Soft Matter Blog

Reversible tuning of the hydrophobic–hydrophilic transition of hydrophobic ionic liquids by means of an electric field. Hydrophobic ionic liquids can be tuned to be hydrophilic under a strong external electric field say scientists at Hefei Normal University, China. The research could find applications electrochemistry and fuel cell technology. Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1SM05027C (Advance Article)

How far cardiac cells can see each other mechanically. Cardiac cells can be mechanically coupled even when separated by a soft solid medium say scientists at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. The interaction originates from the mechanical stretch induced by one cell on the other through a deformable media. The team say that the findings could have implications for myocardial infarction caused when cardiac tissues become stiff due to fibrotic scar formation. Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0SM01453B (Advance Article)

A lyotropic inverse ribbon phase in a branched-chain polyoxyethylene surfactant: pressure effects. In this Hot Paper a team from Imperial College London, University of Manchester and ESRF discover an inverse ribbon phase that is stabilised by the application of hydrostatic pressure. The team adjusted both the temperature and pressure of a branched-chain polyoxyethylene surfactant in water and show that it is possible to form the inverse ribbon phase in excess aqueous conditions with only a single surfactant species present.  Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0SM01524E (Advance Article)

Tadashi Sugawara and co-workers at The University of Tokyo, Japan, demonstrated the replication of DNA in giant vesicles using real-time PCR. The team found that the population of PCR-proceeded giant vesicles depends on vesicle size, which could have implications for the natural selection and evolution of early cells around hydrothermal vents. The team say that their findings represent a significant step forward in the attempt to construct a giant vesicles-based protocell system.

Interested to know more? Read the full article for free until 26th April.

Koh-ichiroh Shohda, Mieko Tamura, Yoshiyuki Kageyama, Kentaro Suzuki, Akira Suyama and Tadashi Sugawara, Soft Matter, 2011, Advance Article DOI:10.1039/C0SM01463J

A simple model inspired by amoeboid motion caused by the sol-gel transition of actin has been designed. The model describes blebbing (formation of irregular bulges) by the quantitative analysis of interfacial deformations in an oil-water system. It successfully reproduced experiments that described the relationship between size of the bleb and size of the oil droplet placed on an aqueous surface.

Read for free here until April 22: Yutaka Sumino, Hiroyuki Kitahata, Hideki Seto and Kenichi Yoshikawa, Soft Matter, 2011, (Advance Article), DOI: 10.1039/C0SM00906G, Paper

Varying the contact angle of drops on fibres has allowed scientists to discover the stability limits of different drop morphologies. Numerical calculations minimizing the total surface energy confirm the morphology diagram and provide a detailed picture of the energy landscape explaining both the similarities and differences between the barrel-to-clamshell and the reverse transition.

Read this article for free until 20th April.

Hüseyin Burak Eral, Jolet de Ruiter, Riëlle de Ruiter, Jung Min Oh, Ciro Semprebon, Martin Brinkmann and Frieder Mugele, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0SM01403F (Advance Article)

A polymeric template that induces self-organization without the need of any kind of surface chemistry could form a universal template for photonic applications claim a team of Italian scientists.

Read this article for free until 20th April.

Luciano De Sio, Sameh Ferjani, Giuseppe Strangi, Cesare Umeton and Roberto Bartolino, Soft Matter, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05045A (Advance Article)

Dr Brangwynne writes on the growing interest in intracellular protein bodies and their non-equilibrium, “active” behaviour in living cells. These bodies are non-membrane-bound organelles, such as Cajal bodies, the nucleolus and centrosomes which localise specific macromolecules (for example, RNA and protein). Their functions can include ribosome biogenesis, RNA splicing and cell division.

Read more for free here until April 22: Clifford P. Brangwynne, Soft Matter, 2011, (Advance Article), DOI: 10.1039/C0SM00981D, Emerging Area

Fabrication of metal-ion containing layer-by-layer (LBL) assemblies has been simplified in a recently published procedure. Metallopolyelectrolytes were used to synthesise the LBL films, without the need for strict control of metal to ligand ratio, or preparation of coordination polymers. Through this synthesis fluorescent supermolecular thin films with desired colours were also fabricated.

Read the article for free here until April 8:
Yuru Lan, Limin Xu, Yun Yan, Jianbin Huang, Arie de Keizer, Nicolaas A. M. Besseling and Martien A. Cohen Stuart, Soft Matter, 2011, (Advance Article), DOI: 10.1039/C0SM01316A, Paper.

The theory behind diblock-copolymer films grafted on spherical objects is investigated. An efficient numerical self-consistent field theory (SCFT) algorithm, combining spherical harmonics and the Crank-Nicolsen method, was developed. This algorithm could potentially be used for a wide range of spherical systems.

Read the article for free here until April 8!

Bart Vorselaars, Jaeup U. Kim, Tanya L. Chantawansri, Glenn H. Fredrickson and Mark W. Matsen
Soft Matter, 2011, (Advance Article), DOI: 10.1039/C0SM01242D, Paper

Polyoxometalate cluster-contained hybrid gelator and hybrid organogel: a new concept of softenization of polyoxometalate clusters. A team from Germany and China designed gelators to form hybrid organogels made of self-assembled hybrid nano-ribbons. The gelator is made of polyoxometalate cluster-contained hybrid molecules with two dendritic poly(urethane amide) wings. The team claim that these results could lead to new POM-containing functional materials. Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C1SM05032J Advance Article.

Discovering multicore micelles: insights into the self-assembly of linear ABC terpolymers in midblock-selective solvents. Linear ABC terpolymers with solvophobic–solvophilic–solvophobic block sequences are capable of self-assembling into multicore micelles. The team from East China University of Science and Technology used self-consistent field calculations to show that multicore micelles, such as the double-stranded superhelix, could be formed form the solution-state self-assembly of linear ABC terpolymers. These results expand the knowledge of the hierarchical assembly of copolymers and provide useful information for mimicking complex biological systems the team claim. Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0SM01079K Advance Article

Templated self-assembly of patchy particles. Scientists at the University of Oxford have used computer simulations to explore templated self-assembly of complex target structures made from patchy particles. This  assembly pathway allows dodecahedral shells to form readily, whereas these structures didn’t form in the absence of the template. The team suggest that DNA-mediated interactions could provide a potential route to achieve the required specificity in the patch-patch interactions for synthetic systems. Soft Matter, 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0SM01377C Advance Article

These articles are free to access until the 30th March (registration required)