Soft Matter Blog

Read here for free until Nov 11

Langmuir monolayer, Langmuir-Blodgett and Langmuir-Schaefer film techniques are highly useful for determining equilibrium and dynamic behaviour in thin monolayers at air-water interfaces. Although the fabrication of ultrathin films has largely been supplanted by layer-by-layer assembly approaches, these techniques are still essential tools for studying new phenomenon in nanomaterials and in nanostructuring well-known or new materials for phenomenological observation and device fabrication. This review highlights the investigation of various amphiphilic and non-amphilic nanomaterials utilizing these interfacial techniques.

Jin Young Park and Rigoberto C. Advincula, Soft Matter, 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05750B

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Polyanionic carbon nanotubes form solutions and obey the physics of polyelectrolytes, report researchers from the University of Bordeaux, France. Their proposed model helps to predict the influence on SWNT solubility of different parameters such as tube diameters, charge density or the solvent.

Damien Voiry, Carlos Drummond and Alain Pénicaud, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 7998-8001. Read for free here until Nov 9.

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Read here for free until 28 October

Landau-de Gennes theory has been used to tackle the behaviour of faceted particles embedded in a nematic liquid crystal matrix, in this Hot Paper from researchers at McGill University, Canada. The 2D model used is based on the Landau-de Gennes equations of nematodynamics in the absence of flow. A critical feature in the liquid crystal-faceted particle system is the presence of corners, which are always decorated by active surface defects or are connected to other corners by disclination strings that have line tension.

P. M. Phillips, N. Mei, L. Reven and Alejandro Rey, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 8592-8604.

Read for free here until 28 October

Oppositely charged colloidal particles exhibit fully reversible assembly under varying salt concentrations in water. Fluorescent polystyrene colloidal particles are charged by a grafted polyelectrolyte brush. Below a certain concentration oppositely charged colloids form clusters and gels with a fractal nature. These particles are a promising step toward a reversible and controlled self-assembling system in water, using colloidal particles as building blocks.

Evan Spruijt, Henriëtte E. Bakker, Thomas E. Kodger, Joris Sprakel, Martien A. Cohen Stuart and Jasper van der Gucht, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 8281-8290.

Read for free until 24 October…

Hot Review: This review summarizes recent developments in the field of self-assembly of non-linear polymers at the air/water interface, focusing on the influence of molecular architecture. Four classes of non-linear systems (polymer brushes, star-like polymers, dendritic polymers, and linear–dendritic polymers) are highlighted to elaborate their interfacial behaviors originating from different molecular architectures. Lei Zhao and Zhiqun Lin, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05745F.

Hot Paper: Researchers investigate the origin of the so-called magnetostriction effect (the deformation of a soft magnetic elastomer) in response to a uniform magnetic field. In particular the type of structural short-range order in the magnetic microparticle assembly is discussed. Oleg V. Stolbov, Yuriy L. Raikher and Maria Balasoiu, Soft Matter, 2011,  7, 8484-8487.

Hot Highlight: Helical assemblies from chiral block copolymers (BCPs*) have been intensively studied recently due to their unique hierarchical architectures arising from the interplay of various secondary interactions, and are discussed here in this Highlight Article. Yeo-Wan Chiang, Rong-Ming Ho, Christian Burger and Hirokazu Hasegawa, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05921A.

Read for free until 30 September>>>

Amphiphilic triblock copolymers: A new study demonstrates that the length of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer has a crucial impact on the association behaviour of temperature sensitive triblock copolymers at elevated temperatures. Findings show that a short PEG length promotes formation of interchain complexes at high temperatures. Atoosa Maleki, Kaizheng Zhu, Ramón Pamies, Ricardo Rodríguez Schmidt, Anna-Lena Kjøniksen, Göran Karlsson, José G. Hernández Cifre, José García de la Torre and Bo Nyström, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05679D

Yield stress fluids: Stress-induced fluidization of a simple yield stress fluid, namely a carbopol microgel, is addressed through extensive rheological measurements coupled to simultaneous temporally and spatially resolved velocimetry. A clear link between the transient regime of the fluidization process and the steady-state rheology is presented for the first time. Thibaut Divoux, Catherine Barentin and Sébastien Manneville, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05607G

Lipid rafts: Ligand-induced transbilayer coupling of rafts is simulated in this Hot Article. Using coarse grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations the authors show that raft registration arises spontaneously in bilayers with a calcium- or ligand-crosslinked ordered phase segregating from a liquid disordered phase. Diego A. Pantano, Preston B. Moore, Michael L. Klein and Dennis E. Discher, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05490B

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Antimicrobial and antiviral hydrogels: This brief review provides some illustrative examples of different types of antimicrobial (antibacterial/antifungal) and antiviral hydrogels. The triggered response of the  hydrogels is discussed and a focus is placed on formulation principles, and on how the physicochemical properties of such hydrogels influence their antimicrobial/antiviral action. Martin Malmsten, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05809F

Thermal liquid crystal phases: An interaction assisted approach for realization of biaxiality in smectic A phases is demonstrated in addition to the effectiveness of perfluoroarene-arene and C-H/F interactions as the intermolecular interactions. The slow rotation of the molecules showed unique phenomena such as no clear odd–even effect in their clearing and melting points. Keiki Kishikawa, Takahiro Inoue, Yoshiyuki Sasaki, Sumihiro Aikyo, Masahiro Takahashi and Shigeo Kohmoto, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 7532-7538, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05887H

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels: Researchers have functionalised poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gel with spirobenzopyrans and evaluated the effects of spontaneous ring-opening rates of the photo-chromic molecules on the light-responsive volume change of the subsequent gels. Rates of reswelling from the light-induced shrunken state of the spirobenzopyran-functionalized gels increased with increasing ring-opening rates of spirobenzopyrans in the gels. Taku Satoh, Kimio Sumaru, Toshiyuki Takagi and Toshiyuki Kanamori, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05797A

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Review article on ‘The physics of tissue patterning and extracellular matrix organisation: how cells join forces’.  The authors discuss how cells interact with other cells and with substrates to form complex tissues and organs. Important examples are the patterning of growth and differentiation within tissues and the long-range organisation of the extracellular matrix. P. Kollmannsberger, C. M. Bidan, J. W. C. Dunlop and P. Fratzl, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05588G

Self-organisation of dendrimers is extensively modeled through molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse grained dendron model to show how the thermodynamic conditions play a decisive role on its self-organization. A global phase diagram for dendrons which shows the relation between columnar and supramolecular sphere phases was also realised. Andrew J. Crane and Erich A. Müller, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 7465-7476, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05599B

An electrorheological (ER) effect in a single phase ER suspension in microgravity is reported for the first time. Potential applications of single-phase ER fluids may be found in outer-space stations with micro-gravity environment, serving as a tunable friction-generating material. Guoqing Zhao, Shuyu Chen, Weijia Wen, Fumiaki Miyamaru, Mitsuo W. Takeda, Jianding Yu and Ping Sheng, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 7198-7200, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05736G

Read these Hot Articles for free until 8 Sept >>>

Liquid Marbles are stabilised on the surface of an acidic liquid due to hydrophobic components. However, once the pH reaches 5.5 the stabilising chains become to hydrophilic and the sphere collapses. The organic polymer particles were made-up of polyacid-stabilised polystyrene latex. Damien Dupin, Kate L. Thompson and Steven P. Armes, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 6797-6800,DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05889D

‘Liquid marble’ deposited onto (a) a glass slide and (b) the surface of liquid water in a Petri dish.

Partially fluorinated amphiphiles and their interaction with biomembrane lipids in Langmuir monolayers is studied in this Hot Article. This provides fundamental insights into the molecular function of biomembrane components and support for the biomedical use of fluorinated materials. Shorter perfluoroalkyl chains may have more potential for clinical use than higher fluorinated chains. Hiromichi Nakahara, Marie Pierre Krafft, Akira Shibata and Osamu Shibata, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 7325-7333, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05647F

Cross-slot extensional flow oscillatory rheometry, an opto-microfluidic technique, is used to quantify the response of elastic fluids to extensional flows. This understanding is necessary for optimising fluid composition for technological applications such as ink-jet printing. Elastic fluids are complex fluids which respond to applied stress with a combination of solid-like elasticity and liquid-like ability to flow. Simon J. Haward, Vivek Sharma and Jeffrey A. Odell, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05493G