Archive for July, 2014

Soft Matter Impact Factor rises to 4.151

Graphical abstract: Soft Matter, the futureIn the Editorial Office, we have been celebrating the latest Soft Matter Impact Factor* of 4.151.

At Soft Matter, we remain dedicated to providing a unique, interdisciplinary forum for researchers interested in the fundamental behaviours of soft matter systems to share their high quality research. We seek to publish papers which will push the boundaries of the field and demonstrate the most innovative results.

To all our authors, readers, referees and board members, we would like to say a big thank you for your support.

In the meantime, we invite you to look out for the following, coming soon in Soft Matter:

  • Next month, we will be publishing a themed issue on Interfacial dynamics in foams and emulsions.  Guest Edited by Anniina Salonen, Wiebke Drenckhan and Emmanuelle Rio (Université Paris-Sud), this issue celebrates the career of Dominique Langevin, who has played a major role in advancing this field.
  • Soft Matter celebrates its 10th anniversary next year! Expect special Anniversary Articles written by leading soft matter scientists.

    Soft Matter wasn’t the only Royal Society of Chemistry journal to see an increase in its Impact Factor this year.  Find a full list of our journals and their 2013 Impact Factors in this blog post.

    *The Impact Factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per paper. Produced annually, Impact Factors are calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years. Data based on 2013 Journal Citation Reports®, (Thomson Reuters, 2014).

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    Soft matter goes digital

    Already used in everything from paints to optical materials, colloids have found an entirely new application: as computing elements capable of high density information storage.

    US collaborators Sharon Glotzer from University of Michigan and David Pine from New York University have designed a system of reconfigurable colloidal clusters which show potential for performing computational functions in unconventional environments. The team’s ‘digital colloids’ are based on specially designed dimpled particles, which, through entropic interactions, can be made to assemble onto a central sphere and explore various configurations on the sphere’s surface.

    To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

    Carolyn L. Phillips, Eric Jankowski, Bhaskar Jyoti Krishnatreya, Kazem V. Edmond, Stefano Sacanna, David G. Grier, David J. Pine and Sharon C. Glotzer
    Soft Matter, 2014, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C4SM00796D
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    Web collection for 2013 International Soft Matter Conference

    Take a look at our new web collection, celebrating the excellent research presented at the 2013 International Soft Matter Conference and the very healthy state of the soft matter field.

    This collection of articles is Guest Edited by Sofia Kantorovich (University of Vienna) and Emanuela Zaccarelli (CNR-ISC, Sapienza Universita di Roma).  It comprises papers from a selection of talks and posters that were presented at  the 3rd International Soft Matter Conference, held in Rome on 15-19 September last year.

    The collection reflects the variety of topics discussed at the conference, and includes articles on colloids, gels, biomaterials such as DNA and cells, crystals and glasses.  It highlights novel experimental methods, theoretical approaches and advanced simulation techniques, and provides an insight into both equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium behaviour of soft matter.

    Articles include:

    Phase separation and self-assembly of colloidal dimers with tunable attractive strength: from symmetrical square-wells to Janus dumbbells
    Gianmarco Munaò, Patrick O’Toole, Toby S. Hudson, Dino Costa, Carlo Caccamo, Achille Giacometti and Francesco Sciortino  

    Graphical abstract: Phase separation and self-assembly of colloidal dimers with tunable attractive strength: from symmetrical square-wells to Janus dumbbells

    Biocompatible cationic lipids for the formulation of liposomal DNA vectors
    Costanza Montis, Silvia Sostegni, Silvia Milani, Piero Baglioni and Debora Berti  

    Graphical abstract: Biocompatible cationic lipids for the formulation of liposomal DNA vectors

    Viscoelasticity of nematic liquid crystals at a glance
    Fabio Giavazzi, Stefano Crotti, Antonio Speciale, Francesca Serra, Giuliano Zanchetta, Veronique Trappe, Marco Buscaglia, Tommaso Bellini and Roberto Cerbino (Open Access)

    Graphical abstract: Viscoelasticity of nematic liquid crystals at a glance

    Stratum corneum molecular mobility in the presence of natural moisturizers
    Sebastian Björklund, Jenny Marie Andersson, Quoc Dat Pham, Agnieszka Nowacka, Daniel Topgaard and Emma Sparr  (featured in Chemistry World)

      Graphical abstract: Stratum corneum molecular mobility in the presence of natural moisturizers

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    Enrico Fermi Summer School on Soft Matter Self-Assembly

    Making plans for next summer?

    The International School of Physics Enrico Fermi is holding a Summer School on Soft Matter Self-Assembly on June 28-July 7 2015 in Varenna, Italy.  

    The 10-day school will be a great opportunity for PhD students and postdocs to engage with the some of the most exciting and current topics in the physics of colloids, through a series of mini-courses and seminars hosted by leading figures in the field.

    Topics include:

    • Colloids with directional bonding (David Pine, New York University, US)
    • Pathways to self-organization (Christoph Dellago, University of Vienna, Austria)
    • Particles at interfaces (Kathleen Stebe, University of Pennsylvania, US)
    • Self-assembly hydrodynamics (Julia Yeomans, Oxford University, UK)
    • Driven self-assembly (Peter Schurtenberger, Lund University, Sweden )
    • Polymer structure and dynamics (Michael Rubinstein, University of North Carolina, US)
    • Liquid-crystal colloid dispersions (Randall Kamien, University of Pennsylvania, US)
    • DNA-based self-assembly (Oleg Gang, Brookhaven National University, US)
    • Self-organizing nanosystems (Willem Kegel, Utrecht University, the Netherlands)

    For more information, take a look at the website of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi, or contact the summer school directors Christos Likos, University of Vienna, Francesco Sciortino, Sapienza Universita di Roma, or Primoz Ziherl, Jozef Stefan Institute.

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    HOT articles for July!

    Capillary bridge rupture in dip-pen nanolithography
    Daniel J. Eichelsdoerfer, Keith A. Brown and Chad A. Mirkin  

     Graphical abstract: Capillary bridge rupture in dip-pen nanolithography
     
    A universal scaling law of grain chain elasticity under pressure revealed by a simple force vibration method
    Lichen Chai, Xuebang Wu and C. S. Liu    

    Graphical abstract: A universal scaling law of grain chain elasticity under pressure revealed by a simple force vibration method

    These papers are free to access until 3rd August 2014


    Growth of equilibrium structures built from a large number of distinct component types
    Lester O. Hedges, Ranjan V. Mannige and Stephen Whitelam   

     Graphical abstract: Growth of equilibrium structures built from a large number of distinct component types

    Branched–linear polyion complexes investigated by Monte Carlo simulations
    Daniel G. Angelescu and Per Linse  

    Graphical abstract: Branched–linear polyion complexes investigated by Monte Carlo simulations

     
    The adsorption–desorption behaviour and structure function relationships of bile salts
    Roger Parker, Neil M. Rigby, Michael J. Ridout, A. Patrick Gunning and Peter J. Wilde  
    Graphical abstract: The adsorption–desorption behaviour and structure function relationships of bile salts

    Tiling patterns from ABC star molecules: 3-colored foams?
    Jacob J. K. Kirkensgaard, Martin C. Pedersen and Stephen T. Hyde  
    Graphical abstract: Tiling patterns from ABC star molecules: 3-colored foams?

    These papers are free to access until 21st  August 2014


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