Register by 15 November 2016
This is your last chance to attend RSC Materials Chemistry Division Poster Symposium as the final registration deadline is just a few days away. Be sure to register by 15 November 2016 to secure your place.
For full details of speakers and conference themes, please visit the event web page.
3rd to 6th April 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract Submission & Registration are now open!
The AERC meetings have seen an ever-growing number of delegates in the past years, and this year’s conference is expected to reach new heights.
With a cross-disciplinary organizing committee, the meeting caters for rheologists from every field of the science, from a variety of industrial applications to the topics of more academic interest. This year, AERC2017 will be jointly organized with the 26th Nordic Rheology Conference. The Nordic conferences are organized annually, and offer an excellent platform for networking with old and new colleagues, and to newcomers to the field, thanks to its welcoming, informal and laid back atmosphere.
A rheology course will be organized before the conference, on 3rd April 2017, at the Technical University of Denmark. The venue can be easily reached using public transportation within approximately 40 minutes from the centre of Copenhagen.
Professor Dimitris Vlassopoulos
Soft Matter proudly sponsors this event: our Associate Editor Professor Dimitris Vlassopoulos will be delivering a poster prize.
Now is your chance to put them forward for the accolade they deserve.
Soft Matter is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for its 2017 Lectureship award. This annual award was established in 2009 to honour an early-stage career scientist who has made a significant contribution to the soft matter field.
Previous winners
2016 – Damien Baigl, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
2015 – Lucio Isa, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
2014 – Eric Dufresne, Yale Univeristy, USA
2013 – Eric Furst, University of Delaware, USA
2012 – Patrick Doyle, MIT, USA
2011 – Michael J. Solomon, University of Michigan, USA
2010 – Bartosz Grzybowski, UNIST, Republic of Korea
2009 – Emanuela Zaccarelli, University of Rome, Italy
Qualification
To be eligible for the Soft Matter Lectureship, the candidate should be in the earlier stages of their scientific career, typically within 12 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, and will have made a significant contribution to the field.
Description
The recipient of the award will be asked to present a lecture three times, one of which will be located in the home country of the recipient. The Soft Matter Editorial Office will provide the sum of £1000 to the recipient for travel and accommodation costs.
The recipient will be presented with the award at one of the three award lectures. They will also be asked to contribute a lead article to the journal and will have their work showcased on the back cover of the issue in which their article is published.
Selection
The recipient of the award will be selected and endorsed by the Soft Matter Editorial Board.
Nominations
Those wishing to make a nomination should send details of the nominee, including a brief C.V. (no longer than 2 pages A4) together with a letter (no longer than 2 pages A4) supporting the nomination, to the Soft Matter Editorial Office by 27th January 2017. Self-nomination is not permitted.
Abstract Submission is now open
Registration opening soon.
The ‘MC’ conference series has provided a showcase for materials chemistry for two decades, and is the flagship event of the RSC’s Materials Chemistry Division.
Recent editions of the MC series have been very successful: MC8, held in London in 2007, attracted 500 delegates; in 2009, the RSC was proud to incorporate MC9 into the scientific programme of the 42nd IUPAC World Congress (IUPAC 2009) which reached an audience of over 2000 delegates; MC10 saw nearly 500 scientists present their work in Manchester in July 2011, MC11 in the comfortable surroundings of the University of Warwick’s Arts Centre reached an audience of just over 500 delegates and MC12 which took place in York saw almost 600 delegates join together.
Materials Design
The targeted identification of new materials, spanning modelling and knowledge-led approaches i.e., routes based both on computation and an experiment-derived understanding.
Magnetic, Electronic & Optical Materials
The properties or applications of materials related to display technologies, sensors, optics, electronics, printable electronics, magnetics and information storage technologies, spanning all material types including nano, 2D, smart, carbon, and multifunctional materials.
Energy & Environment
Encompassing all aspects of Materials Chemistry related to energy conversion and, storage, and fuel generation and environment control and remediation.
Nanomaterials
Synthesis, Characterisation, Properties and Application of materials and hybrid materials with nanoscale dimensions and functionality.
Soft Matter & Biomaterials
All aspects of soft matter materials, as well as those specifically targeted at biomaterials applications, especially where there are links between design and function.
This month sees the following articles in Soft Matter that are in the top ten most accessed from July – September:
111 years of Brownian motion
Xin Bian, Changho Kim and George Em Karniadakis
Soft Matter, 2016,12, 6331-6346
DOI: 10.1039/C6SM01153E
Durable and scalable icephobic surfaces: similarities and distinctions from superhydrophobic surfaces
H. Sojoudi, M. Wang, N. D. Boscher, G. H. McKinley and K. K. Gleason
Soft Matter, 2016,12, 1938-1963
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02295A
One-step production of multiple emulsions: microfluidic, polymer-stabilized and particle-stabilized approaches
Paul S. Clegg, Joe W. Tavacoli and Pete J. Wilde
Soft Matter, 2016,12, 998-1008
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM01663K
Liquid marbles: topical context within soft matter and recent progress
G. McHale and M. I. Newton
Soft Matter, 2015,11, 2530-2546
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM00084J
Ultra-thin conductive free-standing PEDOT/PSS nanofilms
Francesco Greco, Alessandra Zucca, Silvia Taccola, Arianna Menciassi, Toshinori Fujie, Hiroki Haniuda, Shinji Takeoka, Paolo Dario and Virgilio Mattoli
Soft Matter, 2011,7, 10642-10650
DOI: 10.1039/C1SM06174G
Oil-in-oil emulsions stabilised solely by solid particles
Bernard P. Binks and Andrew T. Tyowua
Soft Matter, 2016,12, 876-887
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02438B
Manipulation of micro- and nanostructure motion with magnetic fields
Roger S. M. Rikken, Roeland J. M. Nolte, Jan C. Maan, Jan C. M. van Hest, Daniela A. Wilson and Peter C. M. Christianen
Soft Matter, 2014,10, 1295-1308
DOI: 10.1039/C3SM52294F
Progess in superhydrophobic surface development
Paul Roach, Neil J. Shirtcliffe and Michael I. Newton
Soft Matter, 2008,4, 224-240
DOI: 10.1039/B712575P
Why are double network hydrogels so tough?
Jian Ping Gong
Soft Matter, 2010,6, 2583-2590
DOI: 10.1039/B924290B
The pH-responsive behaviour of poly(acrylic acid) in aqueous solution is dependent on molar mass
Thomas Swift, Linda Swanson, Mark Geoghegan and Stephen Rimmer
Soft Matter, 2016,12, 2542-2549
DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02693H
Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.
Fancy submitting an article to Soft Matter? Then why not submit to us today!
To keep up-to-date with all the latest research, sign up for the Soft Matter e-Alert or RSS feeds or follow Soft Matter on Twitter or Facebook
A collection of recent Soft Matter and Polymer Chemistry articles on molecular machines
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for their work on the design and synthesis of molecular machines.
Developing the world’s smallest machines: Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Fraser Stoddart and Bernard Feringa
Jean-Pierre Sauvage took the first step towards a molecular machine in 1983, when he successfully linked two ring-shaped molecules together to form a chain, called a catenane. The molecules in this chain are linked by a mechanical bond, allowing the two interlocked rings to move relative to each other, performing like a tiny machine.
Fraser Stoddart took the second step in 1991, when he developed a rotaxane by threading a molecular ring onto a thin molecular axle. The ring is able to move along the axle enabling a number of developments such as a molecular lift, a molecular muscle and a molecule-based computer chip.
Bernard Feringa took the third step by developing the first molecular motor in 1999 when he got a molecular rotor blade to spin continually in the same direction. Using molecular motors, he has rotated a glass cylinder that is 10,000 times bigger than the motor and also designed a nanocar!
The ground breaking steps taken by the 2016 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry in developing molecular machinery have resulted in a toolbox of chemical structures that can be used by researchers around the world to build anything from artificial switches and release-targeted drugs to novel energy storage systems!
To celebrate these remarkable achievements, we are delighted to present a collection of recent Soft Matter and Polymer Chemistry articles on molecular machines FREE to read until 1 December 2016!
We invite you to submit your best research related to molecular machines to Soft Matter and Polymer Chemistry!
Reviews
Integrated motion of molecular machines in supramolecular polymeric scaffolds
Xuzhou Yan, Bo Zheng and Feihe Huang
Polym. Chem., 2013, 4, 2395-2399
DOI: 10.1039/C3PY00060E
Research articles
Topological energy storage of work generated by nanomotors
Fabian Weysser, Olivier Benzerara, Albert Johner and Igor M. Kulić
Soft Matter, 2015, 11, 732-740
DOI: 10.1039/C4SM02294G
Hydrodynamics and propulsion mechanism of self-propelled catalytic micromotors: model and experiment
Longqiu Li, Jiyuan Wang, Tianlong Li, Wenping Song and Guangyu Zhang
Soft Matter, 2014, 10, 7511-7518
DOI: 10.1039/C4SM01070A
Construction of muscle-like metallo-supramolecular polymers from a pillar[5]arene-based [c2]daisy chain
Lingyan Gao, Zibin Zhang, Bo Zheng and Feihe Huang
Polym. Chem., 2014, 5, 5734-5739
DOI: 10.1039/C4PY00733F
An acid/base switchable and reversibly cross-linkable polyrotaxane
Shijun Li, Guan-Huan Weng, Wei Lin, Zhi-Bin Sun, Mi Zhou, Bin Zhu, Yang Ye and Jing Wu
Polym. Chem., 2014, 5, 3994-4001
DOI: 10.1039/C4PY00409D
Dual stimuli-responsive supramolecular pseudo-polyrotaxane hydrogels
Lipeng Zhou, Jiaxi Li, Quan Luo, Junyan Zhu, Huixin Zou, Yuzhou Gao, Liang Wang, Jiayun Xu, Zeyuan Dong and Junqiu Liu
Soft Matter, 2013, 9, 4635-4641
DOI: 10.1039/C3SM27776C
pH-responsive dendritic polyrotaxane drug-polymer conjugates forming nanoparticles as efficient drug delivery system for cancer therapy
Yang Kang, Xiao-Mei Zhang, Sheng Zhang, Li-Sheng Ding and Bang-Jing Li
Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 2098-2107
DOI: 10.1039/C4PY01431F
Phototriggered supramolecular polymerization of a [c2]daisy chain rotaxane
Xin Fu, Rui-Rui Gu, Qi Zhang, Si-Jia Rao, Xiu-Li Zheng, Da-Hui Qu and He Tian
Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 2166-2170
DOI: 10.1039/C6PY00309E
Also of interest: Find out more about the three Chemistry Nobel Laureates and their research.
Congratulations to Damien Baigl
The Soft Matter Lectureship, now in its seventh year, is an annual award that honours an early-stage career researcher for their significant contribution to the soft matter field. The recipient is selected by the Soft Matter Editorial Board from a list of candidates nominated by the community.
This month during the 4th International Soft Matter Conference (ISMC 2016) in Grenoble, France, we were delighted to present Professor Damien Baigl with his Soft Matter Lectureship.
Damien Baigl (second from the right in the photo) receiving his Soft Matter Lectureship
Professors Christos Likos (first from left in the photo), Dimitris Vlassopoulos (second from left) and Jan Dhont (first from right), Associate Editors of Soft Matter, presented the award to Damien in the presence of Executive Editor Dr Neil Hammond (third from right).
We would like to thank the organisers of ISMC 2016 for their collaboration with the award ceremony.
Please join us in congratulating Damien in his fantastic achievement!
Binary mixtures of mammalian cells self-organize into multicellular clusters that coarsen above a critical cell density
Cell behavior is highly dependent on its surrounding environment, including neighboring and adjacent cells. Individual cells can merge and form a solid-like state for a “jamming” effect or a highly dense cell mass can disperse and become more mobile, for an “unjamming” transition. Both behaviors have been observed in complex, multi-cellular interactions such as wound healing, embryonic development, and tumor metastasis.
To investigate jamming-unjamming cell transitions, researchers from Brown University describe methods to quantify cell-cell interactions in a recently published Soft Matter article. The group observed co-cultures of epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells and their ability to cluster (jamming) or remain mobile and unconnected (unjamming). Epithelial cells collectively organize to form dense multi-layered cell sheets while mesenchymal cells avoid cell-cell bonds and are capable of individual migration.
Cell clustering ability with different ratios of epithelial (red) and mesenchymal cells (green)
By increasing the number of mesenchymal cells in an epithelial cell population, the research group observed a reduction in epithelial cell clustering causing a significant disruption in cell sheet formation and confluency. The addition of mesenchymal cells also increased the average collective cell velocity and decreased cell proliferation, reducing the typical jamming behavior of epithelial cells.
The research provides important biophysical data for collective cell behavior as well as introducing new parameters to control cell jamming-unjamming transitions.
Interested in this research? Read the full article for free until 31/10/2016 using a registered RSC account:
Clustering and jamming in epithelial-mesenchymal co-cultures
Marielena Gamboa Castro, Susan E. Leggett, and Ian Y. Wong
Soft Matter, 2016, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C6SM01287F
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About the webwriter
Dr. Morgan M. Stanton is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany. Her research focuses on the cell-material interface material and properties regulating cell behavior.
Read more about Morgan’s research publications and follow her on Twitter: @morg368.
Written by Kirsty Muirhead
Nanoparticles that glue cells together could aid wound healing or stop tumour metastasis
Source: © Shutterstock
An international team of researchers has found that sticky nanoparticles can aggregate cells lacking the naturally occurring proteins that normally hold them together. These polystyrene nanostickers could help wound healing or stop tumour cells from spreading through the body.
To read the full article visit Chemistry World.
Many thanks to our reviewers and community
In celebration of Peer Review Week, with the theme of Recognition for Review, we would like to highlight the top 10 reviewers for Soft Matter in 2016, as selected by the editor for their significant contribution to the journal.
Top 10 Reviewers for Soft Matter:
– Professor Jan Dhont – ICS-3, Germany
– Dr Kaigiang Liu – Shaanxi Normal University, China
– Dr Wei Hong – Iowa State University, USA
– Professor Jan Vermant – ETH Zurich, Switzerland
– Dr Yilin Wang – Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
– Dr Giorgio Cinacchi – Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
– Dr Laurent Courbin – CNRS, France
– Dr Chinedum Osuji – Yale University, USA
– Dr Kevin Cavicchi – The University of Akron, USA
– Dr Alejandro Rey – McGill University, Canada
We would like to say a massive thank you to these reviewers as well as the Soft Matter board and all of the soft matter community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.
