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SuperOLEOphobicity of lotus leaves: The superhydrophobicity of lotus leaves is well known, however, the lotus leaf also exhibits superoleophobicty on its lower side. Researchers have fabricated Janus interface materials with superhydrophobicity on one side in air and superleophobicity on the other side in water. Qunfeng Cheng, Mingzhu Li, Yongmei Zheng, Bin Su, Shutao Wang and Lei Jiang, Soft Matter, 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05452J
Hydrogel scaffolds for embryonic cell differentiation: Embryonic cell (EC) differentiation can be strongly influenced by the scaffolds used to support the initial embryoid bodies’ growth. Here, molecular hydrogels are used for the first time to control EC differentiation, and could specifically enhance the expression of a mesoderm marker, Flk1. Hongjie Liu, Yuehan Hu, Huaimin Wang, Jingyu Wang, Deling Kong, Ling Wang, Lingyi Chen and Zhimou Yang, Soft Matter, 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05198A
Towards synthesis of 2-D arrays of magnetic nanoparticles: The effect of magnetic nanoparticles 
on the surface stability of surfactant films, which is very important for a number of technical applications, has been investigated. Maghemite nanoparticles were added to SDS, CTAB and Brij 35 films, and the interactions studied using surface dilation and shear rheological experiments.
