Soft Matter Blog

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

A team of scientists has computationally modelled a responsive material that shows finger-like motion while another research group has theoretically studied materials that can move like a snail.

The human body is a remarkable system, and scientists have tried hard to reproduce its combination of motion and stability for many years. One promising approach is to use systems composed of several different materials that can mimic bone and muscle structure and can respond to stimuli such as light.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Inspired by the fluid-like motion of flocks of birds, researchers in the US have used techniques from soft matter physics to study the way that fire ants move.

At high density collective ant flow can be described by the physics of glass-forming soft materials © Shutterstock

Collective motion is ubiquitous in nature. Fire ants in particular provide a fascinating case study due to the confinement enforced by the foraging tunnels in which they move. A key factor in the motion of fire ants, and other eusocial insects, is the requirement to stop and communicate with each other, leading to traffic jams and blockages along the 50m long underground superhighways in which they travel.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Glass-like dynamics in confined and congested ant traffic
Nick Gravish, Gregory Gold, Andrew Zangwill, Michael A.D. Goodisman and Daniel I Goldman  
Soft Matter, 2015, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM00693G, Paper

The tough, extendable, energy-dissipating properties of the casemaker caddisfly’s adhesive silk are down to a self-recovering network of calcium crosslinks, new research shows. US researchers behind the discovery hope to harness these findings to design new synthetic bioadhesives that can adhere to wet tissues.

Images (l and m) of silk holding together glass beads in the same way that silk and stones combine to make the body armour (r)

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Self-recovering caddisfly silk: energy dissipating, Ca2+-dependent, double dynamic network fibers
Nicholas N. Ashton and Russell J. Stewart  
Soft Matter, 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4SM02435D, Paper

Researchers in Spain are taking steps towards ‘allergy-free’ food, by treating allergy-inducing proteins with a pulsed light treatment that makes them easier to digest.

 The scientists at the University of Granada and the AZTI-Tecnalia Food Research Institute studied the protein β-lactoglobulin, which acts as an excellent emulsifier in milk and other food products but has a compact structure that defies easy digestion. This lack of digestibility is linked to allergenicity, explains team member Julia Maldonado-Valderrama: ‘If the protein is not completely digested, the body reacts as if it is an allergen, which can trigger an allergic reaction.’ Pre-treatment could break down the protein structure before eating; however, it’s a balancing act. ‘If you break the protein down too much in order to facilitate digestion, they lose their functionality and can’t be used to make foams and emulsions in food products,’ says Maldonado-Valderrama.

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

Improved digestibility of β-lactoglobulin by pulsed light processing: dilatational and shear study
Teresa del Castillo-Santaella, Esther Sanmartín-Sierra, Miguel Cabrerizo-Vílchez, J Arboleya and Julia Maldonado-Valderrama 
Soft Matter, 2014
DOI: 10.1039/C4SM01667J, Paper

Researchers have devised a new method to transport micro cargo – by attaching it to chains of colloidal particles that wiggle their way through liquid crystals.

The research team, led by Hiroshi Orihara from Hokkaido University, Japan, and Christian Bahr from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Germany, created colloidal ‘caterpillars’ from surface-modified silica particles which self-assemble into chains when placed in a liquid crystal medium. To make them move, the team exploit an effect called electrohydrodynamic convection (EHC), where the application of an electric field creates a convective pattern of parallel rolls within the medium. The caterpillars travel in an undulating motion across successive rolls, driven by a combination of hydrodynamic flow and electric field effects. Excitingly, the caterpillars can be attached to and used to transport larger particles and liquid droplets, which are in themselves too big to be moved by the EHC rolls.

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.