaccharides addition on rheological properties and microstructure of chitin nanocrystal aqueous dispersions. Carbohydr Polym 2013; 95:324-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.02.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2012] [Revised: 02/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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